JAXFAX Editorial Archives - JAXFAX Travel Marketing Magazine

Interview with Michaela Klare
Regional Manager GNTO
Having headed the NY office for nearly five years, Michaela Klare Regional
Manager The Americas for the German National Tourist Offices shared her
perspective on changing travel patterns among Americans to Germany for
JF readers. Klare will continue her work with the GNTO in Amsterdam at the
end of this month. She was among the youngest directors to head the GNTO
in New York and infused her efforts with vitality and enthusiasm.
GNTO: Well, I am happy to report that
there was a constant increase in the number
of Americans traveling to Germany
since the end of 2002, when I took over
the office, of altogether nearly 17%. The
World Cup in 2006 put some of our less
known cities in the spotlight and gave Germany
a big boost and in 2007, the number
of overnights increased by 4.6%.
This statistic unfortunately doesn't include
the fastest growing segment for Germany,
which is river cruising where we
have seen a shift from specialized river
cruise agents to more and more programs
in many tour operator catalogues.
Berlin’s popularity is yet another factor for
Germany's success, as so many people
from the U.S. are interested in our capital
and often tack on other trips to nearby
cities, such as Dresden, Hamburg or
Leipzig or combine it with a visit to our
neighboring countries in the East. We also
experienced a shift from the main season
in summer to off-season travel in spring
and fall, when we offer excellent values.
JF: Do you feel the themed marketing lines have
been a solid platform from which to sell the country?
GNTO: One of the great advantages of
Germany as a destination is that the country
has so many faces and diverse aspects
which can be sold as theme trips and to
special interest groups. Just think of some
of our most recent themes like, Musicland
Germany, Art and Culture, Heritage Travel,
Gay & Lesbian Travel or Religious Groups
and even beer and wine tasting trips, all of
which are enormously popular with Americans.
Now we are excited about our new
theme Castles: Parks and Gardens.
JF: Would you say the joining of East and West Germany
has doubled the attractions in Germany?
GNTO: It's hard to measure, having had
super attractive destinations in Bavaria,
the Black Forest, Lake Constance or the
Rhine Valley for example, but it opened
new travel channels to the treasures of
East Germany, the new infrastructure and
the hospitality of the people is priceless.
Americans are witnessing the rebirth and
transformation of Berlin and Potsdam;
they can revel in Dresden's treasures or
experience Bach and contemporary art in
Leipzig, wonder at the Spree Forest and
enjoy traditional Easter festivals of the
Serbs, experience the classicism in
Weimar or travel in Luther's footsteps in
Wittenberg or Eisenach.
JF: Are the prices in cities such as Berlin, lower
than in other European cities since it was a city that
once straddled the fence between East and West?
GNTO: The prices are very reasonable all
over Germany. Berlin's hotels are even
cheaper than in some of the Eastern European
capitals according to a recent study
and definitely no comparism to cities like
London, Paris or Rome (i.e. Berlin € 140,
Rome € 192, Paris € 298, London € 314).
One of the reasons is the balance
between the business and leisure markets
and the hotel inventory is still growing
with extraordinary new builds.
JF: Do you feel the travel trade has indeed been a
good investment for the GNTO?
GNTO: By all means, the travel trade
community, including tour operators and
travel agents, have been enormously supportive
of Germany and we are grateful
for that. It is in large part due to their support
that Germany has been so successful
with Americans.
JF: How would you characterize the client profile of
visitors to Germany ?
GNTO: Germany's traditional market
was, and is still largely the 50+ market.
That said, thanks to the World Cup, the
avant-garde and cutting edge art, architecture
and culture movements, the popularity
of such cities as Berlin and Hamburg,
Germany appeals to the young and hip.
We see further growth of FIT travel
among German-Americans searching for
their roots and traveling with their children
or grandchildren, thus insuring interest
beyond the first and second generations.
JF: Do you have any projections to make on travel
from the U.S. to Germany in the next five years?
GNTO: I think we have a challenging year
ahead of us, but still believe that with the
huge number of baby boomers now nearing
retirement and the excellent offers on
the German and European markets, the
number of arrivals will continue to grow.
JF: If you were to leave your successor with one
solid piece of advice, what might that be?
GNTO: Stay the course, especially when
it comes to the trade, try to continue getting
more and more German partners
under your umbrella to consolidate the
German budget investment in the U.S.,
but also to experiment with new ideas
with an eye on toward developments in
new media.
JJF: Is there any new air service to report on?
GNTO: Lufthansa’s new daily Seattle-
Frankfurt services will be starting March
30, 2008; Orlando-Frankfurt has already
started and these flights operate daily
except on Saturday with more service
from Chicago to Duesseldorf.
JF: How can travel agents learn more?
GNTO: They can become more familiar
with our website: www.cometogermany
.com that provides an enormous amount
of information about getting there, information
on special events, hotels and special
deals. We just integrated a new
section with offers from 13 U.S. partners
with whom we are and were running a
big Germany campaign over the last five
years. We also have a special trade section
www.germany-extranet.com. And
we still print supplements in all the travel
trade magazines that target Travel Agents,
such as the this issue of Jax Fax and conduct
two annual Destination Germany
road shows. We participate in trade
shows, seminars, and produce and publish
brochures on all aspects of Germany.
JF: What is the impression you would like visitors to
take home after they visit?
GNTO: We would love Americans to realize
what Euroeans already know: that Germany
is the world's second most popular
travel destination after France; and I hope
they think of Germany as a European
country with a diversity like no other.
16 MARCH 2008 WWW.JAXFAX.COM