The number of people from other countries traveling to Germany hit a record high for the 5th consecutive year in 2014, with a total volume of 75.6 million overnight stays. The GFSO (German Federal Statistical Office) has stated that the total number of overnight stays by international travelers in establishments offering accommodation with 10 or more beds increased by 3.7 million between January and December, a year on year increase of five percent.
Petra Hedorfer, the Chief Executive Officer of the GNTB (German National Tourist Board) said that the results are exceptional showing that Germany is now considered to be one of the most sought after travel destinations in the world. Arrivals increased by 4.6%. This means, according to Hedorfer, that the country is well above the equivalent growth rate of Europe, which the UNWTO puts at 3.9%, and at par with the 4.7 percent global growth rate.
The most recent UNWTO projections indicate that the global travel market will grow by 3-4% in 2015. Hedorfer stated that they have an ideal starting point for the long term outlook of attaining 121.5 million overnight stays by international visitors every year by 2030.
Growth Drivers from Europe
Europe is still the biggest contributor to Germany’s inbound tourism, accounting for approximately 75% market share. Switzerland contributed the greatest volume of absolute-growth in 2014, with almost 378,000 additional overnight stays and as a result bringing its total number of tourists to 5.9 million. The 2nd place was taken by the United Kingdom, with an increase of nearly 255,000 overnight stays, in comparison with the preceding year. In 2014, travelers from the UK made 5.2 million overnight stays in Germany. The 3rd fastest growing tourism market is Poland, which had an increase of 247,000 overnight stays. As a result, the total volume of overnight stays from Poland was approximately 2.4 million in 2014.
Overseas Markets Still Showing Strong Growth
The Arab-Gulf States are experiencing tremendous increase and maintain the top-position among the overseas tourism markets in relation to absolute-growth in overnight stays: 318,000 more overnight stays were brought about last year by tourists from the Arab-Gulf States, as part of nearly 1.9 million overnight stays.
The 2nd place was taken by China, which generated 298,000 additional overnight stays in Germany, raising it above 2 million for the first time.
The USA, which is still the largest overseas tourism market for Germany, continued to experience impressive growth, with its visitors making almost 246,000 more overnight stays than they did the preceding year, as part of a total volume of 5.2 million overnight stays in 2014.