Second best result
Tourism reaches pre-crisis level – fewer foreign guests
February 9, 2024, 3:03 p.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
Germans prefer to spend their holidays in their own country. Buoyed by this, the industry returned to pre-corona pandemic levels. Tourism experts are expecting good results again this year.
The tourism industry in Germany almost left the corona crisis behind it last year. The number of overnight stays by guests remained only 1.7 percent below the pre-pandemic level of 2019, as the Federal Statistical Office announced. In total, hotels and other accommodation providers recorded 487.2 million overnight stays. That was 8.1 percent more than the year before. In 2020 and 2021, the number of overnight stays was just over 300 million due to corona, more than a third lower than in 2023.
According to the industry association DTV, the tourism sector recorded the second best result in its history last year. “We are confident that 2024 will also be a good year for tourism in Germany,” said the managing director of the German Tourism Association (DTV), Norbert Kunz. “Germany was and is the most popular travel destination for Germans.”
However, it remains to be seen how the personal economic situation of travelers and their spending mood will develop over the course of the year, a spokeswoman added. “The decisive factor is whether, in addition to the main vacation, there is also budget available for additional short and weekend trips.” High inflation has depressed the purchasing power of many consumers over the past two years.
The impact of the pandemic on international tourism also continued to decrease in 2023. At 80.9 million overnight stays, the share of foreign guests in Germany was 16.6 percent, or just 1.5 percent below the pre-pandemic level. The number of overnight stays by domestic guests even rose back to the pre-crisis level of 2019 with 406.3 million overnight stays.
A look at the different operating modes also shows different developments. While campsites significantly exceeded the pre-crisis level (18.3 percent), hotel industry operations – hotels, inns and guesthouses – remained slightly below the 2019 level last year (minus 4.2 percent). However, compared to the previous year, the hotel industry recorded an increase of 9.5 percent.