DUBAI — Known for its exclusive maritime flair, the elegant harbor city of Hamburg in Northern Germany continues to woo visitors with an increasing number of new interactive and digital experiences, adding more exciting tourist attractions for young and old to the Hanseatic city.

Attractions include everything from the brand new ‘Discovery Dock’ with high-tech VR technology to the ‘Big Break Hamburg’ featuring an escape room and time travel mystery games. ‘Märchenwelten’, the German word for ‘World of fairy tales’ includes interactive entertainment revolving around Grimm’s fairy tales while the chocolate-making museum ‘Chocoversum’, is a must-see. Another treat for visitors is the ‘Miniatur Wunderland’ which features the world's biggest model railway – summer holidays in Hamburg promise to be fun-filled for the entire family.

Accommodating every taste with an extraordinarily diverse selection of must-see attractions, paired with great shopping facilities, and luxurious hotel offerings, Germany’s second biggest city is the perfect travel destination for the summer. Visitors can explore the Hanseatic charm on the banks of the ‘Elbe River’, enjoy panoramic views of the world’s largest cruise ships and stroll along the beautiful ‘Alster Lakes’ in the city center.

Hamburg also boasts an abundance of nature and green areas and has enjoyed growing popularity among GCC travelers. The Hanseatic city ranks as one of the most frequented German destinations by GCC tourists with 82,520 overnight stays from Gulf nationals in 2018.

While it is an attractive tourism destination, it is also a dynamic start-up hub with dynamic accelerator programs and business incubators, which have created a hotbed for the latest new high-tech digital experiences Hamburg has added to its tourism portfolio, these include:

• Drawing on virtual reality elements, the Discovery Dock in Hamburg's HafenCity was recently opened and focuses on Hamburg’s port as its core theme of this new interactive exhibition. Located opposite the iconic Elbphilharmonie, a trend-setting mixed reality experience brings the port of Hamburg to life, with state-of-the-art VR technology, projections, live simulations, as well as sound and light effects (https://discovery-dock.de/?lang=en ).

• At Big Break Hamburg in the ‘Speicherstadt’, interactive activities with mysterious riddles and adventures await visitors. Here, adrenaline enthusiasts are invited to choose their favorite adventure, whether an escape room adventure, time travel or a jailbreak using hidden clues within a limited time to complete every challenge. ‘Prison Break’ series’ fans could relate to one of the challenges, where they find themselves in a maximum-security prison cell with exactly one hour to escape. (https://www.bigbreakhamburg.com/en/).

• Chocolate lovers are invited to create their own chocolate bar while experiencing every single step of the chocolate production at the Chocoversum. This exclusive venue in the historic Kontorhaus district has long been an integral part of Hamburg's tourist attractions and includes many new interactive elements. The initial “free-flow” approach, where visitors would wander through the exhibition independently, has given way to an interactive, target group-oriented guided tour that offers an exciting mix of tasting experiences and knowledge transfer. (www.chocoversum.de).

• The Miniatur Wunderland is considered to be Hamburg's number one tourist attraction, featuring the world's biggest model railway, welcoming more than 16 million visitors from all over the world. The 1,499sqm miniature masterpiece offers sophisticated technology and a wealth of detail, more than 265,000 figures have been lovingly staged, cars and ships move through the landscapes, and even planes start at the Knuffingen Airport every minute. Wonderland is a stunning miniature cosmos that can't be seen anywhere else in the world (https://www.miniatur-wunderland.com)

• All Grimm’s fairy-tale fans are welcomed at the soon-to-be-launched Märchenwelten in September 2019 in the HafenCity district. As part of this new permanent exhibition, visitors will be able to immerse themselves in the world of Grimm’s Fairy tales – based on an interactive, multimedia edutainment concept that provides a combination of traditional elements such as life-size silhouettes, imaginative stage sets and paintings, as well as the latest interactive light, sound and computer technology (www.maerchenwelten.net).

Hamburg is well-connected with daily direct flights from the Gulf region.

Superb accommodation in excellent 5-star hotels await travellers from the Gulf region with excellent service, exquisite culinary experiences and highest standards of comfort featuring the ‘Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten’, the Hotel ‘Atlantic Kempinski’ and the ‘Hotel Grand Elysée’ – all properties have a long tradition in serving Gulf travellers and are well-acquainted with local traditions and customs. — SG