German National Tourist Board’s new inbound tourism campaign

Inspiration with a focus on customs, traditions and culture

The German National Tourist Board’s German. Local. Culture. the campaign showcases the many facets of German culture – inspiration for city lovers and culture enthusiasts – campaign clusters outline the offering

Attracting 5.2 million trips in 2020, city destinations remained by far the leading segment for inbound tourism to Germany from Europe, despite a significant decline due to the coronavirus pandemic. Trailing behind, at 1.6 million, were tours taking in multiple destinations. Cities also top the list when it comes to travel intentions in 2021, as confirmed by the latest World Travel Monitor analyses carried out by IPK International on behalf of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB). The World Travel Monitor also revealed that interest in sustainable holidays is growing, with 80 per cent of respondents stating that coronavirus is likely to encourage more sustainable tourism.

The GNTB is addressing this demand with German.Local.Culture., a cross-media campaign that aims to provide new inspiration to potential visitors. It highlights exciting facets of German cities such as customs, crafts and local producers, food and drink, culture and architecture, and the countryside and nature on the cities’ doorstep. The campaign draws attention to the many different ways of discovering Destination Germany, once the current travel restrictions have been lifted and taking measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus into account. At the same time, the campaign enhances Germany’s image in the medium and long-term as a destination boasting a wide range of traditions and things to see and do.

Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the GNTB: “The combination of authentic experiences in urban destinations, the cities’ regional roots and the wide range of tourism offerings available in their surrounding areas present opportunities for Destination Germany despite the pandemic. At 33.9 per cent, people who enjoy city life make up the largest group planning to travel again within the next six months, according to research conducted by the European Travel Commission (ETC) in February 2021. We aim to surprise and inspire these potential visitors by providing content that will capture their imagination.”

The heart of the campaign is based on four themes, which pick up on travellers’ main motivations and help them to navigate Germany’s diverse tourism offering.

Flair: From half-timbered architecture to street art: character in German cities

The ‘Flair’ theme showcases a wide range of architectural styles, the local atmosphere in the cities and in the regions in which they are located, and places of particular cultural interest, from areas renowned for their street art to districts with fascinating histories. The campaign features well-known tourism highlights as well as small towns whose regional roots, history or cultural programmes make them particularly interesting to potential travellers to Germany.

Craft: The thrill of discovering time-honoured crafts

The ‘Craft’ campaign highlights how rich and varied Germany’s centuries-old traditions and customs are. Skilled trades handed down through the generations are on show at local producers and in guilds, keeping regional culture and regional identities alive. In many places, visitors can watch the artisans and designers at work and experience an authentic part of Germany.

Taste: Outstanding food and drink that is regional yet cosmopolitan

For more than half of all visitors to Germany, enjoying the country’s typical local and regional food and drink is an essential part of the holiday. The ‘Taste’ theme picks up on this particular interest.  It features a young generation of restaurateurs and chefs who are giving traditional German cuisine a modern twist. The campaign also showcases wines from Germany’s 13 winegrowing regions and beers from the country’s more than 1,500 breweries.

Green: Exploring cities and the great outdoors in a sustainable way

Sustainability is a global megatrend. In terms of travel planning, this means that international visitors are looking for sustainable offerings in cities and are combining the cultural experiences on offer there with opportunities to explore the surrounding regions and the great outdoors. Or they are opting for a holiday in the countryside and are using eco-friendly transport to explore the cities. The ‘Green’ theme focuses on Germany’s wide choice in this area.

Deutsche Zentrale für Tourismus event held in Belgrade on June 16th 2021; Maja Lunic and Cristian Sallai

Partners are supporting the campaign’s implementation

The GNTB is complementing the themes of its campaign through additional marketing collaborations with its partners in Germany’s inbound tourism industry. The marketing packages also provide the partners with further opportunities to present themselves in the attractive environment of the campaign. Partners in the German.Local.Culture. campaign are Bremer Touristik-Zentrale, the German Wine Institute, Romantic Rhine Tourism, Stuttgart Marketing, and Investment and Marketing Corporation Saxony-Anhalt.


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.

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