Germany for leisure - you're kidding, right?

TRAVEL: Why Indians in Berlin haven't made the transition from business travellers to leisure travellers.

Blame it on the German National Tourist Office, which didn't feel the need to woo Indians to Germany "" enough were travelling as it were. But on holiday? Perish the thought.

Indians to Germany have been going for business, pure and simple, and its image as a cut-and-dry destination hasn't done much to lure those looking for more indulgent pursuits.

What's got most people there in droves is the trade marts, such as ITB, Berlin, AutoMechanica, GTM, or the Frankfurt Book Fair, which concluded this weekend with a major showing from partner country India.

But all this will change, promises Natasha Chandok, who heads the recently opened German National Tourist Office in New Delhi.

With the huge volume of Lufthansa seats on offer from Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore, it's hardly surprising that the number of Indian visitors to Germany grew from 1.1 lakh in 2005 to an impressive 1.5 lakh by July 2006.

Only 33 per cent of those were Indians travelling on business, insists Chandok. And the reason GNTO is here is because "there is a huge growth in Indians travelling outside". The office now wants to build up numbers from the Indian market. "Our plan is to target families and children and extend business traffic into leisure."

With awareness levels in India about Germany still very low, Chandok is planning "joint promotions with our partners from Germany. In 2007, each city of Germany will come and promote itself in India," she says.

Already, though, Berlin Tourismus is here with Berlin Airports on a multi-city roadshow. The strategy is to expand relations with tour operators and travel agents in India, says Jana Wohlert, director market management, Berlin Tourismus.

Berlin draws fewer Indian visitors, with only 7,300 overnighters in 2003, and dwindling to insignificance thereafter. But like the rest of Germany, Berlin too is keen to welcome Indians to this city of culture, events (1,500 daily) and shopping.

And Simon R Miller of Berlin Airports believes it is his domain that might be the reason for Indians packing into the German capital. Berlin is connected by 14 low cost carriers that connect it to places such as Barcelona for as little as Euro 19.

Indian travellers, he says, could use Berlin as a hub to get around Europe the low cost way. And after negotiations with Jet Airways, Kingfisher, Air Sahara and Indian, who knows, there might even be a direct India-Berlin flight some time soon.

Some inexpensive fun "" now who would have thought Germany had that to offer too?