Germany, Australia and Orange County in the chase for Gulf tourists

Come and visit us, they say, hoping to lure Middle East visitors' money with sights including castles old (like the winner in Bavaria, above) and new (like Sleeping Beauty's at Disneyland).

Gulf tourists to Germany are among the highest spenders, spending €600 a day. Above, tourists on a viewing platform in front of Neuschwanstein Castle near Hohenschwangau, Germany. Karl-Josef HildenbraShow more

Australia, Germany and now even US counties are wooing tourists from the Arabian Gulf states.

Representatives from those two countries as well as Orange County, California – home of three million people, plus Mickey Mouse – were in Dubai yesterday to promote themselves as desirable destinations.

First up was Germany.

On the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and with an increasing number of Gulf tourists to Germany, the euro-zone’s strongest economy showcased its cities, medical facilities and hotels.

Gulf tourists to Germany are among the highest spenders, along with Russians and Chinese guests, spending €600 (Dh3,038) a day. And they tend to stay from a week to a month.

“The UAE is an important country in the region to promote Germany because we need more relations to the region and too many German companies are here,” said Adnan Ben Abdallah, the marketing manager for Gulf countries at the German National Tourist Office. “And the UAE and the region are important also for their modernity and diversity.”

There are an estimated 1,000 German companies in the UAE, while about 12,000 German nationals live in the country.

Last year, Gulf tourists accounted for 1.5 million overnight stays in Germany, an increase of 20 per cent over the previous year. That was up from 300,000 overnight stays in 2006.

Mr Ben Abdallah said his office is already receiving an increased number of inquiries from UAE visitors on events being planned to commemorate the fall of the Wall.

Australia, for its part, is riding the back of a successful Qantas and Emirates tie-up last year, promoting itself as a destination for both investors and tourists.

“Australia is not a high return investment destination, but it has a low-risk investment environment,” said Pablo Kang, the Australian ambassador to the UAE and Qatar.

He noted that there are currently 126 flights a week between the UAE and Australia and the number will soon rise to 133.

While the UAE ranks number 21 in the list of top source markets for visitors to Australia, it ranks among the highest in terms of spending per trip along with other Gulf countries, China and the United States.

Last year, 119,000 visitors from the Middle East and North Africa came to Australia, a rise of 7 per cent. Of these, 50,000 were from the UAE.

“We are looking at investment in Australia’s infrastructure projects such as roadways and bridges, agriculture, including farmland, food production as well as logistics, and energy and mining,” said Gerard Seeber, the Australian consul general to Dubai and senior trade commissioner for Mena.

Not to be left behind, California’s Orange County, the sixth most populous county in the US, opened a tourist office in Dubai. The Orange County Visitors’ Association is the first US regional tourist organisation to have a permanent office here. With its five-member team, the tourist board would aim to attract more UAE and other Gulf nationals to the county.

“Emirati and Saudi visitor numbers are increasing and many of them are there for medical tourism, staying for 30 days,” said Ed Fuller, the association’s president and chief executive.

The county includes the city of Anaheim, home to Disneyland, where cartoon characters including Mickey Mouse and Goofy roam the streets.

While Orange County received 43.8 million tourists last year, only about 10 to 15 per cent were from outside the US. Of those, Chinese, Mexican and Canadian visitors topped the list.

In 1994, Orange County was the first US county to declare bankruptcy.

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