Press release: Record-breaking figures for incoming tourism in June, and significant overall growth in the first six months of 2024

Additional boost for inbound tourism due to UEFA EURO 2024 - Top ranking for Germany in the Travel & Tourism Development Index 2024 - Positive outlook for the second half of 2024

Frankfurt am Main, 9 August 2024 – Incoming tourism hits an all-time high in June and remains the growth driver for the German tourism industry in the first half of 2024. The European Men's Football Championships are expected to have further lasting positive effects: The hotel industry in particular benefits from the UEFA EURO 2024 through higher occupancy rates and revenue growth in many cities. Also the airline industry received an additional boost from fan travel - particularly from the European participating countries - concludes the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) following an analysis of various national and international studies.

According to the provisional overnight stays figures released by the Federal Statistical Office, 8.7 million international overnight stays were registered in hotels and guesthouses with at least ten beds in June 2024 - an increase of 15.7 per cent compared to the same month last year and also the highest June figure ever recorded. The cumulative number of overnight stays by foreigners from January to June 2024 rose by 7.1 per cent compared to the same period in 2023 to 37.5 million international overnight stays. This brings the results for the first half of 2024 just 6% below the record level of 2019.

Petra Hedorfer, CEO of the GNTB, comments: "The UEFA EURO 2024 has exceeded our expectations and given incoming tourism a major boost. In the run-up to the European Football Championship, we had already intensively promoted the idea of exploring the host cities and the surrounding areas beyond the visit to the European Championship matches and thus extending the stay in Germany. The current figures confirm our strategy. Furthermore, Germany has presented itself to guests from all over the world as a hospitable, peaceful and safe country."

Success factor #1: "Stay Longer" Campaign

Prior to the European Championships, 55.4 per cent of visitors to the European Championships stated in a GNTB survey in France, the UK, Spain and Switzerland that they intended to stay in Germany for at least three nights, 36 per cent planned to stay more than four nights beyond the match day. The latest initial ForwardKeys analyses on the flight data from June indicate that two-thirds of air travellers stayed in Germany for a minimum of four nights, with the overall average length of stay at 9.7 nights.

Furthermore, a GNTB survey conducted among football fans from France, the UK, and Spain after the European Championship showed that 60% now have a heightened interest in visiting Germany due to their positive experiences during the event.

Success Factor #2: Rich Tourism Offerings

In the recently published Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2024 by the World Economic Forum, Germany ranks 6th out of 119 countries worldwide and 3rd in Europe. The TDDI evaluates in five dimensions and 17 sub-categories on how economies enable sustainable and resilient development in the travel and tourism sector. Germany performs especially well in the sub-categories Health and Hygiene (1st place), Cultural Resources (6th place) and Transport and Port Infrastructure (8th place).

First positive results after UEFA EURO 2024 for tourism stakeholders in Germany

The hotel industry in Germany recorded a surge in demand just in time for the start of the European Championship preliminaries. According to MKG Consulting, occupancy across Germany rose by three percentage points to 76.7% in June 2024 compared to June 2023. At EUR 131 per room and night, average revenues were 12.5 per cent higher than in the previous year.

Initial flight data confirms the strong impetus provided by the European Football Championships for the half-year figures for inbound tourism: international passenger arrivals in May 2024 were up 4.1 per cent compared to the previous year, with an increase of 13.2 per cent in June and 10.3 per cent in July, according to analysis by ForwardKeys.

The European Championship finalists nations were also top performers on the flight market. Over 131,000 flight arrivals were registered from the UK in June (+ 37.6 per cent compared to the same month last year) and more than 105,000 (+ 14.9 per cent) in July. Spain generated over 59,000 passenger arrivals in June (+ 19.2 per cent) and more than 58,000 in July (+ 23.9 per cent).

In addition, experimental data - including new data sources and innovative statistical methods for June 2024 - also shows an increase in tourist arrivals in Germany by road and rail. For this analysis, the GNTB used mobile phone data provided by teralytics.

The outlook for the remaining summer season is positive: the available booking figures for the incoming flight segment for the months of July to September 2024 are 10.6 per cent above the previous year's figures. Hotel room bookings in Germany from all international source markets via the online booking platform Expedia rose by 11.6 per cent in July 2024 compared to July 2023.