Abstract
This paper describes a proposal for conducting a research to determine the effective marketing strategies that would enable GNTB to attract Japanese tourists to Germany. This paper provides overviews on the organization’s profile, including its revenue and profit and its products and services. It then provides a brief description of the current undesired situation as well as the desired future situation and how the research will be conducted.
Organizational Profile
The GNTB (German National Tourist Board) (GNTB, 2014) works on behalf of the German federal government to promote Germany as a travel destination for Japanese tourists. Founded in 1948 (Bloomberg, 2014), it has 147 full-time employees and 20 apprentices or trainees (GNTB, n.d.).
Overview of the Organization’s Revenue and Profit
The exact revenue that Germany gained from its tourism industry cannot be determined as this consists of various sectors and sub-industries such as the hotel industry, the transportation industry, the airline industry, and others (Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, 2012). As such, to provide an overview of the growth of Germany’s tourism industry, the following information shows the number of international overnight stays by visitors from abroad:
In 2010, Germany also had a market share of 7 percent in total overnight stays by foreign visitors in the European Union (GNTB, 2013b).
Products and Services
GNTB provides destination management services to international tourists and its product is Germany as a vacation land (Arabian Travel Market, n.d.). It works with the German travel industry and with partners from trade and ecommerce associations in the development of new marketing concepts and strategies on specific attractions, events, and themes (GNTB, 2014).
Current Undesired Situation
Despite the continuous growth being experienced by Germany’s tourism industry, Germany still falls behind countries such as Spain and France (GNTB, 2011). With regards to the Japanese market, Germany ranks third after Italy and France. Worldwide, the US would be the top preferred travel destination by the Japanese.
Future Desired Situation
In the future desired situation, Germany will be the top preferred destination of Japanese tourists, with Japan being the biggest Asian outbound market that is mostly crisis-resistant in 2013 (GNTB, 2013b).
What will be Researched
The effective marketing strategies for GNTB will be determined by investigating the factors that make a tourist destination appealing to Japanese tourists and what their needs and preferences are. The research will also investigate how these needs and preferences can be best met. In addition, the research will examine the marketing strategies employed by other countries, which enable them to attract Japanese tourists.
Research Methods
Desk research (online research, articles, and reports) will be conducted to determine the factors that Japanese tourists find appealing in their vacation destinations. On the other hand, a systematic review and desktop research will be conducted for determining the marketing strategies being employed by other countries, as well as for determining the marketing strategies that can be proposed for satisfying the needs and preferences of the Japanese tourists.
International Aspect to the Research
GNTB promotes Germany to tourists worldwide, making the research international.
Company Supervisor
<Name, job title, e-mail address, and mobile phone number of the company supervisor>
References
Arabian Travel Market. (n.d.). German National Tourist Board (GNTB). Retrieved from
http://www.arabiantravelmarket.com/en/Exhibitors/250137/German-National-Tourist-
Office-GNTO/Products/670310/Germany-does-you-good-health-wellness.
Bloomberg. (2014). Deutsche Zentrale Fuer Tourismus Ev DZT German National Tourist Board
GNTB Office. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/profiles/companies/
6455487Z:GR-deutsche-zentrale-fuer-tourismus-ev-dzt-german-national-tourist-board-
gntb-offic.
Eurostat Newsrelease. (2013). Tourism in the EU27: Spain, Italy and France: top destinations for
holiday trips abroad of EU27 residents in 2011. Retrieved from
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/4-15042013-BP/EN/4-15042013-
BP-EN.PDF.
Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. (2012, February). The economic impact of
Germany’s tourism industry. Retrieved from
http://www.bmwi.de/English/Redaktion/Pdf/the-economic-impact-of-germanys-tourism-
industry,property=pdf,bereich=bmwi2012,sprache=en,rwb=true.pdf.
GNTB. (2011). 2011 annual report. Retrieved from
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/1c7a2b66#/1c7a2b66/1.
GNTB. (2012). 2012 Annual report. Retrieved from
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/21311126#/21311126/1.
GNTB. (2013a). GNTB annual report two thousand thirteen. Retrieved from
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/a080b17d#/a080b17d/1.
GNTB. (2013b). Incoming-tourism Germany: Edition 2013. Retrieved from
http://www.germany.travel/media/pdf/
ueber_uns_2/DZT_Incoming_GTM13_en_web.pdf.
GNTB. (2014). The GNTB. Retrieved from http://www.germany.travel/en/germany/about-
us/the-gntb/the-gntb.html.
GNTB. (n.d.). German National Tourist Board (GNTB). Retrieved from
http://www.arabiantravelmarket.com/__novadocuments/46321?v=635284161502630000.
