Most Chinese only know Germany for its beer, sausages and soccer. German tourism bureaus and operators want to expand that knowledge and attract more Chinese tourists with excellent service and colorful tourism products.

"China is important to Germany as a traveling nation with its growing wealth and eagerness to travel," says Constanze Hilgers, director of destination management with the German National Tourist Board, a national marketing organization promoting Germany as a destination globally.
 

Together with representatives from other tourism marketing organizations in Germany, Hilgers recently traveled to Beijing and Shanghai to promote her country.

Since 2009, overnight stays by Chinese in Germany have increased greatly to nearly 1.6 million in 2012, followed by Japanese at 1.3 million.

In 2012, the most visited regions by Chinese travelers in Germany were Bavaria, Hesse, Baden-Wuerttemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin.Chinese are leading the statistics in shopping. The biggest revenue from tax-free goods in Germany came from China last year, with a share of 32 percent," she says.

The German National Tourist Board is investing in online travel agencies, because online platforms in China have potential for growth.

Li Zhaohui, director of GNTB's Beijing office, says to promote Germany as a destination among Chinese, it's important to work with travel agencies and airlines.

According to Li, GNTB has more than 3,000 travel agency contacts in China in its database. It has developed close relationships with some important travel agencies in gateway cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Hilgers is quite confident about the Chinese market and says they are expecting 2.2 million overnight stays from China in 2020.