World Cup visitors praise Germany-survey

BERLIN, July 10 (Reuters) A huge majority of those who visited Germany for the soccer World Cup would recommend the nation as a travel destination, a survey commissioned by the German national tourist board showed today.

Among 1,281 people from around the world polled in the host cities of Berlin, Dortmund, Hamburg, Cologne and Munich, some 91 per cent said they felt welcome in Germany and around 93 per cent said the World Cup had been a great event.

''All the feedback we've had from our 30 representative offices around the world has been positive and enthusiastic too,'' tourist board chief executive Petra Hedorfer said in a statement. ''There is tremendous enthusiasm for 'Destination Germany' all over the world.'' An estimated two million foreign visitors travelled to Germany during the four-week long World Cup, according to the tourist board.

Their image of the host nation will have been coloured by the fact the tournament was so well organised and centred around fans while the horror scenarios some had warned about, such as clashes of hooligans and violent far-right demonstrations, never happened.

Chancellor Angela Merkel wrote an open letter to Germans on Monday published in the Bild daily in which she thanked citizens for their hospitality.

''You are real ambassadors for our nation,'' Merkel wrote. ''That is the best advertisement for our country.'' The tourist board survey was conducted by TNS Infratest.

Reuters AY DB2116