GNTB Receives 2013 Innovation Award

The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) re-ceived the 2013 Innovation Award at the ITB in Berlin. The award has been presented by the international A&O HOTELS and HOSTELS group since 2008. It is given to organisations in the tourism industry that stand out for their innovative products or their pioneering use of technology. The GNTB has been recognised for its efforts in promoting youth travel to Germany. The GNTB's theme for 2013 'Germany for young people – vibrant, fashion able, innovative' is centred around a social media marketing campaign targeted at the youth demographic. "We are proud to receive this award from our strategic partner A&O HOTELS and HOSTELS and feel validated in our attempts to integrate innovative new forms of communication into our marketing activities," said Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the GNTB.

The A&O HOTELS and HOSTELS group, which operates 23 establishments around the world, became a GNTB partner in January 2011. This is the first time that a member organisation has won the A&O award. Oliver Winter, CEO of A&O, explained why the panel of judges came to their decision: "We are delighted that the GNTB chose youth travel to Germany as its theme for 2013. The GNTB and its employees have shown that they are more than able to pursue forward - thinking objectives no matter what challenges they may face along the way. This makes the GNTB no t only a trusted partner but also a worthy winner of the 2013 Innovation Award."

The GNTB social media campaign 

A major factor in the decision to present the GNTB with the Innovation Award was the extensive social media campaign entitled 'Youth HotSpots in Germany – Share the moment', part of its focus on the youth travel theme in 2013. The idea is for the GNTB to reach out to young people through the most appropriate means for this target group and to encourage them to return to Germany again and again. The core element of the campaign is the microsite www.germany.travel/youth, which is aimed at young travellers and gives them the chance to find out about Germany before they arrive. The GNTB's partners his campaign, in addition to A&O HOTELS and HOSTELS, are the German Youth Hostel Association and Deutsche Bahn. All of the partners feature both on the microsite at www.germany.travel/youth and in the mobile app. They are also involved in the press highlight tours and blogger tours that are running throughout the year. The second key element of the campaign is the Youth HotSpot app, which enables users to find free Wi-Fi hotspots in Germany while they are travelling. The app is available from the Apple Store at http://bit.ly/13DCLzx and from the Google Play Store at http://bit.ly/WK51hZ.