After more than 500 car-themed events and 125 days of celebrations, the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) and Southwestern Germany closed on 10 September a summer dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the automobile invention by Carl Benz. From the opening event on 7 May in Stuttgart to the finale last Saturday in Mannheim, the success of this special occasion, selected by GNTB as one of the key-marketing themes for 2011, has been upheld by the great number of visitors coming from all over the world, including the Arabian Gulf.
Having registered in 2010 an impressive increase of 26.4% of overnight stays as compared to the figures of the previous year, and being Germany the second most visited European country out of this region, the key importance of the Arabian Gulf market for the German tourist industry is fully consolidated. The excellent data regarding GCC citizens travelling to Germany prompted the German National Tourist Office (GNTO), the local affiliate of the GNTB in Dubai, to highlight the summer leitmotiv in the region, where the German iconic car brands retain a strong appeal.
