Germany is aiming to increase its share of Indian tourists by 10 percent in 2025. The country expects Indian visitors to stay one million nights this year. Petra Hedorfer of the German National Tourist Board shared her optimistic outlook at a New Delhi Press Conference, where she highlighted Germany’s growing importance as a travel destination for Indian travellers.
In 2023, Germany will have a market share of more than 10% in the Indian travel industry in Europe. In Germany, almost 1 billion euro worth of revenue was generated by Indian visitors last year. In 2023, Germany was the third most popular European destination after France and the United Kingdom.
Hedorfer said:
“I’m quite optimistic that we will achieve 1 million overnight Indian tourist stays this year and 1 lakh additional nights next year. This would mark a 10 percent growth in 2025.”
The average Indian night stay in Germany is 9.3 days. The GNTB revealed that the majority of Indians travel to Germany round-trips, with a stay exceeding four nights on average.
Between January and July of 2024, approximately 175,000 Indians visited Germany. They accounted for 523,076 nights spent in Germany. In 2023 over 232,000 Indians visited the country. This led to an increase of 33 per cent in overnight stays from year to year, totaling 826,000. Germany has seen an earlier recovery in Indian tourism following the pandemic than other Asian countries. The Indian market recovered faster at a pace of 86 percent.
According to IPK International the total turnover for all Indian tourists in Germany by 2023 will be 900 million euros.
Hedorfer said:
“We expect a 10 percent plus increase from your market for next year,”
highlighting the importance of India as an important source market for German tourism. Tourism Economics estimates that Indian travellers will spend 1.6 million nights in Germany every year by the decade’s end.
The presence of Indian trade partners at the recently concluded Germany Travel Mart also reinforced Germany‘s strong appeal to the Indian traveller, said the GNTO official. A survey conducted on-site confirmed that 90 percent of the suppliers, including the Indian participants at the event, were satisfied with the event. The dates and location of the next GTM was also announced.
Germany’s strategic focus includes the relaunch of the India Pool initiative by 2025. The initiative is designed for India to be more visible as a destination. Hedorfer said that the India Pool and targeted marketing activities are helping to bridge the gap between the Indian traveller’s demand and Germany’s tourism offering.
GNTB also organises a high-profile delegation trip, “India Digital Travel Knowledge Tour”, in May 2025. “CEOs of the German travel industry are meeting with forward-looking Indian tech companies and travel agencies to explore collaborations and get insights into the needs of Indian travelers,” she said.
The German Tourism Board is also launching specialised campaigns to attract niche segments like Indian weddings and engaging digital-savvy travellers through initiatives such as the ‘Live Like a Local’ project. Hedorfer said that the German Tourism Board aims to take advantage of the high level of digital competence among Indian tourists by providing personalised, interactive experiences.
She added that a campaign is being planned for ‘Honeymoons in Germany’ to be run exclusively in India. Germany has taken these initiatives to position itself as an important European destination for Indian tourists. The goal is to capitalize on the growing Indian outbound travel market.
