“I have made a strategic decision to focus more on the Irish market,” Klaus Lohmann, Director UK & Ireland, German National Tourist Office, has told Irish Travel Trade News (see full interview in the May issue). “We will be getting out there and discussing more about what Germany has to offer with Irish tour operators and travel agents. For example, we invited Steven Fuery of PAB Travel and Marco Piccoli of Topflight for Schools to come to this year’s Germany Travel Mart.”
Steven Fuery later told Irish Travel Trade News: “This was my first time to visit the Germany Travel Mart and our 4-star hotel was centrally located right opposite the main railway station and the tram, which took us to the main venue, the new Leipzig Exhibition Centre, in 25 minutes. I was surprised at this modern, well-run venue – it gave the impression of space, light and, in the heat of the day, was not hot at all.
“I was well pleased with the quality of the stands. The brief that I had set myself was to meet new travel partners, to educate myself on the possibility of new products (other than the Christmas markets) that I felt would be attracted to the Irish market, and to make new contacts with whom we could work in 2013. I am pleased to say that this was done and I am currently going through the stock of information – all of it quite high quality – and fitting together the products that we have chosen to follow up on.
“I missed the organised tours because of the limited time I had, but I did manage to visit the city on my own and I must say that I was really surprised at the friendliness of the locals, and the shops in Leipzig were superb. Also, one felt comfortable walking back to the hotel through the city each evening – not like here at home in Dublin.”
