German tourism authorities reported positive numbers for September. The industry is on its way for an eighth consecutive record year.
The total number of overnight stays in Germany grew by 2% compared with the same month last year to 45.8 million. This was reported by the Federal Statistical Office. The number of overnight stays by foreign guests increased by 3%, while that of domestic travelers increased by 2%.
In the period from January to September, a 3% increase was registered to 359.3 million overnight stays. Accommodations with at least ten guest beds are included in the list. German tourism has been booming for a long time: 2016 was the seventh consecutive record year for the sector.
In 2017, a new record is expected. Germany is more popular as a travel destination than ever before. The industry is confident that the positive development will continue. “Tourism in Germany is booming,” said Ingrid Hartges, chief executive of the hotel and restaurant association Dehoga. Germany is popular with guests from both Germany and abroad. The number of overnight stays increased by 3% in the first half of the year.
“Hiking, cycling, culture and city trips are very popular,” said Hartges. German tourism also benefits from the fact that the trend is for several short holidays instead of a big summer one. There are also many business travelers as well as tourism conferences or fairs.
In 2016, terrorist attacks in Europe decreased the desire to travel by foreign guests – especially from Asia. Last year, the economic crisis in Russia and Brazil also decreased the demand of travel of guests from these countries.
However, expectations are significantly higher for this year. So far, there have been more visitors from Russia, Brazil, China and India than in the same period last year. Already in June 2017, the number of overnight stays increased by 10%.
Bavaria is at the top of the popularity scale for travelers. In the first five months of this year 32.4 million overnight stays were registered here. The second most popular state was North Rhine-Westphalia (20.3 million), while Baden-Württemberg was third with 18.7 million.
Munich is obviously Bavaria’s flagship. New attractions are built in the city continuously. Only last summer there were overnight records in July, August and September, according to data from Munich Tourism.
