Why Germany is Eyeing Indian Weddings, Higher End Travel
With a firm focus on the Indian traveller, Germany looks to augment visitor numbers from India.
By Suman Tarafdar
Indians are making a beeline for Germany. Some Indians, at least. Currently 59,000 Indian students are enrolled in German universities, making India the largest source of non-EU international students. Around 280,000 Indian citizens reside in the country, tripling over the decade from about 86,000 in 2015.
Correspondingly, tourism from India to Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is also growing. Overnight stays by Indian travellers rose to 350,488 between January and May 2026, up 0.1% year-on-year, with May 2026 alone recording 86,870 overnight stays. “Growing Indian diaspora in Germany will lead to more Indians travelling to Germany,” asserts Dr Philipp Ackermann, German Ambassador to India and Bhutan.
Germany was the eight-most-visited country in the world last year by number of global travellers. “We have 25,000 castles, 9,000 folk festivals… Germany is very varied. very interesting – and we are trying to present an in-depth experience,” adds Ackermann.
India drives the momentum
“Despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty across the world, Germany continues to hold its own as a stable and dependable travel destination, and India remains one of the markets driving that momentum,” points out Romit Theophilus, Director – Marketing & Sales Office, India, GNTO (German National Tourist Office).
“What we are witnessing is a clear shift in how Indian travellers engage with Germany; they are spending more time, going deeper into a region, and choosing experiences that connect them to a place rather than simply passing through it. For 2026, our India strategy is built around this shift, moving beyond conventional sightseeing to spotlight what makes the country worth exploring in depth.”
“What we have noticed is a lot of higher end travel happening – leisure wise,” says Theophilus. “People want to travel business class, they want to stay in upscale hotels. Pre Covid, people were travelling economy, staying in budget hotels. Now people want more of the travel experience, slightly on the luxury side.”
The Markt (Market Square) in Bernkastel is a historic medieval square in Germany known for its 400-year-old half-timbered houses, the 1416 Spitzhäuschen, and seasonal events.
Want a castle wedding?
Theophilus is also eager to break into the lucrative Indian wedding market. Other European countries seem to have taken the lead here as several HNI Indian weddings, or at least a segment have been held in Europe, such as Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma’s wedding in 2017 in Tuscany, Italy, which set the trend for private, luxury heritage-estate Indian destination weddings. The next year, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh opted for Lake Como for their nuptials. Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's pre-wedding European cruise party, is rumoured to have cost $152 million. Spain, Portugal, Greece, even tiny Monaco have hosted mega Indian weddings in recent years.
“I am trying to build an ecosystem for Indian weddings where I am getting some hotels on board, who would like to have Indian weddings,” says Theophilus. “For example, the Zugspitze, which is the highest mountain in Germany, has said we would love to have Indian weddings. Event spaces have also said we can host weddings in our hotels. We are looking at places that have direct flight connectivity, e.g. Frankfurt, Munich, Baden Baden. In future we will see increasing focus on smaller towns.” GNTO has launched an AI driven marketing spree to push the message.
Schloss Neuschwanstein is the 19th-century Romanesque Revival palace and a major global landmark in Germany.
I am trying to build an ecosystem for Indian weddings where I am getting some hotels on board, who would like to have Indian weddings.
Romit Theophilus
Director–Marketing & Sales Office, India, GNTO
The German National Tourist Office (GNTO)-India has identified four themes that will anchor its 2026 strategy for the Indian market: a landmark cultural anniversary, dynamic city life, Germany's rich culinary identity, and experiences rooted in family, friendship and nature.
Theophilus admits that there is a challenge of perception about Germany, which he ascribes to a lack of awareness. Germany is one of the most affordable destinations in Europe. “We are trying to work in social media to get that awareness going. We are going to push a lot of iconic destinations such as Neuschwanstein Castle, Brandenburg Gate… the thing is we do not focus on one city, we showcase all of Germany. That is where sometimes we also lack because our focus is to try and promote everything in Germany.”
Connectivity has certainly improved, with Lufthansa flying 77 flights a week to Germany from five Indian destinations – Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi.
The issue of visas, which continues to be a bugbear in the post Covid era for Europe in general, is better now, asserts Ackermann, saying the embassy is processing 2.5 lakh visas annually at the moment. He points not just to shorter processing times, but also categories such as urgent business or trade fair travel for which visas are processed in a day. But as he says, “we are not at full capacity and there is potential to grow.”
