Experience Munich’s Charmat This Year’s Arabian Travel Market

Munich Tourism is a long-term participant at the Arabian Travel Market and presents for many years the great diversity of Munich in the GCC region to travel partners and agents from Gulf countries and beyond and is looking forward to deepen existing relationships, but also to find new partners. The UAE features since many years in the top five of the most important international markets for Munich, underlining its importance as one of the most popular sources of travellers.

Munich Tourism’s partners at the show in 2024 include hotels, destination management companies (DMC), medical tourism and more. The city’s five-star hospitality partners, Bayerischer Hof MunichandSofitel Munich Bayerpost, along with four-star partners Platzl Hotel, the Derag Living properties as well as the apartment hotel Central Hotel Apartwill be present. As a DMC this year PRI Toursis at the Munich stand along with S.A.T. Security, who offers VIP and Limousine Services. Ingolstadt Village – a well-known luxury outlet North of Munich – represents the excellent shopping experience you can find in and around the city. In addition, Munich has also been an important destination for medical tourists from the GCC, and to cater to this audience there will be three suppliers from this segment which areMedical Park, Oberberg Clinics andSeralux.S-E-T-T Worldwide Reservationsupports travel agent partner with bookings for sport eventlike tickets for FC Bayern Munich matches. And Lufthansa Group makes a strong return to ATM showcasing its newest product developments at it’s passenger airlines Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airline as well as Eurowings, the value carrier of the group, which is introducing new routes into the region.

Munich Airport is already well connected to the Gulf States with multiple daily flights and is a popular gateway to Europe for Arab travellers. The 5-star airport announces that Gulf Air will connect Bahrain with Munich with 4 weekly flights starting July 1. The modern A321 neo aircraft will be used for this service.

At the prestigious World Airport AwardsMunich Airport was just recently honored with the “Best Airport Staff in Europe” and “Best Airport in Central Europe” awards. In a global comparison, Bavaria’s international air traffic hub is ranked No 8 in the passenger rating, making it the only German airport among the Top 10 in the world rankings. For Arab travelers, Munich Airport extends its exceptional services like prayer rooms, Halal food and Arabic signage. The airport unveils tailored Personal Shopping Service for Arabic travelers. Dedicated Arabic-speaking assistants offer expertise in language and culture and invite travellers to explore the exclusive range of products available at Munich Airport’s MyDutyFree Shops. The service operates daily, 10 am to 6 pm, until September at Terminal 1, home of the Gulf Carriers at Munich Airport.

Munich is a city that lovingly preserves and celebrates its traditions all year round but is simultaneously renowned as a dynamic economic hotspot and a technology hub. Munich has state-of-the-art architecture, art and culture (https://www.munich.travel/en/topics/arts-culture/exhibitions-2024) and an excellent infrastructure. Through the city the crystal-clear waters of a mountain stream flow, bordered by kilometres of green spaces, gardens and parks. Munich is a city with over 1.5 million habitants that is packed with sights, exclusive shopping possibilities, various restaurants from street food to high end and a large selection four and five-star hotels who can easily be navigated on foot. Munich also offers its visitors the rest and relaxation afforded by a temperate continental climate, high standards of medical care and a wide range of excursions into the fabulous local countryside rich in mountains, lakes and enchanting castles like the world famous Neuschwanstein Castle. Located in the heart of Europe, Munich is only 6 hours’ direct flight away from almost the entire Arab region. Munich has long developed into an all-year-round destination, appreciated and visited by guests from the Middle East not only in summer, but also during spring and winter with the famous traditional Christmas Market.

Munich residents themselves are proud of their city for the leisure possibilities it affords, especially for families. Whether native residents or visitors to Munich, kids will love the Munich Zoo, one of the most known zoos in Europe (private tours are available) or the recently reopened Deutsches Museum, where they can explore a range of natural science experiments for themselves. The Allianz-Arena football stadium, home to the world-famous players of FC Bayern Munich, a visit to the neighbouring Legoland or a trip to the Skyline-Park or to Bavaria Filmstadt are enough to make any child’s heart beat faster. Furthermore, the BMW World and the BMW Museum offer exciting opportunities for car-themed entertainment for young and old.

Shopping and sightseeing go perfectly together in a city where nothing is ever far away. Visit the Royal Residence, one of Germany’s largest city palaces, then follow on with a shopping spree through the international designed boutiques of Maximilianstrasse and the so called Brienner Quartier. Or take a stroll through the FünfHöfe shopping arcade on Theatinerstrasse, combined with a discovery tour in the exhibition rooms of the Hypo-Kulturstiftung, wholly contained within the arcade. A stone’s throw away is the old town, centred around Marienplatz with the Old and the New Town Hall and its world-famous Glockenspiel. Visitors can enjoy incredible views of the entire city to the Alps from the tower of the New Town Hall, but also from Munich’s Frauenkirche as well as from the Olympic Tower (all access with elevators).

In the city centre one can find shops offering typical Bavarian products such as traditional Bavarian costumes or articles of craftsmanship. The atmosphere at the Viktualienmarkt is colourful and hectic, as fruit and vegetables and other foods from both the surrounding area and from far-flung countries are snapped up. Here you can witness the chefs from Munich’s gourmet restaurants as they make their daily purchases.

Ingolstadt Village, the close by shopping outlet, with easy access by bus directly from the city centre is worth a trip and completes the shopping experience. It shows more than 100 designers in one place including a high end service, many special offers and all day dining.

Finally Munich is a cosmopolitan city with a large percentage of foreigners and offers both traditional Bavarian restaurants and a wide range of restaurants serving authentic international cuisine. Anyone feeling a touch nostalgic on holiday can make use of the excellent hospitality of several of Munich’s 3-, 4- and 5-star hotels, which spare no expense in the summer months to make their Arab guests’ stay a memorable one. Friendly assistance from an Arabic-speaking employee, Arab (halal) cuisine or a shopping limousine service come as standard at some of these hotels.

This year is the year of the EURO 2024 football championship in Germany. There are also matches of that football event in Munich (f.e. the opening match is on June 14 Scottland vs Germany). More information about sportive events you can find on https://www.munich.travel/en/topics/sports-leisure and about EURO 2024 on https://www.munich.travel/en/topics/sports-leisure/uefa-euro-2024/euro-2024.

From September 2024 on SAP-Garden, a state-of-the-art multifunctional sports arena, in Munich’s Olympiapark (Olympic Park) will open. It will serve as the new home for EHC Red Bull München (Ice-Hockey) and provide an additional venue for FC Bayern Basketball. Additionally, SAP Garden will host various sports-related events, including e-sports. It opens its doors to the general public for the first time on 27 September 2024. EHC Red Bull Munich kicks off the opening weekend from 27 to 29 September with a game against a team from the best ice hockey league in the world, the National Hockey League (NHL). FC Bayern’s basketball team will also be celebrating their debut.

To complete a perfect stay in Munich, visitors can also take a day trips to some of Bavaria’s highlights like experiencing the big lakes such asStarnberger See, Tegernsee or Chiemsee with its famous palace on an island by a private boat or cruising boat tour. Or take one of the many cable cars to the beautiful mountains of the Bavarian Alps. The most famous for sure is the Zugspitze, the highest mountain of Germany with snow all year, restaurants and fun areas (“Top of Germany”). But also Wendelstein or Kampenwand are perfect places to explore the Alpine mountain feeling.

This year’s Arabian Travel Market will take place at Dubai World Trade Centre from the 6-9 May. Munich Tourism’s booth is located in the Europe section at booth number EU6330, where interested trade visitors will have the opportunity to meet and do business with several suppliers from Munich.

For more information about Munich Tourism, visit: www.simply-munich.com.