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Home > Europe News > Germany Rolls Out the Red Carpet for World Cup Travelers
Germany Rolls Out the Red Carpet for World Cup Travelers
NEW YORK -- Germany is rolling out its World Cup Soccer tourism campaign with a red carpet as its logo and "a Time to Make Friends"™ as its motto. This friendly and hospitable slogan underlines the country’s enthusiasm for the World Cup as an opportunity to encourage tourism from around the world. Over 5.5 million guests, roughly 3.2 million football fans in each of the 12 stadiums and approximately 15,000 media representatives, are expected to visit Germany from June 9 to July 9. In addition, more than 30 billion TV viewers will watch the World Cup matches.
Tickets and Accommodations
Tickets for all matches and categories can be purchased from the 2006 FIFA World Cup Ticketing Center which operates as the principal seller of tickets to the general public worldwide. Single tickets are on offer in four price categories. The next sales period will start on February 15 ending by April 15. Already 70 % of the 2.6 million tickets distributed, have been sold via the lottery system. Information and booking of accommodations in all types of hotels from two to five star can be done at fifaworldcup.com.
Other Tickets and Tour Packages
Various tour companies offering tickets as part of tour packages, include European Soccer Tours with at least four separate tours starting at $1,900 from the U.S. to Germany. Prices include round trip flights and tickets to the games (esrusa.com). Road Trips, a Canadian company, is offering several tour packages including guaranteed tickets to the finals in Berlin (roadtrips.com). Package deals also are available for many of the games, including team specific games, at toursrus.net, the website of Travel Line International Corporation. Soccer Vacations is offering a variety of two night/two day tours with team specific tickets or city-specific tickets, including airfare and accommodations (soccervacations.com).
For a first class viewing of the World Cup games, iSE Hospitality in cooperation with World Cup Accommodation Service is offering VIP packages in three categories that include some of the best seats, team specific tickets, private access to the grounds, reserved parking, top quality food and exclusive gifts and entertainment (isehospitality.com or fifaworldcup.com). Other tickets without a package may be purchased at razorgator.com.
LTU and Lufthansa
LTU Airlines has several special flights lined up from $698 roundtrip from JFK to Duesseldorf, the company’s hub in Germany and deals are available from Miami and Los Angeles as well. ltu.com. And, Lufthansa is offering a GloBall Airpass which is a ticket for World Cup fans based outside of Germany to explore the country with flexibility. For as little as 60 Euros per flight, travelers can choose to purchase between 3 and 10 flight segments, and make changes to their itinerary at any time. The GloBall Airpass must be purchased in conjunction with an international/intercontinental ticket to Germany on Lufthansa or another Star Alliance carrier. Visit lufthansa-usa.com for more information.
Fan Festivals
If you could not get a ticket to the games or are simply in mind for a party, each host city and many other towns in Germany are organizing official "Public Viewing" places for free. In Berlin, the fan zone will be in the immediate vicinity of the Reichstag with spillover into the Strasse des 17. Juni. Public viewing sites for the other eleven FIFA World Cup Host Cities have also been announced: Dortmund – Friedensplatz; Frankfurt – banks of the Main; Gelsenkirchen – Glückauf arena; Hamburg – Heiligengeistfeld; Hannover – Waterlooplatz; Kaiserslautern – Stiftsplatz; Cologne – Roncalliplatz; Leipzig – Volksfestplatz; and finally, Stuttgart – Schlossplatz.
For more information on these areas, the FANGUIDE 2006 is starting, five months before the opening whistle of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™. This is an Internet site for fans by fans! (fanguide2006.org) In many cities, the evangelical churches will be providing free viewing of the matches.
World Cup Cultural Events
Throughout Germany, there are a range of diverse festivals, events, concerts and exhibits present football in a new and fascinatingly original manner through a wide range of artistic and cultural events. For more information on this, go to dfb-kulturstiftung.com.
The U.S. Team
The U.S. team has chosen Hamburg as its home base for the duration of the World Soccer Cup and will be staying in the Park Hyatt Hotel on Moenckeberg Street in central Hamburg. In the first round, the team (in Group E against Italy, Ghana and the Czech Republic) will play on June 12 in Gelsenkirchen, June 17 in Kaiserslautern and June 22 in Nuremberg to reach the next round.
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