The new year has certainly proved to be promising for India. A number of new destinations like Italy, New Zealand, Austria etc have evinced keen interest in the Indian sub-continent. The newest addition to this list however is Germany, that has shown sudden interest to explore what is still virgin territory to them. Revealed Klaus Ranner, consul general, German Consulate, “The interest in India has is only a recent development because the Indian outbound market has now matured to a level where products like Germany hold interest to the discerning tourist. Besides, we would like to change the way Germany is perceived. Though MICE is our niche, we have much to offer as a tourist destination also.”

Ranner further added that Indian metros are witnessing an increasing middle class that can and want to afford a vacation and Germany has a lot to offer. Transcending from the travel trend which was essentially the Anglo-English countries like the US, UK, Australia due to the language flexibility, Indians now want to explore other destinations globally and Europe definitely tops the list. According to him, Germany’s USP is its diversity, lending cultural, historical scenic as well as adventurous flavours to a vacation.

Though word of mouth publicity is the best bet, Germany is planning to woo Bollywood. “Strategies and alliances with Bollywood though in the nascent stages are in the pipeline,” said Ranner. He further added, “We plan to market the destination through travel agents and tour operators and are meeting several leading players in the travel industry for the purpose. We also want to generate awareness about Germany in the smaller cities too. The media would also be involved in marketing the destination.”