Patrick brings the Hill to Germany

Published on 07 February 2020

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Broken Hill will enjoy a larger profile with German tourism operators after Council's Patrick Kreitner returned to his homeland last month to promote the Silver City.

Originally born in Munich, Patrick moved to Broken Hill 17 years ago and currently serves as Council's Visitor Services Coordinator.

It was via this role that he met Destination NSW's Pascal Reiling, who coordinates tourism partnerships in the French and German markets.

"Pascal dropped into the Visitor Information Centre around 12 months ago as he had heard about a German working there," said Patrick.

"We got to talking and kept in touch after he'd departed, and I mentioned that I might drop into his office on my next visit to Germany in December."

The pair kept in contact over the next year, and the informal catch up they'd proposed soon developed into a premium tourism opportunity for Broken Hill.

"It went from dropping in and saying 'hi' to doing a one-hour promotional webinar in Frankfurt for over 90 German travel agents," said Patrick.

"I presented Broken Hill as a tourism destination, but also included our surrounding towns and National Parks.

"It was a chance to put Broken Hill and the region into the spotlight and show that we’re a major outback destination with a breadth and depth of product and experiences that is worth considering."

Patrick said the presentation on the Australian outback piqued the interest of the German tourism market.

"It was apparently a participation record for a Destination NSW webinar which was really pleasing.

"There were quite a few questions at the end of the webinar; Broken Hill is a very exotic location for overseas travel agents, even for agents that already specialise in Australian travel.

"We are still a bit of a well-kept secret, but this has also preserved a real authenticity which is hard to find at many of the tourism hotspots around Australia."

Although working while on a personal holiday may not appeal to everyone, Patrick said he was more than happy to volunteer some time to support the city.

"Some people found it a bit unusual that I would 'work' on my holidays but it didn’t feel like work," he said.

"When you work in tourism you’re always an ambassador for your city, it’s a 24/7 mindset."

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* Patrick Kreitner (right) with Destination NSW's Development and Partnership Marketing Manager (Germany & France), Pascal Reiling, in Frankfurt, Germany.