Germany‘s visa process is faster and more efficient than other countries in the Schengen zone, with stamping times dropping sharply even as the number of visas issued keeps rising, Ambassador Philipp Ackermann said at an event today.
Speaking at the Travel Destination Germany Press Conference 2026, an event to promote Germany as a holiday destination for Indian tourists, Ackermann said, ‘We issue close to 2 lakh to 2.5 lakh visas in a year and the visa stamping time has massively reduced. The visa practise is very satisfactory and far better than Schengen colleagues.’ Ackermann said India is becoming an increasingly important tourism market for Germany and a large part of its potential remains untapped.
Ackermann on India – EU FTA
Ackermann said the agreement between India and EU could further ease travel between the two countries is expected to be implemented in the first half of next year.
“I’m very optimistic that when, in the first half of next year, we implement this, we will see change over the coming years when it comes to activities, travel, and I’m sure that will also increase the numbers of visitors on both sides,” he said during the press conference.
He added that the growing Indian diaspora in Germany is also driving tourism, with family and friends travelling to visit them. “The potential is not exhausted,” he said.
He said Indian travellers have changed considerably over the past 15 years, moving away from conventional sightseeing towards nature, trekking, outdoor activities and personalised trips. Affordability and shifting travel trends still influence where people choose to go, he said, but Germany remains well placed to draw tourists looking for culture and nature together.
Booking growth outpacing every major market
Fresh data shared at the event showed Indian bookings to Germany between October 2025 and March 2026 grew 31.5 per cent over the same period a year earlier, the highest among all major source markets. This compares with 22 per cent growth from the UAE, 21 per cent from Israel, 17.3 per cent from China, 13.3 per cent from Japan and 4.7 per cent from the US. Overall international booking growth for Germany stood at 7 per cent.
A 12-country survey conducted by the German National Tourist Board and Appinio in August 2025 found that 61 per cent of Indians said they planned to visit Germany for a holiday in the next 12 months, the highest of all countries surveyed and more than 20 percentage points ahead of Denmark, which came second at 38 per cent.
Germany recorded 928,000 overnight stays by Indian visitors in 2025, growing 3.4 per cent year-on-year, and India is currently the fourth-largest overseas source market for the country. Stays between January and May 2026 have reached 94.8 per cent of pre-pandemic 2019 levels. Unlike overall international tourism to Germany, which peaks sharply in the July-September quarter, Indian visitors travel more evenly through the year, with a slight bias towards the October-March period.
Germany targets over one million overnight stays from India
Romit Theophilus, Director of the German National Tourist Office, told ANI that Germany is aiming to more than triple its current overnight stays from Indian visitors.
“Our goal is to get over a million overnight stays into Germany. Currently that represents close to just over three lakh tourists in terms of numbers,” he said.
He said the GNTB is running theme-based campaigns in India around city breaks, culinary tourism, honeymoons and destination weddings to drive this growth. Indian leisure travellers, he said, spend an average of nine nights in Germany and more than 3,000 euros per trip, with daily spending of around 350 euros on accommodation, food and transport.
Theophilus said stronger India-Germany economic ties, including the proposed India-EU free trade agreement, could further boost tourism. He added that more than three lakh Indians currently live in Germany as students, professionals and their families, which also supports travel between the two countries.