Despite the economic downturn
Tourism in Germany is heading for a record year
The economy is weakening, but people in Germany are not saving money when it comes to vacation. The tourism industry is recording record overnight stays. Tour operators are reporting strong bookings for 2025.
Tourism in Germany is heading for a record year in 2024 despite the economic crisis. The industry has long since left the slump caused by the corona pandemic behind it and has achieved overnight stay numbers that exceed the pre-crisis level, new data from the Federal Statistical Office show. Tour operators are recording strong bookings for 2025. Consumers are happy to spend money on vacations even in economic downturns.
In November, hotels, inns, campsites and other accommodation providers in this country recorded 32.3 million overnight stays, 4.8 percent more than a year earlier, reports the Federal Statistical Office.
More overnight stays than before Corona
From January to November, overnight stays total 465.3 million. That is 1.8 percent more than in the same period last year and slightly more than the previous high for the first eleven months of a year from the pre-Corona year of 2019. At that time there were 464.7 million overnight stays.
In November 2024, the number of overnight stays by domestic guests climbed by 4.9 percent to 26.6 million. There was also a strong increase in foreign visitors, up 4.2 percent to 5.7 million, according to the statistics, which take into account larger establishments with at least ten overnight accommodations.
Stable demand even in the off-season
“The fact that the number of overnight stays increased in November despite unstable weather and the Christmas holidays is an absolutely positive sign,” said Norbert Kunz, managing director of the German Tourism Association (DTV). The destinations managed to ensure stable demand even in the off-season.
Tourism in Germany had already recorded growth in the first three quarters. Although many people hold on to their money after the wave of inflation, German citizens are traditionally big spenders when they go on vacation.
The industry is reporting strong bookings for the new year. The tour operator Dertour, for example, is recording record bookings for the summer. “The Germans’ desire to travel is unbroken,” Dertour manager Mark Tantz recently told the German Press Agency.
Industry leader Tui also benefits. CEO Sebastian Ebel expects further growth in 2025. The winter season has gotten off to a good start and there are already seven percent more bookings for the summer than a year ago, said Ebel in December. “Germany is particularly strong.” ‘
The weak economy would not dampen the desire to travel. “We have experienced this again and again, even in difficult economic situations, that customers want to travel, want to go on vacation.”
dpa
Source: Stern
