GERMANY TOURISM ADMINISTRATIVE AND TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION

Germany is a federal state. The Federal Government is primarily responsible for establishing an appropriate policy environment for tourism. The 16 Länder (states) are responsible for the actual development, shaping and promotion of tourism.

The Federal-Länder-Committee on Tourism serves as the main platform for co-operation.

The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy has the lead responsibility for tourism policy within the German Government.

The Federal Government’s Commissioner for Tourism is responsible for co-ordinating tourism policy within the Federal Government and with the German Parliament (Bundestag), especially with the Tourism Committee.

The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy gets support from the Advisory Council on Issues of Tourism which brings together the interests of government, commerce, academia, the local authority bodies and the business associations.

The coordination of tourism policy between the Federal Government and the Länder takes place in the Federal-Länder Committee chaired by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The Federal-Länder-Committee on Tourism meets twice a year, fostering the exchange of information and the co-ordination of measures involving more than one of the Länder.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is the central contact point for the many tourism business associations and service providers. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy regularly works with business associations representing the tourism industry to implement projects aimed at improving the competitiveness and innovation of key players in the tourism industry.

Major business associations and organisations (selection):

• BTW (Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry – umbrella association for the German tourism industry)
• DEHOGA/IHA (German Hotel and Restaurant Association – with 75,000 members, one of the largest business associations in Germany)
• DRV (German Travel Association - leading lobby group of the German tourism sector, namely tour operators and travel agencies)

 The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) is responsible for marketing tourism abroad. It represents Germany throughout the world as a destination for holidays, business travel and visits to friends and family. It operates on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, from which it receives the majority of its funding. The GNTB, with over 30 foreign offices worldwide, works closely with the tourism marketing organisations of the 16 Länder and co-operates throughout the world with the German Chambers of Commerce Abroad, the Overseas Trade Exhibition Division of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and AUMA, the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry.