TORONTO — Travel to Germany continues its strong growth, topping the 80 million mark for overnight stays for the first time ever in 2016. It was the seventh consecutive record result for the country’s inbound tourism market.
From January to December the German Federal Statistical Office recorded 80.8 million international overnight stays in accommodation establishments with a minimum of 10 beds, an increase of 1.1 million (1.4%) compared to the previous year.
“Destination Germany is enjoying continued popularity with international visitors. We have achieved record highs for incoming tourism for the seventh year in a row, which reflects the strength of our tourism industry,” said Iris Gleicke, German Federal Government Commissioner for Tourism and Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
Two of the basic prerequisites for Germany’s achievement are tolerance and cosmopolitanism, being open to the world, she added. “We will not allow xenophobic loudmouths to ruin our country’s good reputation.”
While the German Federal Statistical Office recorded a 4.3% decrease in Canadian overnights, it also noted a marked increase of 11.4% for December 2016 over December 2015. “Canadians clearly enjoyed our Christmas markets!” said Antje Splettstoesser, Director, German National Tourist Office in Canada.
Statistics Canada’s research, which records all visits to Germany regardless of where they are staying, strongly supports the fact that Canadians like to include Germany in their travel plans, added Splettstoesser.
According to StatsCan surveys for the period 2010 to 2015, Germany shows a 74.47% increase in Canadian visits, surpassed in Europe only by Spain. River cruising has helped the trend. “It’s an easy snapshot of our regions and towns, intriguing enough to have you come back, stay in a comfortable hotel for a few days and explore in more depth what our country and people have to offer – and that’s exactly what happened in December, when Canadians came to visit our beautiful Christmas markets in many small towns and all larger cities.”
