Tourist overnight stays in Germany 1992-2023

German travel accommodation is picking up where it left off before the COVID-19 lockdowns. Around 487.2 million overnight stays were recorded in 2023, which was very close to the figure recorded in 2019. This renews hope for the future development of overnight tourism as far as travel accommodation in Germany is concerned.

Where to stay

The first choice of accommodation for visitors coming to Germany is still hotels. In 2023, both domestic and foreign guests favored a hotel stay far ahead of other establishments, with close to 149 million Germans alone staying there. Germany does offer a wide variety of travel accommodation besides hotels. These include B&Bs, campgrounds, youth hostels, various recreation and vacation homes, as well as apartments available for short-term rent. The latter are proving to be a source of competition for serviced accommodation such as hotels due to the larger degree of independence an apartment may offer by definition. Additionally, these apartments or houses rented for a vacation provide more flexibility with kitchen facilities and therefore more financial options when budgeting for a trip. Online home rental platforms such as Airbnb are a leading source. 

Where to go

The majority of international tourists coming to Germany preferred large cities for their overnight stays, as of 2022. These had a population of over 100,000. Particularly for those visiting the country for the first time, especially if they don’t speak the language, cities may prove a more attractive choice to get to know parts of Germany due to the increasingly international atmosphere in urban areas, being able to get around speaking English and convenient transport networks for expanding the trip to other German regions. The largest German cities were also favorably ranked in terms of traffic safety when walking and cycling. So, whether just one overnight stay or several, a lot of factors go into planning a trip besides choosing where to sleep.