Since the Hill Team all loves cruising, we wanted to share this. I’ve only done one river cruise on the Rhone. The Rhine is on my list.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Düsseldorf New Darling of Rhine River Cruises

More tour operators include Düsseldorf in cruise itineraries. Number of Rhine River cruises stopping at Düsseldorf expected to increase by 50% in 2011 as popularity of city as leisure destination reaches record heights.
Düsseldorf, Germany– Bookings of Düsseldorf city tours by river cruise operators have increased steadily by about 20% annually over the past years, and now more tour operators add Düsseldorf to their cruise itineraries as industry and consumer interest in Düsseldorf as a leisure destination has reached record levels.  The number of river cruises to include Düsseldorf as a new stop is expected to increase by 50% this year.

“Direct access to the city center, the tourist appeal of the city, and extraordinary festivals and events right on the Rhine are main reasons for the growing importance of Düsseldorf as a new component in cruise itineraries,” explains Düsseldorf’s mayor, Dirk Elbers, at the 45th ITB in Berlin (March 9-13), the world’s leading trade show for the tourism industry.

River cruises were featured as a new focus of the city’s tourism marketing at ITB as new kinds of river cruises mirror the popularity and success of sea cruises and attract new consumers to the cruise market.  In addition to the established market of 50+ travelers, making up about two thirds, many younger people are discovering the appeal of river cruises, especially those with themes such as wellness, yoga, golf, and other sports.

The growth of the cruise segment is just one aspect of Düsseldorf’s rapidly growing success as a leisure destination. “Düsseldorf is more popular than ever,” says Elbers, referring to the current record numbers, especially in foreign tourism. 2010 brought 3.6 million hotel nights, more than ever before.  The number of foreign visitors to Düsseldorf increased by 17%, and hotel stays by foreign visitors now make up about 40% of all booked nights (national average 15%).

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Düsseldorf Marketing & Tourism GmbH is the visitors and convention bureau of the city of Düsseldorf. Its responsibilities include tourism and city marketing, as well as conference and meeting marketing, hotel reservation services, fairs and convention services, city event ticket sales and advance ticket reservations. For more information, visitwww.duesseldorf-tourismus.de; www.visitduesseldorf.de.

Düsseldorf International Airport, Germany’s third largest, offers several non-stop flights from US & Canadian cities (Atlanta, Chicago, Ft. Myers, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Newark, Toronto, San Francisco, Vancouver), as well as convenient connections to many European cities.   For more information about the airport, visit www.fly2dus.com.