2015 was a year of records for the Bavaria tourism industry with more guests coming to the region than ever before.
About a third of Germany’s 100 most popular sights are in Bavaria. Last year, 88 million people visited the German federal state, which is more than ever before. Overall, Bavaria tourism industry recorded an increase in the amount of visitors of 3.6 percent. The number of people working in tourism also grew – by 1 percent.
As a yearly online survey by Germany’s tourism central revealed, Bavaria’s most popular sight is still the castle of Neuschwanstein. Many tourists also visited Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the Zugspitze and the Romantic Road between Würzburg and Füssen. Munich was another highly popular attraction, with its Oktoberfest, the soccer stadium, English gardens, Olympiapark, Hofbräuhaus, Viktualienmarkt, and the new and old Pinakothek.
City tourism in Bavaria also recorded an increase. Bamberg, for instance, reported 12 percent more overnight stays compared to the year before.
During summer alone, nearly 21 million people visited Bavaria and booked more than 54 million overnight stays. The number of Russian tourists decreased significantly by 30 percent and amounted to 208,000 compared to 2014. This deficit was balanced out by 440,000 Chinese tourists. Their number increased by 35 percent. The amount of American and British tourists also went up.
On top of that, Bavaria still remains a very popular destination for German tourists as well. With more than 43 million overnight stays, the summer season recorded the best numbers since 1995.
For the future, Bavaria tourism industry wants to focus on barrier free tourism and health tourism. Local tourism authority also plans to promote Bavarian beer more especially through the celebrations around the 500th anniversary of the law regulating the ingredients in beer.
