The number of tourists visiting the German capital has increased by three percent in the first quarter of 2017. At the same time, the number of overnight stays has decreased. The neighbor city of Potsdam feels the positive impact of Berlin’s tourism boom.
In the first three months of 2017, Berlin accommodation providers reported more arriving guests than in the same period last year.
The Berlin-Brandenburg Statistical Office reported that the number of tourist arrivals rose by 3 percent to approximately 2.7 million. On the other hand, the number of overnight stays fell by 0.3 percent to 6.3 million. This includes 2.8 million overnight stays by foreign guests. The data represent an increase of 0.5 percent compared to the previous year. The average length of stays is 2.3 days.
The number of tourists in Berlin who came from Germany, the domestic travelers, reached 1.6 million, which was the biggest group of visitors. Other important source markets included UK (140 thousand visitors), Italy (79 thousand visitors), and Spain (67 thousand visitors).
The largest percentage losses compared to last year were recorded with respect to Danish guests (-21.4%), Swiss visitors (-8.4), and Dutch visitors (-1.9%).
Even Potsdam, the city that directly borders Berlin, benefits from the tourism boom in the capital. According to Potsdam's economic sponsor Stefan Frerichs, during the summer months, many hotels in the city are fully booked. For years, interest in the city has been increasing among tourists and Berlin is now of big help. Tourists are interested not only in the capital but in the surroundings as well.
In 2016, Potsdam reported 1,139,000 overnight stays which was a record value. For the fifth time, the number of overnight stays exceeded the one million mark. On average, the guests stayed in Potsdam for 2.4 days.
One of the biggest tourism magnets of Potsdam is the Museum Barberini, an art museum rebuilt on the site of the Barberini Palace, destroyed by bombing in 1945. The museum was reopened in January 2017 and already has become a popular attraction.