Incoming tourism in Germany: record numbers and new hope!

Incoming tourism in Germany: record numbers and new hope!

Incoming tourism in Germany will be at its best in April 2025. An increase of 4.1 percent in overnight stays by foreigners to a total of 6.6 million compared to the previous year is a clear sign that the country's popularity as a travel destination is continuing to increase. Loud Travel business the gap compared to the period from January to April 2024 is only 0.7 percent, which further underlines the positive development. Short vacationers make extensive use of the late Easter holidays to travel to Germany, which led to a significant increase in frequency in the hotels on the weekends.

The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) considers demand for the upcoming summer season to be stable, despite the volatile conditions that continue to challenge tourism. Interestingly, the European Travel Commission (ETC) Long Haul Travel Barometer shows that 39 percent of respondents have plans to travel to Europe, which is just two percentage points lower than last year.

Growth course and international trends

The good news is one of a number of positive developments: Germany's incoming tourism was already on course for growth in 2024 Trvlcounter reported. By the end of December 2024, 85.3 million international overnight stays were registered, which corresponds to an increase of 5.4 percent compared to the previous year. For 2025, the GNTB expects around 91 million overnight stays by foreign guests and expects growth to accumulate to around seven percent.

Interest in Germany also remains high overseas: The GNTB predicts that the number of overnight stays from European source markets will increase by five to six percent, while the increase from overseas markets could be even higher at up to eleven percent. This shows that Germany continues to earn a solid place in the international tourism sector. This is supported by a survey by ETC, which states that 63 percent of respondents plan to travel long-distance and 44 percent want to travel to Europe.

Chinese travelers and challenges

Particularly noteworthy is the increase in interest in Europe among Chinese travelers, which at 72 percent is up ten percent compared to 2024. The GNTB sees this development as an opportunity to further expand the tourism infrastructure and strengthen competitiveness. However, the issue of higher travel costs remains a challenge for many planning a trip, as it is perceived as the biggest hurdle for non-travellers.

The successes that the tourism sector can already celebrate are also the result of intensive market analyzes and studies, such as the GNTB, which published a brochure on travel behavior and sustainability in March 2025. A whopping 94.8 percent of 2024 arrivals have already reached 2019 levels, and this is just the beginning. But as competition between European destinations intensifies this summer, Germany remains in third place among preferred European destinations, just behind France and Italy Tourism network reported.

It remains to be seen whether incoming tourism in Germany will actually continue to grow unabated. The next time will show whether the German National Tourist Board can maintain its optimistic outlook - it will definitely remain exciting along the beautiful rivers, historic cities and picturesque landscapes.