Beatrix Haun, UK and Ireland head at the German National Tourist Office, will be leaving the tourism board after more than 40 years.
She has been in charge of the UK and Ireland office in London for the past six years and has also promoted Germany as a destination in markets such as France and Austria.
Replacing her in January is Harald Henning, currently branch office director for the GNTO in Switzerland.
The GNTO said: “She departs with our heartfelt gratitude and best wishes for her future happiness back in Germany.”
Henning commented: “The UK and Ireland are key markets for incoming tourism to Germany and having lived and worked in the UK previously, I am very excited to be taking over such important markets as director of the London GNTO branch.
“I am looking forward to promoting Destination Germany in collaboration with our trade, media and marketing partners to increase incoming visitor numbers and brand awareness in the upcoming years.
“For 2023, we are determined to build on the recovery in visitor numbers that we have seen in 2022. We have a number of exciting marketing campaigns and inspiring annual themes in the pipeline and are further developing our ever increasing portfolio of sustainable travel options available, which is fantastic.
“In general, we are hopeful that this will lead to further recovery in and continuous growth of visitor numbers to Germany over the next few years.”
The tourist board said its marketing activities for 2023 and beyond will underline the country’s green credentials as travellers are “more discerning when selecting environmentally sound destinations”.
It added: “Travel from the UK to Germany has seen a slow but steady stabilisation. Still below the heady 2019 numbers, overnight stays by UK travellers between January and September 2022 have reached only 60% and from the Republic of Ireland 40%, of their respective 2019 results.
“However, industry experts are convinced that demand is on the rise – despite many post-pandemic challenges such as inflation and price rises across the board.”
Germany has again taken the top spot in the Anholt Ipsos Nation Brands Index (NBI) 2022, with Japan and Canada in second and third position.
NBI determines the brand value of 60 countries using six sub-indicators: exports, government, culture, people, tourism and immigration/investments.
“The top position means that travel destination Germany can build on an excellent image – even under volatile conditions such as the aftermath of the corona pandemic and geopolitical conflicts,” said the GNTO.