MONTREAL — Tourism delegates from Berlin, Potsdam, Bayreuth, Stuttgart, Rothenburg, Lindau and Saxony joined Anja Brokjans, Director, Canada for the German National Tourist Office this week to bring Canadian travel trade media and industry partners up to speed on what’s new for 2024 and 2025.
Anja Brokjans, Director, Canada for the GNTO (photo credit blanchephotographe.com)
The GNTO’s Montreal event alternates with its Toronto event every other year.
LOTS OF LIFT
Flights are key for any overseas destination and Germany benefits from great lift from several Canadian gateways.
Brokjans noted that with 94 direct flights from Canada on Air Canada and Lufthansa, Germany is very well served, from Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Calgary and Vancouver to Frankfurt and Munich.
Getting the latest updates on travel to Germany (photo credit blanchephotographe.com)
While Air Transat does not offer nonstop flights to Germany, this destination remains accessible via Connectair by Air Transat. Thanks to its partnerships with Vueling, EasyJet, Aegean and Jet2, Air Transat travellers have access to 10 German cities: Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Friedrichshafen.
In addition, the German carrier Condor Airlines connects Frankfurt to Canada with 20 seasonal flights per week from Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton, in addition to an annual connection from Toronto.
OVERNIGHT STAYS ARE UP
From 2022 to 2023, overnight stays by Canadians in Germany were up 32.6%. The best part, said Brokjans, is that 2024 looks even more promising, based on the preliminary statistics recorded to date.
Robert Nehr, representing Rothenburg (photo credit blanchephotographe.com)
Of all the options in Europe, Germany’s the fourth country on the list for Canadians looking to travel across the pond, after France, Italy and the UK. Above all, said Brokjans, Canadians prefer culture and heritage (40%), urban life (36%), slow travel (31%), gastronomic discoveries (30%), nature (26%), relaxation by the sea (25%), creative arts (17%) and luxury shopping (11%).
GERMANY ON STAGE
Germany also has one of the richest theatre offerings in the world. The country has no fewer than 80 opera houses and is able to offer 6,000 opera and operetta performances per year.
In addition, Germany’s 6,750 museums welcome no fewer than 114 million visitors per year. For festivals, fashion and lifestyle events, the country of Goethe also has what it takes to hold its own: it has at least 200.
Dr. Manuel Becher with the Bayreuth tourism board (photo credit blanchephotographe.com)
And for gastronomy, the entire country can boast of having 300 restaurants that have earned at least one Michelin star.
And for UNESCO World Heritage sites, Germany comes third with 54 on the list, behind Italy and China.
FROM BERLIN TO SAXONY …
Throughout the Montreal event, delegates offered the latest updates on their destinations, highlighting new features and upcoming events.
Next November, Berlin will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the fall of the infamous Berlin Wall. Meanwhile Potsdam, not far from the German capital, would like to be known and appreciated for its art of living, its museums and its status as the capital of Brandenburg, beyond its famous Sanssouci Palace.
In Saxony, which has inherited a new site on the UNESCO World Heritage List (namely Hernhutt), the opening of the Dresden Puppet Theatre Museum has been announced, as well as the 20th anniversary of the reconstruction of the fabulous Frauenkirche.
Wolfgang Gärtner, representing Saxony (photo credit blanchephotographe.com)
For fans of industrial history, still in Saxony, the city of Oelsnitz has also inaugurated Coalworld, a museum dedicated to the former coal mines. Until January 2025, the 250th birthday of the famous romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich is being celebrated, while next year, the city of Chemnitz will be one of the European capitals of culture, while the 275th anniversary of Bach’s death will be marked in Leipzig. Finally, the Sax Education learning platform has just been launched, allowing travel advisors to learn more about this state through instructive videos.
…. AND FROM ROTHENBURG TO BAYREUTH
If there is one medieval city that you must see in Germany – and even in Europe – it is Rothenburg. A true historical gem, one of the best preserved in Europe, this picture-postcard city is like a real-life fairy tale. Its Christmas market, undoubtedly the most famous in the country, will start earlier this year, Nov. 21.
In a completely different register, Stuttgart continues to surf on its status as the German capital of the automobile, with two museums dedicated to two of its most prestigious brands, Porsche and Mercedes, as well as hotels that adopt this theme, like the surprising V8 Hotel. But the city is also worth a detour for its building designed by Le Corbusier as well as for its municipal library, one of the brightest in Europe.
Mercedes-Benz Museum, Stuttgart
Well-known in Europe but little-known here, the small town of Lindau straddles the border with Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein, or almost. In addition to its own attractions, it serves as a base for a host of neighboring sites: the Rhine Falls (and not the Rhine), the bucolic island of Mainau, the Bregenz Festival and its famous floating stage on Lake Constance, the very mannered monastery of St. Gallen and the spectacular Aescher mountain.
Finally, known for its unmissable festival, which will be in its 113th edition next year, the city of Bayreuth also boasts the most beautiful baroque opera in Europe, the Margravial Opera House, which is among the 10 most visited sites in Germany. These days preparations are also being made for the celebrations surrounding the 150th anniversary of the birth of Wagner, who rests in Bayreuth and whose opera festival is one of the most famous in Europe.
Lindau, Germany
For more information see Germany.travel. The GNTO is represented in Canada by VoX International.
This story originally ran at ProfessionVoyages.com, part of The Travelweek Group
