Germany beckons with masala chai

CHENNAI: Indian tourists will be able to sip masala chai and munch on samosas while cruising down the Rhine from next year as German tourism boards have started customising tour activities.
They have identified Indian restaurants as leisure travellers from India do not prefer trying out German food while travelling.
At a tourism roadshow here, German National Tourist Office director Romit Theophilus said: "Around 16,000 Indian restaurants have been identified across Germany.We aim at increasing the share of Indian leisure travellers. Business travellers are growing but the numbers of leisure needs a boost."
Luisa Zimmerman of KD Rhine Cruise said, "We plan to introduce snacks like masala chai and samosas on cruise from 2017."
She urged tourists to try out German cuisine but said Indian options would be available on the Rhine valley cruise. Representatives of tourism boards stressed on the assembled travel and tour operators that tourists would not face problems over cuisine. Most towns have at least two Indian restaurants.
Weibke Freund from Baden Baden said, "Vegetarian food may not be a problem for tourists. I have been a vegetarian for the last 20 years and I assure you that there will be good choice of vegetarian food while in German."