MORE independent travellers from China are now heading to Germany, and the recently relaxed visa regulations for Chinese nationals are likely to spur the leisure segment even further.
In 4Q2012, the German Embassy in China outsourced its visa application process to TLScontact in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenyang and Guangzhou, according to Li Zhaohui, German National Tourist Office’s (GNTO) director, marketing & sales office China/Beijing. With this, Chinese nationals no longer have to undergo interviews for a German visa and they can now submit their applications via additional means such as post or a third party, she explained.
Said Li: “Besides that, Germany features five direct flights from China, while the country’s self-drive tours and Deutsche Bahn trains will certainly help to lure more FIT traffic from China.”
GNTO will push online deals such as fly-stay packages with OTAs and promotions through Chinese social media websites. Next year, Germany will aim to win the hearts of China’s under-30s – people who are more in tune with Western culture, possess a better command of English and have more disposable income.
In the first seven months of 2012, Germany received 851,997 overnight stays originating from China, a 20.4 per cent year-on-year increase. Visa applications made by Chinese FITs are also on the rise – 3,855 German visas were issued last year to independent travellers in Beijing, almost twice the number issued to groups.
German tourism suppliers have also observed the rise of Chinese FITs. Care Insurance Agency, which specialises in European tours with call centres staffed by Chinese expats across the European Union, has noted a greater uptake of its services by China’s white-collar professionals, according to its Shanghai general manger, Esther Liu. She said: “Chinese agencies used to dominate our bookings, but we have seen a 30 per cent spike in bookings from Chinese FITs since last year.”
