Destination Germany roadshow comes to Toronto

A focus on summertime visits and the introduction of the German National Tourist Office's new Canadian director were among the highlights of the 2018 Destination Germany roadshow, which touched down in Toronto last night (Sept. 10).

In addition to showcasing their suppliers, the show was also an opportunity to meet Julia Dywelski, the German National Tourist Office's new director, marketing and sales office Canada, who is working towards bringing Germany forward as a destination.

“In 2018, Germany saw an increase of 3.5 per cent from Canada and we want to continue to work with the tour operators as it’s so great that they’ve been constantly adding Tourism Germany to their portfolios," said Dywelski. "We also want to work together to promote certain areas and make travel agencies understand that Germany within Europe is a great destination. Not only a destination in itself, but a great destination to combine with other places. It’s so easy to get around in Germany, which I think sometimes is underrated.”

Germany going viral

Next year, Germany will feature a huge viral campaign on German summer cities, highlighting the lesser-known romantic cities and cities by the water, to showcase how beautiful Germany can be during the warmer months.

“You have the big cities like Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt and they do great things, but we also want people to see the smaller cities," Dywelski said. "I lived in Heidelberg for many years and it’s this insanely beautiful city, it’s like a postcard; the area is clean and lush with wineries. We want to try and promote Germany as a whole because it’s such a diverse country.”

Some exciting events on the horizon include the celebration of 100 years of Bauhaus, (a German art school operational from 1919-1933) in 2019.

In addition to 2,000 hotel rooms being added in 2019 in Hamburg, the newest structure is the Elbphilharmonie concert hall, costing $800 million to build.

In 2020, celebrations for Beethoven’s 250th birthday will take place. And located 60 miles from Munich in Oberammergau, the town's eponymous passion play will be performed on an open-air stage from May-October 2020. This only takes place once every ten years.

New look for Lufthansa

Lufthansa’s account manager, Wael Seif, was on site to share that their crane logo was designed exactly 100 years ago. On this special anniversary, they’ve made some changes featuring a new design that will dominate the skies. Considering how large Lufthansa’s fleet is, it will take eight years before all the aircrafts are painted with the new design. Lufthansa’s aircrafts have also installed 7,000 new lie-flat seats in business class in 106 aircrafts, over a one-billion-dollar investment.

For more details on Germany, visit: http://www.germany.travel