ERFURT, Germany — The 41st German Travel Mart (GTM) kicked off in Erfurt this week. The annual event is the GNTO’s key trade show and conference aimed at showcasing the German travel industry to international travel buyers and journalists from over 45 countries.

Canadian tour operators attending GTM include LomaVer Tours (represented at GTM by Herbert Wolfe), Connaissance Travel and Tours (Vincent Veerasuntharam) and Royal Scenic Holidays (Denis D’Souza). All said their principal focus was preparing product for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.

Erfurt is the capital of the Free State of Thuringia, known as the geographic, cultural and emotional heartland of modern Germany.  Many of Germany’s most important musicians, poets and philosophers have called the region home, from Johann Sebastian Bach, Goethe, Liszt and Martin Luther. It’s also the birthplace of the Reformation which celebrates its 500th anniversary in 2017. Germany is also making plans for 2020, the 250th anniversary of the birth of Beethoven.

Local attractions include the Wartburg Castle, Hainich National Park and the nearby town of Weimar.

After some 45 years behind the Iron Curtain this and surrounding regions emerged with the reunification of Germany, after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.  After significant efforts and expenditures to restore this region to its historical position within Germany and the world, Thuringia has become a less frenetic destination within 21st century Germany focusing on its cultural and historical past.

For further information contact Antje Splettstoesser, the GNTO’s Director, Marketing & Sales, Canada at antje.splettstoesser@germany.travel.