Germany to invest ₹4.5 cr in India to promote tourism

New Delhi: Amid visa woes, Germany has earmarked an investment of about ₹4.5 crore on marketing activities in India, to showcase itself as the preferred destination to Indian tourists. Last year, too, it had earmarked a similar amount but spent less than anticipated.

Germany is also working to speed up the visa process, which is still taking up to eight weeks, said Georg Enzweiler, deputy head of mission, German Embassy.

“Visa is an important issue and getting better with application times is important, but sometimes bureaucracy takes time. To cope with an increased number of applications, we have increased our staff in Mumbai. It still roughly takes eight weeks right now to get a visa and we are hoping this will get better, But bureaucracy takes time,” he said.

He added that the country had a disproportionately higher number of tourist applications from India since it is one of the most popular nations in the Schengen countries. As a result, it has changed rules for visa application from India. Unlike earlier, those travelling can apply for a visa from any domestic centre from the VFS Global offices around the country.

Germany had 6.23 lakh room nights from Indians in 2022. and expects to hit the 2019 number of 10 lakh by the end of 2023. It counts its numbers in room nights in hotel accommodations of a minimum of three nights because, for a Schengen country, it is difficult to calculate which port a traveller entered through. This number does not consider about 20% of travellers who visit friends and family or stay in alternate accommodations like Airbnb.

The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) is headed by Romit Theophilus. The board works on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action to represent Germany as a tourist destination and is funded by the ministry in accordance with a decision taken by the German Bundestag.

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