New UNESCO World Heritage site in Destination Germany
The Margravial Opera House in Bayreuth has become the 37th site in Germany to be added the UNESCO World Heritage Committee’s global list of cultural and national treasures.
They declared the Opera House to be a unique monument to the festivals and music of the European baroque. Germany is rich in natural and cultural heritage sites from the Hamburg Wadden Sea to Lake Constance, and from Cologne Cathedral to the Museum Island in Berlin.
“Culture is a megatrend in global tourism and has provided the basis for our successful international marketing strategy for a number of years,” says Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB).
“According to the 2010/11 Quality Monitor survey, 52 per cent of international visitors chose Germany as their holiday destination because of arts and culture and 86 per cent went sightseeing on their trip.”
GNTB to focus on World Heritage sites in 2014
The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) is continually integrating Germany’s UNESCO World Heritage sites into its worldwide sales and communications activities. One of the GNTB’s themes for 2014 will be ‘UNESCO World Heritage in Germany – nature, cities, monuments’ in aims to raise awareness of Germany’s 37 cultural and natural world heritage sites on an international level.
“We want to raise the profile of Germany’s World Heritage sites,” says Petra Hedorfer, “But also promote low-impact and specialised tourism to the properties on a sustainable scale.”
Key theme for 2013: 200th anniversary of Richard Wagner’s birth
Bayreuth Opera House has close associations with the world-famous composer Richard Wagner whose 200th anniversary takes place next year. To celebrate the bicentenary of his birth, a series of special events will be taking place in Bayreuth and in other Wagner cities such as Leipzig and Dresden.
