DUBAI — The German National Tourist Board is going virtual with the biggest incoming workshop for Destination Germany from June 22 to 24. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the GNTB in close cooperation with the tourism association of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as the hosting state have decided to move the physical Germany Travel Mart (GTM) to 2021. Petra Hedorfer, chairwoman of the GNTB Executive Board, explained: “In order to foster and further enhance the key contacts of our partners of Germany tourism with international buyers and multipliers, we are going to offer the GTM in the form of a digital event this year. With this we are building a bridge for the recovery programs for 2020/2021 and the next physical GTM.” Tobias Woitendorf, director of the TMV, further elaborated: “We are already looking forward to welcome the key accounts of the international travel industry to the physical GTM from April 25 to April 27, 2021 in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The preparations for 2021 have already begun. We will use the virtual GTM 2020 to present our federal state with a webinar on the destination.” Additionally to live meetings between suppliers and hosted buyers within the established networking tool, the GNTB integrates further digital communication possibilities, such as webinars and on-demand content. The participation in the Virtual GTM 2020 costs 79 EUR for German suppliers. Prospective suppliers can now register online. Suppliers which have been listed on the GTM distribution list will be contacted automatically. The GTM has established itself as an exceptionally efficient platform for business contacts and contract conclusions between more than 500 key accounts of the international travel industry and about 350 German suppliers in the last 46 years. International participants from more than 45 countries worldwide complete up to 20.000 face to face client meetings. — SG