About 500 representatives from the international tourism industry from 51 countries have arrived in Wiesbaden for the 45th Germany Travel Mart (GTM), which runs from May 12 to 14.

The GTM is organised annually by the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) in cooperation with varying partner regions and partner cities. The state capital of Hesse is hosting the event for the third time after 1977 and 2005.

The GTM is the most important B2B-platform for the German incoming tourism. The heart of the event is the two-day workshop in the RheinMain Congress Centre which was newly opened in 2018. Around 300 suppliers from the hotel industry, transportation as well as local and regional tourism organisations will be presenting their offers to the international expert audience – to about 500 key account manager from the international tourism industry and media representatives from significant source markets for the incoming tourism in Germany. Participants will be able to establish new contacts and intensify existing contacts, engage in expert discussions and close business transactions with German suppliers.

Petra Hedorfer, chief executive officer of the GNTB explained: “Digitalisation, sustainability as well as the appropriate development of offers and infrastructure are the key challenges for the tourism industry within the international competition. Destination Germany is excellently positioned regarding these challenges. The GTM is an excellent platform to place our offer with the international travel industry and to further expand the success of the German incoming tourism.”

Appealing framework program and compact information for multipliers
With a total of nine different pre-convention tours on the days preceding the official opening of the GTM, international guests can discover special touristic offers relevant to the thematic key areas of the GNTB. A workshop program informs on trends and developments for tourism in Germany. At the official opening and the evening of the host city, all participants will experience a representative performance of German hospitality.

Efficient sales event for the German mid-sized sector
The GTM format was created in 1972 through the GNTB and has been constantly developed since then.

“Within the dynamic competition of the destinations but also of the distribution channels, the GTM offers predominantly medium-sized companies of the tourism industry the chance to present themselves effectively to international top decisionmakers,” Hedorfer added. A survey after the GTM in 2018 showed that 98 per cent of the German suppliers were very satisfied or satisfied with their presentation at the event. Due to successful business deals, 83 per cent of the suppliers expressed their intention to participate in the GTM in 2019 again.

Green event
In 2012, the GNTB implemented the GTM as a green event. This year’s event will also take into account certain sustainability aspects. This includes, for example, supporting environmentally friendly arrival and departure of the participants, catering from regional sources, not using disposable tableware and including public transportation as a source of transportation. The GTM 2019 has received the Green Note-“Seal of Approval” again for its concept. - TradeArabia News Service