TORONTO — Germany’s inbound tourism is well on its way to recovering, says the German National Tourist Board (GNTB), making an increasing contribution to the total volume of overnight stays.

According to an analysis based on provisional overnight stay figures from the Federal Statistical Office, 5.5 million international overnight stays in accommodations with at least 10 beds were registered in November 2023, reflecting a 7.8% increase compared to the same month in 2022. 

The cumulative number of overnight stays by foreigners from January to November reached 74.9 million. This brings the incoming figures to 89.6% of the results for the same period in the previous record year of 2019. 

The share of foreign guests in the total number of overnight stays was 16.4% in the first 11 months, compared to 14.8% in the same period of the previous year.

Said Petra Hedorfer, Chairwoman of the GNTB Executive Board: “In the European Travel Commission’s Monitoring Sentiment for Intra-European Travel study, Germany maintained its position among the top five preferred destinations for Europeans in autumn 2023 and is participating in the Europe-wide trend towards international travel.

“The proportion of those who only want to travel in their own country in the next six months has fallen continuously from 31.5% in fall 2021 to 25.7% in fall 2023. European destinations were still preferred by 55.3% of travellers in autumn 2021, compared to 60.3% in autumn 2023. This means that Europe, as the most important source region, together with good recovery prospects from overseas source markets, also offers strong potential for the further recovery of German inbound tourism in the coming months.”

Hedorfer added that the country is expected to see a further boost in visitors this year and next due to key events, including the 250th anniversary of Caspar David Friedrich’s birth, the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and Chemnitz being named the European Capital of Culture in 2025.