Germany In The Spotlight

In this week’s edition of Travel Courier, Ian Stalker reports that the German National Tourist Office has chosen a Canadian director who was well familiar with this country even before her current posting. And Antje Splettstoesser notes her taking on the job comes on the eve of Lufthansa preparing yet another Canadian route, making her homeland even more accessible for many Canadians.

Splettstoesser’s been in this country for five years, first working for the Toronto-based German Canadian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, after which she worked for a company involved in inbound travel, a position she notes had her crisscrossing Canada and meeting people in this country’s tourist trade.

“It’s definitely an advantage,” she says of the previous position preparing her for her current job.

Germany last year saw some 624,000 overnight visits by Canadians and the tourist office is hoping to see 5% yearly growth from this country.

Tourist officials are promoting a variety of themes to attract visitors, such as the life of pivotal religious figure Martin Luther.

“We have so much history, so much arts and culture,” Splettstoesser says.

Splettstoesser also notes that June 5 will see Lufthansa launch a daily Toronto-Munich route that will continue into late October, the first time Lufthansa aircraft will have linked the two cities. Air Canada also offers the route and Splettstoesser says Lufthansa’s upcoming service will make reaching Germany “more convenient,” with people able to choose from either Star Alliance carrier.

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