Willkommen: Germany opens borders to international leisure & business

Fully vaccinated international travellers can now visit Germany quarantine free

Dubai, UAE, 20 June, 2021 –The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) has confirmed the resumption of international tourism with the country opening to global travellers under existing visa regulations, including those from across the GCC, from 25 June 2021.

“Opening our borders to international visitors ahead of the summer travel period is vital for the domestic tourism ecosystem and we anticipate Germany being recognised as a go to travel destination this year,” said Yamina Sofo, Director of Sales and Marketing of the German National Tourist Office Gulf Countries. “During the past few months, we have been working closely with our travel partners across the region to ensure Germany remains top of mind once borders reopen.”

To ensure tourism remains safe for all, visitors are required to register at www.einreiseanmeldung.de to gain entry, which includes uploading proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in digital or paper form (e.g. WHO vaccination booklet) with a vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). This must also be printed and carried as proof. Vaccines approved include Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. A period of at least 14 days must have elapsed since receiving the last vaccine dose.

For full entry requirements, visitors are advised to refer to www.bmi.bund.de.

Those travelling from countries with variant concerns are unable to transit through Germany to another European country. Travellers must check with the individual German federal state they plan to visit as all have different rules to follow prior to arrival.

“Germany has a wealth of summer activities for international travellers, from spa and wellness breaks, and nature trails through forests, to city-based culinary experiences and cultural explorations across multiple regions,” Sofo added.

With over a third of Germany covered in woodlands and forests, travellers can enjoy a plethora of outdoor activities, including hiking through the Black Forest in Baden-Baden, taking in the views of Neuschwanstein Castle (which inspired the famous Disney castle), or strolling through the Bavarian Forest National Park.

Keep up-to-date with the latest information on German Tourism by visiting www.germany.travel.

ENDS

About the GNTB

The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) is Germany’s national tourism organisation. It works on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) to represent Germany as a tourist destination and is funded by the Ministry in accordance with a decision taken by the German Bundestag. Working closely with the German travel industry and private-sector partners and trade associations, the GNTB develops strategies and marketing campaigns to promote Germany’s positive image abroad as a tourist destination and to encourage tourists to visit the country.

The GNTB has a three-pronged recovery strategy for overcoming the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic:

• Raising awareness of the Destination Germany brand and enhancing the brand profile
• Supporting the travel industry, which is dominated by small and medium-sized businesses, through relationship management and the sharing of knowledge   
• Developing evidence-based action plans on the basis of targeted market research and ongoing analysis of the impact of coronavirus.

During this crisis, the GNTB is using countercyclical marketing to maintain dialogue with customers, it is reflecting changing preferences in its communications, and it is showing empathy and providing inspiration.

Focus on digitalisation and sustainability.

The GNTB promotes forward-looking and sustainable tourism in line with the objectives of the German government. The focus here is on digitalisation and sustainability. The GNTB is a pioneer when it comes to using immersive technologies (virtual, augmented and mixed reality), voice assistants and other conversational interfaces, and artificial intelligence applications such as chatbots. To ensure that tourism offerings are visible on AI-based marketing platforms, the GNTB coordinates the German tourism industry’s open-data project, which aims to develop a tourism knowledge graph.

Sustainability has been a core overarching topic for more than a decade and we engage with it as a strategic issue across all areas of the organisation. Our organisation follows a three-pillar strategy that combines the sharing of knowledge with external partners and a supporting communications strategy with our internal sustainability initiative. The GNTB promotes responsible tourism, a key growth area, by showcasing Germany as a sustainable and inclusive destination in the international travel market. This is particularly important as the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the global shift in travellers’ values towards greater social and environmental responsibility.

The GNTB has 27 foreign agencies that cover more than 40 markets around the world. Its head office in Frankfurt, Germany, is home to strategic departments such as Business Intelligence, Business Development and Brand Communications for Destination Germany.

Further information can be found in our online press center at www.germany.travel/presse. To download press pictures, please register via: https://dam.germany.travel

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For further information, please contact:

Emma Patterson / Yara Hamdan

 germantourism@actionprgroup.com, +971 50 8212091