OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024

Germany

Tourism in the economy and outlook 

Tourism is an important economic sector in Germany and recovery is ongoing. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism directly contributed EUR 73.0 billion to the economy, accounting for 2.4% of GVA. This was down from 4.0% in 2019. Tourism directly employed 1.9 million people in 2022 or 4.1% of total employment. This was 0.6% below 2019 levels. As tourism is recovering, German companies are facing difficulties to fill vacancies with adequate staff, since many employees have permanently migrated to other sectors. Travel exports accounted for 7.3% of total service exports in 2022, still below 2019 levels of 11.4%.

International tourism is rebounding but remains below pre-pandemic levels. Germany welcomed 34.8 million international tourists in 2023. This represents an ongoing recovery from the pandemic low of 11.7 million in 2021 but remains 12.0% below 2019 levels. Germany’s top three international source markets in 2023 were the Netherlands (14%), Switzerland (9%) and the United States (8%). Domestic tourism is a significant contributor to German tourism and has recovered more quickly. In 2023, Germany recorded 148.5 million domestic overnight visitors in commercial accommodation, just 2% below 2019 levels. Germany’s tourism sector anticipates a strong 2024, building on continued tourism recovery in 2023.

Tourism governance

The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action has lead responsibility for tourism policy development. The Minister is supported by the Advisory Council on Tourism Issues, which brings together government, businesses, academia, and other tourism stakeholders. The Federal Government Co-ordinator for the Maritime Economy and Tourism is responsible for co-ordinating tourism policy within the Federal Government and the German Parliament, particularly with the Parliamentary Tourism Committee. They also co-operate with tourism stakeholders and represent the country in international tourism fora.

Tourism policy in Germany is governed by a complex structure of responsibilities: On the federal level, several ministries are involved in issues which concern tourism as a cross-sectoral industry. Apart from this, the federal government only plays a co-ordinating role in tourism whereas the 16 Federal States (Länder) are responsible for developing, shaping and promoting tourism policy. Their ministries are charged with designing, implementing and funding policies to promote local tourism development. Each federal state has a destination management organisation that represents the interests of subnational organisations. Local tourism offices co-ordinate the work of tourism SMEs, promote product design and undertake relevant marketing activities. The Joint Federal/Länder Scheme for the Improvement of Regional Economic Structures (GRW) is the central instrument of the Federal Government’s regional policy, which includes tourism development as a key pillar. GRW project funding is provided in the form of investments in trade and industry, which includes tourism (e.g. tourism spatial planning and public tourist facilities).

For 2023, the budget allocated by the Ministry to the German National Tourist Board was EUR 40.6 million (compared to EUR 39 million in 2022). The National Tourist Board also received funds from services and membership fees, amounting to EUR 3.9 million in 2023. These funds finance national tourism promotion abroad; domestic tourism promotion is carried out by each Federal State. In addition, the Ministry had a EUR 3 million budget in 2023 for selected projects to enhance performance in the tourism sector.

The Joint Federal/Länder Scheme for the Improvement of Regional Economic Structures (GRW) budget allocated to tourism was EUR 1.4 billion for 2018-22, divided evenly between federal and Länder contributions. Funds allocated to tourism corresponded to 21.9% of the entire GRW funds across all sectors approved in this period, which highlights the importance of tourism. In addition to public funds, revenue is also generated from spa tourism and accommodation taxes.

Germany: Organisational chart of tourism bodies

Source: OECD, adapted from the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, 2024.

Tourism policies and programmes

Since 2022, the Federal Government has been further enhancing the National Tourism Strategy to strengthen the economy, prepare the sector for the future and support post-crisis recovery. The Strategy addresses four key challenges in the German tourism sector: climate neutrality and nature protection; recruiting and securing staff; digitalisation; and competitive tourism.

The Strategy invites all stakeholders to contribute initiatives around these topics. A National Platform for the Future of Tourism was established to collect these initiatives and connect central tourism stakeholders from Federal and State governments, the industry and academia in a long-term dialogue on the future issues of tourism. The online platform, in place until at least the end of 2025, aims to support stakeholders to work together, create synergies between different initiatives and raise awareness of best practices.

The overarching objectives of the Strategy, supported by the Future of Tourism platform, are to (i) strengthen sustainable growth of tourism companies; (ii) ensure that the tourism sector makes a relevant contribution to climate neutrality by 2045; (iii) promote the needs-based expansion and interconnectedness of tourism mobility; (iv) work towards international quality leadership in tourism products, infrastructure, and services; (v) achieve maximum efficiency in service provision and administrative processes; (vi) stimulate social and ecological responsibility both nationally and internationally by making tourism integrative, inclusive and barrier-free; (vii) strengthen resilience in national and international tourism; (viii) increase acceptance of tourism by local communities; (ix) strengthen the environment and nature as a basis for tourism; (x) conserve natural resources; (xi) strengthen regional value creation. 

Additionally, the tourism sector benefits from several cross-sectoral and sector-specific initiatives. The LIFT funding programme aims to improve performance, promote innovation and activate tourism SMEs and destinations to deal with future tourism issues. The objective is to develop future-proofed, applicable solutions to make tourism sustainable and ensure the sector contributes to sustainable development.The Federal Statistical Office of Germany compiles an extended Tourism Satellite Account–Economy and Environment (TSA-EE) since 2019, providing data on the tourism sector’s economic impact in Germany (tourism-related output, gross value added and tourism employment) as well as tourism-related energy consumption, air emissions, raw material input and environmental protection expenditures at federal level.

Data dashboard on sustainable travel trends in Germany

A new data dashboard developed by the German National Tourist Board aims to support the sustainable development of tourism. Launched in September 2023, the new dashboard has an ecological focus and presents market-specific economic key figures. It complements the Inbound Travel Trends Germany Dashboard which was successfully launched in October 2021. 

The dashboard supports users with detailed information from three angles: (i) the general attitude of consumers from source markets towards sustainability, climate protection and their interest in sustainable travel; (ii) the perception of Germany as a destination and its positioning in the European competition; and (iii) the current travel behaviour from a sustainable perspective, including the relevance of multi-destination trips, length of stay, tourism density and CO2-equivalent emissions for transport. 

The combination of the two dashboards provides tourism stakeholders with an efficient and quick overview of relevant data to further adjust their business activities from a sustainability perspective. The initiative is largely funded by the German Federal Government.

The Centre of Excellence for the Green Transition of Tourism supports the tourism industry on its way to climate neutrality and sustainable transformation by sharing knowledge on climate-friendly and resource-saving innovations. The German Climate Fund for Tourism is part of the National Climate Initiative, a Federal project which supports measurable actions that reduce GHG emissions. The Fund is currently piloted, supported with a grant of EUR 1.5 million. It aims to enable the industry to develop, implement and document effective GHG reductions in line with the national climate action targets. Decarbonisation workshops are used to formulate feasible long-term reduction targets for the sector. Model solutions for the reduction of emissions by tourism service providers and destinations will then be developed and tested.

In May 2020, Germany published a study on the Climate Information System that assists tourism regions in adapting to future climate changes. In addition, an action guideline for destination management has been developed to support adaptation to climate change as a strategic process. Also, a new data dashboard developed by the German National Tourist Board aims to support the sustainable development of tourism (see box below). The Federal Competition for Sustainable Tourism Destinations awards active regions in sustainable tourism to show other regions to improve the quality of tourism offers. Last held in 2022-23, the competition encourages tourism organisations and associations, as well as visitors, to adopt sustainable development principles.

Statistical Profile

Germany: Domestic, inbound and outbound tourism

	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
TOURISM FLOWS, THOUSAND
Domestic tourism
Total domestic trips	726 728	..	..	622 827	..
Overnight visitors (tourists)	159 338	160 985	109 296	129 491	135 069
Same-day visitors (excursionists)	567 391	..	..	493 336	..
Nights in all types of accommodation	587 419	588 870	456 020	513 745	531 717
Hotels and similar establishments	235 441	236 481	122 744	148 135	183 211
Other collective establishments	136 487	139 356	123 829	137 128	149 183
Private accommodation	215 491	213 033	209 447	228 482	199 324
Inbound tourism
Total international arrivals	..	..	..	..	..
Overnight visitors (tourists)	38 748	39 563	12 449	11 688	28 463
Same-day visitors (excursionists)	..	..	..	..	..
Top markets
Netherlands	4 717	4 820	2 282	2 038	4 494
Switzerland	3 311	3 399	1 404	1 208	2 762
United States	2 969	3 057	594	701	2 321
Austria	2 064	2 116	820	842	1 718
United Kingdom	2 679	2 552	648	359	1 577
Nights in all types of accommodation	86 962	89 261	31 733	30 732	67 616
Hotels and similar establishments	82 167	84 568	29 562	29 094	63 734
Other collective establishments	4 794	4 693	2 171	1 638	3 883
Private accommodation	..	..	..	..	..
Outbound tourism
Total international departures	208 172	212 143	103 117	100 720	168 698
Overnight visitors (tourists)	108 542	99 533	36 867	48 667	86 623
Same-day visitors (excursionists)	99 630	112 610	66 250	52 053	82 075
Top destinations
Austria	14 396	11 718	7 494	7 252	11 908
Italy	13 573	11 633	4 151	7 552	12 064
Netherlands	11 672	10 985	2 716	5 414	9 468
Spain	7 413	7 091	4 082	3 459	5 783
France	6 143	6 468	2 653	3 383	6 075
TOURISM RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURE, MILLION EUR
Inbound tourism
Total international receipts	51 085	37 620	19 472	19 208	30 505
International travel receipts	36 391	37 344	19 351	18 827	29 959
International passenger transport receipts	14 694	276	121	381	546
Outbound tourism
Total international expenditure	88 142	83 346	34 060	43 150	85 779
International travel expenditure	80 934	83 292	34 029	43 150	85 204
International passenger transport expenditure	7 208	54	31	..	575

.. Not available

Source: OECD Tourism Statistics (Database).

Statlink

Germany: Enterprises and employment in tourism

	Number of establishments2	Number of persons employed
	2021	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Total	..	..	..	..	..	..
Tourism industries	235 619	2 179 830	2 145 026	1 546 927	1 778 520	..
Accommodation services for visitors	..	1 806	1 752	1 335	1 144	..
Hotels and similar establishments1	29 410	..	..	..	..	..
Food and beverage serving industry	172 315	1 517 082	1 493 927	999 938	1 456 955	..
Passenger transport	..	..	..	..	..	..
Air passenger transport	550	58 380	59 568	59 167	54 733	..
Railways passenger transport	24	..	..	..	..	..
Road passenger transport	22 650	482 486	469 768	399 433	186 527	..
Water passenger transport	488	10 007	9 742	..	8 754	..
Passenger transport supporting services	..	..	..	..	..	..
Transport equipment rental	..	..	..	..	..	..
Travel agencies and other reservation services industry	10 182	110 069	110 269	87 054	79 161	..
Cultural industry	..	..	..	..	..	..
Sports and recreation industry	..	..	..	..	..	..
Retail trade of country-specific tourism characteristic goods	..	..	..	..	..	..
Other country-specific tourism industries	..	..	..	..	..	..
Other industries	..	..	..	..	..	..

.. Not available

1. Data for hotels and similar establishments refer to number of establishments.

2. Data refer to number of enterprises.

Source: OECD Tourism Statistics (Database).

Statlink

Germany: Internal tourism consumption

Million EUR

	2020
	Domestic tourism expenditure	Inbound tourism expenditure	Internal tourism consumption
Total	..	..	..
Consumption products	140 514	22 655	197 783
Tourism characteristic products	84 184	16 857	117 119
Accommodation services for visitors	18 853	7 135	30 196
Food and beverage serving services	31 509	6 335	37 844
Passenger transport services	16 533	2 884	19 417
Air passenger transport services	4 711	1 745	6 456
Railways passenger transport services	2 481	240	2 721
Road passenger transport services	8 442	477	8 918
Water passenger transport services	899	422	1 321
Passenger transport supporting services	..	..	..
Transport equipment rental services	1 617	157	1 774
Travel agencies and other reservation services industry	3 854	268	4 122
Cultural services	..	..	..
Sports and recreation services	11 818	79	23 766
Country-specific tourism characteristic goods	..	..	..
Country-specific tourism characteristic services	..	..	..
Other consumption products	56 330	5 798	80 664
Tourism connected products	21 249	1 414	22 663
Non-tourism related consumption products	35 081	4 384	58 002
Non-consumption products	..	..	..

.. Not available

Source: OECD Tourism Statistics (Database).

Statlink