With high-profile cities, endless nature and romantic palaces, it's no wonder that Germany is one of Europe's most-visited destinations.
Now, the country is getting set to reclaim its place in the tourist rankings as it reopens to international travellers.
From Friday, Germany will welcome vaccinated international travellers without the need for quarantine.
The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) confirmed the resumption of international tourism, with the country opening to global travellers, including those from the UAE and across the GCC.
“Opening our borders to international visitors ahead of the summer travel period is vital for the domestic tourism ecosystem and we anticipate Germany being recognised as a go-to travel destination this year,” said Yamina Sofo, director of sales and marketing of the German National Tourist Office Gulf Countries.
Who can visit Germany?
Germany currently welcomes citizens, nationals and residents from EU countries, Switzerland, Australia, Israel, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand.
From Sunday, it will open to travellers from several other territories including Albania, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Macau, North Macedonia, Serbia, Taiwan and the US, with proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test.
From Friday, vaccinated travellers from countries outside the EU, including those from the UAE and GCC, are welcome to travel to Germany so long as they are not coming from a virus variant area. The list of virus variant areas is updated regularly, and can be found on the Robert Koch website. As of Sunday, the UAE is not listed as a virus variant area.
Which vaccines are recognised in Germany?
Travellers hoping to take advantage of the new rules must have received both doses of a vaccination recognised and approved by the European Medicines Agency.
At present, this includes Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. The second dose of the vaccine must have been administered no fewer than 14 days before travelling to Germany.
For UAE residents vaccinated with Sinopharm, travel is not yet open. However, according to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community’s website, "vaccines that offer a similar level of protection will be added to the list as soon as the necessary evaluations are completed".
What do I need to do before I go?
All visitors must register online before travelling, and upload proof of vaccination to the site. Travellers should also print out and carry proof of their immunised status. Children who do not have a Covid-19 vaccination can enter with a negative PCR test result taken with the past 48 hours, and children under 6 are exempt.
Travellers should also check with individual German federal states they plan to visit, as there are different rules for visitors to follow prior to arrival. A list of resources linking to state regulations can be found here.
Which airlines are flying to Germany?
Etihad is operating flights to Germany from Abu Dhabi. The national airline of the UAE currently flies to both Munich and Frankfurt. Germany is also listed on the Abu Dhabi Green List, meaning no quarantine is needed upon return.
From Dubai, travellers can fly with Emirates to Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Munich.
What can I see and do in Germany?
Germany's capital Berlin is the country's biggest city and is famed for its history, art, museums, architecture and nightlife. In the south, Munich takes the crown as the Bavarian capital, offering a quintessential city in the land of lederhosen and Oktoberfest.
Frankfurt is a major travel hub, and the gleaming financial centre of Germany where you’ll find skyscrapers, historic buildings and a lively art and culture scene. In Hamburg, expect to enjoy the waterways – the city is home to more bridges than Amsterdam and Venice combined.
Away from the big cities, explore the Rhine Valley, visit the country’s beaches, island-hop along the north-west coast, or trek over chalk cliffs and open heaths then visit the Unesco-listed Wadden Sea.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
