Last year was a successful year for German tourism. The number of overnight stays rose considerably due to the recovery of business travel and significant increase in city tourism. The trend is expected to continue in 2011.
The German Federal Statistical Office reported that year 2010 has been a record year for Germany. More visitors stayed in hotels and other facilities than ever before. Around 380 million overnight stays were recorded in housings with more than nine beds in the past years. Compared to 2009, the increase of overall overnight stays was 3%. Traveller-online.at reported 320 million visitors were from Germany. Also, the number of foreign tourists rose by 10 % to 60.3 million a year.
According to the statistical report, every second German citizen considers the political situation when choosing holiday destination. Terrorism and political instability are not assets of any countries. Only 13% of all respondents claimed their decision is not influenced by political situation. One third of all respondents stated that they go only to low risk regions.
There was a similar increase of overnight stays in 2006 during the World Cup. In 2011 the German National Tourist Board bets on football again. Women football world cup and 125th birthday of the invention of first car in Germany, these are the events that are expected to attract a lot of visitors in 2011. Petra Hedorfer, the Chef of the German National Tourist Board, said that the number of foreign visitors could reach 80 million in the coming years.
Besides the recovery of business travels, it is the city tourism that contributed most to the increase. Short trips have always been more important for the market than long vacations. They are also a source of the regular profit. Temporal events such as the Botticelli exhibition in Frankfurt or the Capital of Culture in the Ruhr also play an important role. Nevertheless, Germany has much to offer to everybody. Apart from cultural events, the country also boasts many historical sights and beautiful nature.