Dubai, 25 September 2013 - Visitors from abroad appreciate Germany not only as a cultural destination but also as a good place to go shopping. "Because of the excellent price/performance ratio, Germany has a very good reputation as a shopping destination. According to a recent Quality Monitor survey; 11 percent of our foreign guests come to Germany for shopping," says Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB).

From January to June 2013, spending on shopping by international guests increased by 4.3 percent in the area of tax-free shopping compared to the same period last year, according to Global Blue, the world's largest service provider in the field of VAT refunds. "We are excited about this positive development and expect continued solid growth numbers for shopping tourism from abroad, also for the next few months", says Thorsten Lind, Managing Director of Global Blue Germany GmbH.

In the first half of the year, travelers from abroad spent, on average, 317 Euro on tax-free shopping. Their favorite cities were Munich, Frankfurt and Berlin. 23 percent of tax-free sales were generated in the Bavarian capital, 21 percent in Frankfurt and 15 percent in the German capital of Berlin. German quality goods such as watches and jewelry, clothing and fashion, as well as leather goods are most popular among shopping guests from abroad.

Chinese guests spend the most

The visitors who spend the most on tax-free shopping are Chinese visitors who spent an average of 610 Euro per purchase in Germany between January and June 2013, an increase of nine percent compared to the same period last year. Half of the turnover came from purchases of jewelry and watches, followed by clothing (19 percent) and leather goods and travel accessories (10 percent).

Russian shopping tourists love Munich

Second place among visitors with the highest shopping sales are visitors from Russia, also significantly involved with 27 percent of the positive tax-free sales from January to June 2013. In this period, they spent an average of 337 Euro per purchase - an increase of 17.5 percent compared to the first half of 2012. The export success among Russian guests is clothing (48 Percent), which they prefer to purchase in large and well-known German department stores. Watches and jewelry are also popular purchases among visitors from Russia. The most popular shopping destinations with Russian tourists were Munich (32 percent), Berlin (22 percent) and Duesseldorf (7 percent).

Visitors from the Arab Gulf States spend the most on fashion

Guests from the Arab Gulf States also appreciate Germany as a shopping paradise. In the first half of 2013, visitors from the Arab Gulf States spent an average of 308 Euro on tax-free shopping for clothing (40 percent), goods in department stores (18 percent) and watches and jewelry. Tax-free sales increased by a total of 25 percent in this way compared to the same period last year, according to Global Blue. Among visitors from the Arab Gulf States, the favorite destination for shopping was Munich. The Bavarian metropolis accounted for almost half of their sales. But Frankfurt and Duesseldorf were also popular shopping cities for visitors from across the Arab Gulf States.

Germany is popular as a shopping destination among the neighbors

Destination Germany is also popular with tourists from Switzerland. Guests from one of the most important European source markets for German tourism provided seven percent of German retailers' tax-free sales in the first six months of the year 2013. In the general ranking, guests from Switzerland thus occupy third place and are the strongest tax-free shopping nation from Europe. From January to June 2013 they spent 168 Euro on average for clothing purchases in Germany, while investing 1,035 Euro in jewelry at the same time.

About the GNTB
The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) has its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It works on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) to represent Germany as a tourist destination and is funded by the Ministry in accordance with a decision taken by the German Bundestag. The GNTB develops and communicates strategies and products to promote Germany's positive image abroad as a tourist destination and to encourage tourists to visit the country. It has 30 agencies around the world to support its activities. More information can be found in our online press centre at www.germany.travel/presse

© Press Release 2013