New Delhi, Dec 21 (PTI) Germany is targeting 10 lakh overnight stays by Indian tourists in the country in 2026, after narrowly missing the goal this year, according to a German National Tourist Office India official.

German National Tourist Office (GNTO) India, the official representative office of the German National Tourist Board, expects to close 2025 with 9.6 lakh overnights into Germany by Indian tourists, GNTO Director of Marketing & Sales Office - India, Romit Theophilus, told PTI.

"We want a growth of 10 per cent year on year. That's our growth projection till 2030 at least. Our goal is now to first reach the 1 million (overnights) and then double that to 2 million," he said when asked how Germany is looking at Indian tourist arrivals in the country going forward.

GNTO India was hoping to cross the 10 lakh milestone in 2025, but it did not happen due to a variety of factors, including visa issues and tourists choosing to travel to other countries.

Asked if the target could be achieved in 2026, Theophilus said, "We will definitely cross 1 million...We are hoping to do (Indian) weddings (as well) in Germany in 2026." Already 60,000 students are visiting Germany. Their families will also go visit them, and a lot more will happen on this front of "visiting friends and relatives", he said, adding, "So we know that we will hit this target quite closely next year." As for 2025, he said, "I see us at about 9.6 lakh, which is good, because it's still better than 2019. It is still showing a growth every year of about 5 to 7 per cent." In 2029, the number was at its peak with 9.5 lakh overnights before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

He said 9.5 lakh overnights into Germany represent about 3 lakh to 3.5 lakh people, and in 2024, 1.1 billion euros were spent by Indian tourists in Germany.

Indian tourists are spending more time in Germany with the average length of stay exceeding nine nights. In the January-October period 2025, there have been 7,75,294 overnight stays, as per GNTO data.

Noting that visas were one of the factors hindering Indians' travel to Germany, Theophilus said, "We have got a lot of wait times for visas, which we want to be executed faster in 2026 with the help of the German embassy and the colleagues at the German visa section." He, however, said visa issues weren't the only reason for missing the 10 lakh overnight target.

"I can't place it only on the visa issue. I think there were a little bit of people who were travelling to different places this year," he noted.

GNTO India has been promoting Germany's cultural landscape, romantic destinations and seasonal travel experiences along with curated travel propositions aligned with evolving Indian travel preferences to woo tourists from here. PTI RKL HVA

Germany targets 1 million overnight stays by Indian tourists in 2026 amid visa delays and promotional efforts. Germany's national tourism body aims to reach 1,000,000 overnight stays by Indian tourists in 2026, projecting growth from an expected 960,000 overnights in 2025 and a continued 10% year-on-year expansion toward 2,000,000. GNTO India cites student travel, families, weddings and visiting friends and relatives as growth drivers, notes longer average stays and higher spending, and identifies visa wait times and diversion to other destinations as factors for the 2025 shortfall while planning embassy coordination and targeted marketing to address these barriers.