Germany`s incoming tourism industry is well positioned for 2007, and the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) has formulated ten strategic guidelines to ensure that the positive momentum is sustained through 2007 and beyond. Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the GNTB said The guidelines will enable us to build on and develop the success of Germany as a travel destination.

One of the GNTB`s primary objectives is to continue enhancing Germany`s positive image as a travel destination throughout the world. In future, the perception of Germany will be influenced more strongly by
its image as a tourist destination.

This belief has been confirmed by the Anholt-GMI Nation Brands Index (NBI), according to which the Germany brand gained in admiration around the world in 2006 and is now ranked in second place behind the United Kingdom in an international listing of countries. And in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness IndeX recently published for the first time by the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Germany is ranked third, behind Switzerland and Austria.

A second strategic goal of the GNTB is to ensure that the growth in Germany`s incoming tourism industry keeps pace with global trends. Germany must continue to achieve faster growth than the European average in international arrivals. The GNTB expects growth to be driven in particular by the international source markets and believes that the incoming tourism industry will provide considerable potential for future economic growth.

The GNTB is predicting around 17 million additional overnight stays by international visitors by 2015. These additional visitors could contribute to a cumulative increase in GDP of around 17.9 billion euros and increase tax receipts by around 5.4 billion euros.

An efficient transport infrastructure both within and outside the major cities is an important competitive factor for the growth and development of tourism in Germany, particularly for the tourist regions. The intelligent integration of air, rail and road transport will be the key to ensuring that Germany also benefits from the increased levels of tourist traffic. Attractive hubs, fast, convenient connections betweentowns and cities and integrated air, road and rail links to the regions will be key factors in ensuring Germany is perceived as an attractive destination, especially for mini-breaks.

Another important task of the GNTB in future will be to secure Germany`s market leadership in the business travel segment, particularly in the face of increased competition from Asia. Germany is the number one destination in the world for trade fair travel and number one in Europe for conferences and meetings. 28 per cent of all trips from Europe to Germany are business-related, approximately twice the European average. Of the 9.7 million business trips from international source markets, 46 per cent can be classed as promotable and these must be secured each year by offering excellent infrastructure.

The GNTB is also mindful of demographic change, and is tackling head on the issue of change in the age pyramid of many industrial nations. It believes the growing target group of travellers aged over 55 represents a major opportunity which must be exploited in order to develop Germany`s travel industry and in particular to secure the leading position of Germany as a travel destination in the domestic market. This target group will generate a total of around 31.1 million additional trips from the most important global source markets by 2020.

The most important source markets in this respect are the UK, France, USA, the Netherlands and Italy. In the domestic market, the key will be to encourage more seasoned travellers in the over-55 age group to take their holidays in Germany. The emphasis will be on designing and developing products and services aimed at customers of the older generation, both for the domestic and international markets.

Germany already enjoys an excellent reputation for culture around the world. Of those that hold this view, 27 per cent had holidayed in Germany and 13.4 per cent had visited the country on business. In representative surveys carried out in the 34 countries included in the Anholt-GMI Nation Brands Index, 62 per cent of those questioned said Germany was a country with a rich cultural heritage and 53 per cent
mentioned its beautiful scenery.

63.3 per cent of those questioned agreed that Germany has a rich architectural heritage. A good half of
respondents said Germany was home to exciting contemporary art. In the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index Germany even came out top in the `Culture and Nature` category. This must remain a key product
line in future, given the fact that culture is now a mega-trend in international tourism and that Germany is currently the second-placed destination for cultural travel among Europeans. The amazing diversity
of unique attractions must be emphasised as a central strength of German cultural destinations in order to generate additional market share and encourage international travellers to come to Germany for its
sightseeing and to visit museums and exhibitions.

Increasing the emphasis on health & fitness holidays is another key strategic factor. All aspects of health and fitness from spa breaks to medical services to wellness must be actively integrated into the
marketing for Germany as a travel destination. Strengthening the link between the increasing trend for health and fitness among the general population and the theme of health-related holidays will be a primary
objective, as will developing customised products for the various segments, particularly spa breaks, health and fitness holidays and wellness.

A mild winter one year and heavy snows the next; heatwaves one year and summer is rained off the next. The variability of the weather and the number of extreme weather events such as storm tides and storms is set
to increase in future. Global climate change presents some major challenges for the German tourism industry, particularly with regard to the subjective perception of holiday weather by visitors.

Climate change will also place increasing demands on the tourism infrastructure and bring about changes in nature. Visitor flows will change in terms of season and location, ?low impact? tourism will become the product in demand and climate change and emissions levies and taxes will necessitate new cost calculations. One of the GNTB`s key long-term objectives is to work in partnership with the tourist regions to develop products that take account of and are geared to these changes.

In 2006, for the first time, international visitors accounted for one in seven overnight stays in German hotels and guesthouses. The GNTB anticipates additional growth from the international markets in future
and sees a greater focus on international markets and increased investment in international marketing as a strategic challenge for Germany`s tourist destinations.

The GNTB`s strategy for Tourism in Germany: the Future emphasises the importance of using all available sales channels, or `multichannelling` as a key tool in reaching customers around the world and in communicating the range of tourism products and services on offer in Germany. It is essential that each sales channel is used in a manner appropriate to the individual markets.