Tourism : German Embassy: Romania is a fantastic partner in tourism

Romania is a fantastic partner in tourism for us, and Germany has a lot to offer Romanian tourists, Christian Plate, the business attaché of the German Embassy in Bucharest, declared on Thursday at the Annual Press Conference of the German Tourism Organization."Romania is a fantastic partner for us in tourism. There are so many Romanians who not only live permanently in Germany, but also many Romanians who travel to our country. Of course, there are important cultural events, such as Oktoberfest, to which more and more Romanians come. This is a symbol for the relations between the two countries because it shows the interaction between people. And that's what tourism is all about. Traveling somewhere, learning more about that place, learning about other people," said the German diplomat.According to him, it is always difficult to be in Romania, a truly "fantastic" country for tourism, and talk about another "fantastic" place to visit, which is Germany."This year the focus is on cultural tourism and also on sustainable tourism. That's exactly what tourism is about these days, after the pandemic. Germany has a lot to offer, not only our castles, but there are many other places, especially in the cultural field. Of course, we all know what a fantastic place Berlin is for travel, but there is also a place like Museum Island in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, a fantastic museum landscape to see. There is this fantastic combination that Germany has to offer," said Christian Plate.In turn, Cristian Sallai, director of the German Tourism Organization, stated that Germany is the number one tourist destination for several European countries. "When people want to travel abroad, Germany is in first place if we talk about 'overseas' including for China. When Chinese tourists come to Europe, they choose Germany first.According to him, in the world tourism rankings, Germany climbed to 10th place from 11th place. "We are very proud that we are trying to promote the destination through the most sustainable tourist offers and products," explained Cristian Sallai.Statistically, in 2024, there are over 85.24 million overnight stays by foreign tourists in Germany. "In 2019, we had 89.9 million overnight stays by foreign tourists. We have not yet reached the pre-pandemic level. In the first post-pandemic year, we had an increase of almost 19%. Last year there was an increase of 5.4%," said the director of the German Tourism Organization.A survey conducted in October 2024 by the German Tourism Organization on 1,000 respondents from Romania shows that, last year, Romanians stayed over 1.41 million nights in accommodation units in Germany, up 2.1% compared to the previous year.This year, the figures are even more encouraging. Thus, between January and March, there were already over 326,429 overnight stays by Romanian tourists in Germany."Romanians still visit Germany, which is in third place in their preferences, which is quite good considering that Germany also competes with summer & beach destinations," stated Cristian Sallai.