German tourism woos visitors from China
Print Edition
Germany is a country with many facets.
In addition to its prominence as a world-class manufacturer and a top financial market, the country enjoys a bustling tourism industry built on war relics, historical retrospectives and a modern, youth-oriented culture.
More Chinese travelers are expected to visit Germany, rattling the food chain of tourism services. Market participants are developing language support for Chinese tourists and organizing festival-related promotions aimed at Chinese visitors.
Data with the German tourist bureau showed that China has already become Germany’s largest source of tourists in Asia, and the number of overnight travelers increased nearly 20 percent last year from 2013.
Meanwhile, the average single purchase from Chinese shoppers was 575 euros (US$659), with special interest in cooking utensils and luxury products.
Data from McArthurGlen Group, which manages 20 outlets across Europe, showed that consumption from Chinese travelers jumped 35 percent in 2014 from a year ago.
Apparent aware of the potential, the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet located on the outskirts of Berlin, is quick to introduce special discounts during Chinese holiday periods around the year, complete with Chinese-style decor.
Frankfurt Airport, a hub in Germany, has increased its Chinese language support team to 10 from seven. The Hilton Frankfurt Airport and Hilton Garden Inn hotels in the airport complex are installing Chinese-language booking websites.
“The Chinese market has been increasingly important especially since the past two years,” said Oliver Karpf, Business Development Coordinator at Hilton Frankfurt Airport & Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport. “We are making continuous efforts to serve Chinese travelers better with language support and special arrangements.”
Lufthansa, Germany’s largest airliner, has considered China the second largest long-distant flight market in the world after the US, and spare no efforts in introducing the latest cabin update on Chinese flights.
“China is the market of the future,”Armin Herzwurm, China chief representative of Lufthansa, told Shanghai Daily at the company’s Frankfurt headquarters. “Increasing leisure travel has turned China into Lufthansa’s second most important market for long-distance flights, after the US. We are committed to increasing investment and cooperation in the market.”
Airline Lufthansa this year introduced “Premium Economy class” in China, the first new class the company has added in 35 years. It allows passengers twice the baggage allowance, 50 percent more legroom, extra in-flight amenities and access to the airline’s business lounges.
The airlines are essentially killing three birds with one stone.
On one hand, the new class brings higher margins than economy class in a market hurt by cooling demand for first class, the most profitable class.
On the other hand, Premium Economy may appeal to business travelers whose employers won’t pay for business class travel. That may especially affect the Chinese market since the government started an anti-extravagance campaign more than two years ago.
More generally, the new class has proved to be a benefit for revenue as airliners that previously had the class, including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and China Southern Airlines, had seen profits rise partly due to the new product.
For the Chinese market, the airline said it expects to complete the installation of Premium Economy class and a new business class into all fleets this year.
Currently, the upgrade to Premium Economy is available on flights departing from Beijing and Shanghai. The new class involves 32 seats in the four front rows of a Boeing 747-8 aircraft.
“As with many other markets, growth in China is driven more by leisure traveling than by business travel,”said Herzwurm. “Changes in the cabin need to be made to meet the trends.”
He said Lufthansa is also committed to increasing investment in China by lifting the frequency of flights to cities such as Nanjing, and by adding direct flights from emerging areas in western China, such as Chengdu.
Lufthansa has also been in talks with state-owned Air China to form a joint venture to enhance the duo’s presence in Asian-Europe flights.
And at the Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin, an iconic 108-year old hotel overlooking the Brandenburg Gate, the hotel’s current managing director, Emile Bootsma, draws on his experience as general manager of the Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Center for two years until 2010.
The hotel has a legendary history of hosting guests such as Kaiser Wilhelm II, Charlie Chaplin, Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann and Michael Jackson.
Bootsma said his experience in China impressed upon him the great potential of Chinese visitors.
“China taught me a lot and had an ongoing influence on my career,” Bootsma said. “For example, I learned in China that numbers and colors have a different meaning for people, and that makes me more sensitive to the expectations of Chinese guests. I’ve learned to look at things from different perspectives.”
The hotel now has an Asian restaurant, the Sra Bua, run by Michelin-starred chef Tim Raue.
“Chinese guests are first and foremost looking for a European experience when they travel in Europe,” Bootsma said. “But, of course, we strive to offer familiar fare, too.”
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