Southern Austria & Germany a draw for South-east Asians

SOUTH-EAST Asians are becoming increasingly enamoured with Southern Austria and Germany, according to Munich-based destination-marketing consortium Jewels of Romantic Europe.

The alliance, which was formed 12 years ago, comprises of Bayern Tourismus Marketing (Bavaria Tourism), Zugspitze-Top Of Germany, Salt Mine Berchtesgaden, Prien at Lake Chiemsee, Munich Tourist Office, Munich Airport, KulturGut AG, Tirol Tourist Board, Innsbruck Tourist Office, Swarovski Crystal Worlds and Salzburg Tourism.

Florian Pötsch, head of travel industry and hub marketing, business division aviation, Munich Airport, last week told an audience of travel agents and tour operators in Singapore that South-east Asia was now the “fastest-growing market for the Bavaria-Tirol-Salzburgerland region, expanding at a rate of three to six times greater than all other sources”.

Pötsch said the number of overnight stays made by South-east Asians travelling to Bavaria rose by 15.1 per cent, Tirol by 20.9 per cent and Salzburg by 36 per cent in the first seven months of the year, compared to the same period last year.

Comparatively, other segments had grown by only “six to 12 per cent on average”, he added.

According to Ralf Zednik, director of sales at the Department of Labour and Economic Development, City of Munich Tourist Office, South-east Asian markets such as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, alongside mainland China, Taiwan, South Korea and Australia, were the primary targets for the alliance.

“The alliance supports agents in South-east Asia in various forms – including marketing, public relations, as well as monetary contributions where we see fit,” said Zednik.

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