Inbound tourism to Germany is on the rise

Germany’s inbound tourism is steadily recovering, making an increasing contribution to the total volume of overnight stays, according to an analysis by the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) based on provisional overnight stay figures from the Federal Statistical Office.

In November 2023, 5.5 million international overnight stays in accommodation establishments with at least ten beds were registered, reflecting a 7.8 per cent increase compared to the same month last year. The cumulative number of overnight stays by foreigners from January to November reached 74.9 million.

This brings the incoming figures to 89.6 per cent of the results for the same period in the previous record year 2019. The share of foreign guests in the total number of overnight stays was 16.4 per cent in the first eleven months, compared to 14.8% in the same period of the previous year.

“In the European Travel Commission’s Monitoring Sentiment for Intra-European Travel study, Germany maintained its position among the top five preferred destinations for Europeans in autumn 2023 and is participating in the Europe-wide trend towards international travel. The proportion of those who only want to travel in their own country in the next six months has fallen continuously from 31.5% in fall 2021 to 25.7% in fall 2023,” said Petra Hedorfer, chairwoman of the GNTB Executive Board. “European destinations were still preferred by 55.3% per cent of travellers in autumn 2021, compared to 60.3 per cent in autumn 2023.”

Hedorfer added that specific events and attractions, like the European Football Championship in Germany, as well as cultural highlights like the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, are expected to draw more guests this summer.