Track record of the virtualGTM 2020 supports restart for Germany incoming tourism
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – With the conclusion of the virtualGTM 2020 the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) is giving an excellent summary: 450 key accounts of the international tourism industry from 49 countries used the platform to connect and learn about the offers of 250 German partners from the hotel and transportation industry as well as the leisure sector, incoming services and regional tourism organisations and to negotiate for the coming year. With that they arranged more than 5.700 online meetings through the GTM networking tool of the GNTB.
Besides the business and networking platform the participants additionally used the information program with panel discussions and webinars with market insights on the status quo of the German incoming tourism with the latest trends and developments of the big partners in the German tourism industry and the recent and planned marketing campaigns of the GNTB in the next two years.
An onsite evaluation among suppliers and buyers documents the track record of the new format. 90 percent of the participants commented that they are satisfied/very satisfied with the GTM. 84 percent of the participants explained that the GTM is a good/very good platform for business transactions. 92 percent of the participants were able to make new business contacts. 90 percent are planning to attend the GTM again.
Petra Hedorfer, Chairwoman of the GNTB Executive Board, explains “With the realization of the virtualGTM 2020 we took a clear stance for the recovery program for the German incoming tourism. The unexpected high response confirms our decision to develop this virtual market place as an alternative to the physical GTM. 70 percent of the participants already attended former GTM events – the alternative was frequented as much as the real events. And the feedback of the participants shows that the GTM, even as a virtual meeting, has impressively confirmed its position as the biggest sales event for German incoming tourism.”
The originally planned GTM 2020 in Rostock in May was postponed to 2021 in close conjunction between the GTNB and the Mecklenburg-West Pomerania tourist board as host due to Corona.