A concerted effort to promote climate-friendly travel and a responsible use of all resources are essential if Destination Germany is to build on its already strong position within the international market.

At the same time, research by IPK International confirms a range of attitudes to sustainability among potential visitors. 80 per cent of international travellers regard sustainability and climate/environmental protection as important or very important. To feel more inclined to book a sustainable trip, around 40 per cent of those surveyed would require a broader, more affordable range of offers as well as more specific information. Looking at a possible levelling out of travel patterns, more than half of respondents would be willing to travel outside of the main season in principle. 43 per cent could imagine foregoing a certain level of comfort and convenience in favour of greater sustainability, for example during the journey. At over 90 per cent, the interest in combining a city break with a stay in a rural region, provided that appropriate offers are available, is strong among international travellers worldwide.

Germany is actively setting the agenda for sustainable tourism through their theme-based campaigns. Together with the partners in the German travel industry GNTB is working on extending their visitors’ length of stay by offering innovative products. German National Tourist Board is also putting more emphasis on tourism that combines cities and rural regions, and on promoting the off season.

Destination Germany is well positioned within the European market

From the customers’ perspective, Destination Germany is already well positioned when it comes to sustainability and to protecting the climate and the environment. According to a survey conducted in October 2022 by IPK International, exclusively for the GNTB, foreign travellers put Germany third in this category in a European comparison – behind only Switzerland and Sweden.

Germany is ranked sixth in the 2022 SDG Index, which evaluates progress towards achieving the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, and fifth out of 117 comparable countries in the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index for 2021. It is also in the top ten of the 2022 YouGov Travel & Tourism Sustainability Ranking of all European countries.

The GNTB’s extensive marketing activities to promote sustainable inbound tourism to Germany are reaping rewards. For example, the proportion of inbound journeys to Germany that were made by train increased from 10.6 per cent to 14.4 per cent year-on-year in the period from January to October 2022. This was the finding of an analysis of mobile phone data carried out by Teralytics on behalf of the GNTB. Based on analysis by Forward Keys, the average length of stay of visitors who arrived by air rose from 8.3 days to 9.9 days in the first ten months of 2022, compared with the same period in 2019.

Sustainability a key element in the GNTB’s global campaigns for 2023

Inspektour’s Destination Brand Index for 2021, which surveyed people in seven European countries, revealed that 83 per cent of travellers are keen on nature holidays, 74 per cent like to visit castles, palaces and cathedrals, and 71 per cent are interested in culture.

Consequently, the GNTB will run three theme-based campaigns that will continue to keep the focus of its global marketing firmly on sustainable tourism in 2023. For example, the new GNTB campaign ‘51 UNESCO World Heritage Sites – Historic Modern Germany’ highlights the wide variety of options for sustainable travel when exploring Germany’s different regions and cultural heritage. And there will be a relaunch of the award-winning and internationally regarded FEEL GOOD sustainability campaign, which promotes tourism offerings that have been certified as sustainable. The GNTB will also continue its successful Embrace German Nature campaign.

From 2023, the GNTB will focus its brand communications more strongly on targeting sustainability-oriented lifestyle groups based on the SINUS META Milieus® and analyze trends in key figures relevant to climate change mitigation for inbound tourism to Germany.