Germany's inbound tourism recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic shows positive development. By the end of June, the gap between the current numbers and the situation in 2019 has narrowed down to 34.9%. This is equivalent to 87.9 million overnight stays.
The recovery is driven mainly by the European source markets, which have achieved 91% of comparable figures in 2019. The overseas markets contributed 78% to the recovery, with the USA making an above-average contribution of 90% to German inbound tourism.
Based on initial data provided by the Federal Statistical Office, it was recorded that hotels and accommodation establishments with at least ten beds had 10.2 million foreign overnight stays in July. This accounts for 92.7% of 2019 record numbers.
The Quality Monitor for German Tourism has reported increased rail travel from Europe. Before the pandemic (May 2019 to April 2020), the proportion was 11%, but it has risen to 16% post-pandemic (May 2022 to April 2023).
Additionally, the length of stay for European guests in Germany increased from an average of 4.4 days to 5.2 days in the same survey period.
Based on the latest data from Forward Keys, flight arrivals in Germany for July 2023 are 77 percent higher than in July 2019. In the same month, the USA recorded 137,000 passenger arrivals, which exceeded the pre-crisis level by 4.9 percent for the first time.
An analysis of travel spending using VISA credit card data reveals that in June 2023, 96% of the spending in the same period in 2019, at 178 euros per card, will already be reached.
Travel industry stakeholders worldwide have confirmed that the number of tourists visiting Germany is increasing. In the third quarter of 2023, more than 250 CEOs and key accounts of the international travel industry were surveyed by the GNTB Travel Industry Expert Panel. They rated their current business situation in Germany from -100 to +100, and the result was +34 points. This is significantly better than a year ago (+14 points).
Despite the difficult conditions, business expectations for the next six months are 58 percentage points higher than in the previous year at +3. As a result, the business climate has improved from +33 in Q3 2022 to +46 in Q3 2023, according to these sub-indices.