Berlin join hands with the German National Tourist Board to bring new cultural themes to the Middle East

Ms. Heike Murad, GCC States Manager - German National Tourist Board, said: "The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) is building on the worldwide attention focused on Germany during the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ with a cultural marketing offensive, exploiting the success of this major sporting event to generate sustained interest in 'Destination Germany'. On moving forward, the theme for 2007, 'Art and Culture in Germany', puts the spotlight on the various cultural attractions in German cities and regions. More than 500 galleries and over 6,000 museums throughout Germany offer everything from paintings by Emil Nolde and literature by Thomas Mann to Bauhaus architecture and special exhibitions. In more than 10,000 different folk festivals people can experience German traditions, culture and lifestyle; further 220 theme and fun parks attract the young and the young at heart."

She further stated: "The theme year 'Art and Culture in Germany' forms the nucleus of the GNTB's global, cultural marketing offensive for Germany. This campaign will also be continued beyond 2007 and will incorporate cultural highlights in German regions, cities and towns. The title of 'European Capital of Culture', for example, will be held by Essen in 2010 and this will lend additional impetus to the initiative. In regard to incoming tourism to Germany, The German National Tourist Office is convinced that the UAE is one of the most important future markets. Hence, with the aid of our partners from Berlin we continuously hope to bring such exciting events and themes to fascinate and encourage travellers from the Middle East region to various other parts of Germany."

Mr. Burkhard Kieker, Vice President Marketing - Berlin Airports, said: "Berlin was proud to be the host city for the final match and closing ceremony of the FIFA World Cup 2006™ which generated maximum worldwide attention and publicity to a glorious destination such as Berlin. There is no city in Europe that has immense high end energy, and where nightlife of most cities is tame in comparison to this city. There are lots of great clubs, restaurants and entertainment for all ages. The Berliners are often friendly and extremely helpful; Berlin has an amazing number of sights to visit such as museums, art, culture and history. We want to promote Berlin in the Middle East as one of the most beautiful holiday sights to experience."

Germany is one of the leading destinations for travellers with an interest in culture. With a share of nine per cent of all European culture-related holidays in 2004, Germany came in third place behind France and Italy. According to the World Travel Monitor, the number of culture-related trips to Germany by Europeans has grown by more than 20 per cent since 2000.

In December 2005, a TNS Infratest survey commissioned by the GNTB confirmed Germany's outstanding appeal as a cultural destination. In a number of European countries around half of the respondents said that Germany was a good place for a cultural holiday, and/or that it had attractive city-break destinations. Almost two thirds also said that Germany was good for sightseeing. According to the World Travel Monitor, the main activities of Europeans coming to Germany for city breaks or tours were sightseeing (55 per cent), visiting museums (38 per cent) and exhibitions (26 per cent).

The GNTB aims to promote this positive image of Germany's cultural destinations through concerted marketing and sales activities, thereby securing further increases in the number of overnight stays. "One of our objectives is to position Germany even more clearly throughout the world as a top cultural destination", comments Ms. Heike Murad.