The CEO of German Tourism, Petra Hedorfer, estimates that this year the tourism in the country will grow 3% to 4%.
“We expect to grow 3% to 4%, but we cannot predict the future. So far, we have been quite accurate in our forecasts,” said the executive director, after stating that “tourism in Germany is experiencing a boom”.
According to Petra Hedorfer, in 2017, Germany registered 83.9 million tourist overnight stays, which corresponded to a rise of 3.6%, a growth that has continued in the early months of 2018, given that in January and February the tourist overnight stays grew by 5.2%.
The CEO of German Tourism also disclosed the markets which have experienced the highest growth in 2017.
European visitors increased by 1.6 million overnight stays. Particularly Russians and Ukrainians showed the highest growth rates, rising 20.3% and 24.2%, which represented an increase of 302.532 and 78.222 overnight stays, respectively.
On the other hand, in long-haul travel markets, USA registered an increase of 8.8%, with over 505.226 overnight stays, followed by China, which grew 10.6%, with over 273.962 overnight stays. Notwithstanding, the highest growth rate came from Central America, with an increase of 34.1%, with over 104.013 overnight stays.
Germany’s main markets continue to be the Netherlands and Switzerland, although the Dutch market registered a 0.5% decline, to 11.2 million overnight stays, whereas the Swiss rose by 0.9% to 6.7 million overnight stays. The United States ranks 3rd, with 6.2 million overnight stays, 8.8% more compared to the previous year.
The vast majority of tourists, both European and long-haul travel markets, visited Germany on holiday and booked their trips online, with the largest expenses being registered by tourists from Poland, with a total of 5.4 billion euros, whereas the USA is the prominent country in the long-haul travel markets, with expenditures that totaled 6.3 billion euros in 2017.
This year, German tourism companies promote local cuisine, but the next two years should also contribute to the growth of the number of international tourists, since, in 2019, the country will celebrate the centenary of the Bauhaus Movement and 2020 brings the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven.