THE GERMAN National Tourist Office says an initiative to work closer with the UK trade has led to a 13% rise in operators featuring the country.
A total of 285 companies now include Germany in their programmes, which accounts for 38% of all UK operators.
Trade sales representative Michael Helmerish said the GNTO had offered several cultural themes to help operators build programmes.
These have included a campaign called In the Footsteps of Knights and Princes, which promotes castles and palaces, and making 1999 a year dedicated to the German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Next year the GNTO will be promoting Expo 2000 in Hanover and celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of the composer Johann Sebastian Bach.
“As a direct result of our trade support campaign, more tour operators offer Germany, and many are planning to expand their programmes,” explained Helmerish.
The GNTO has reported a 10% increase in overnight stays in the first quarter of 1999 to nearly 638,000, and is forecasting an 8%-10% increase for the whole year.
Helmerish admitted the number of visitors had fallen from 480 the previous year, explaining that many people had been attending trade events in Hong Kong and South Africa at the time.