Tourism in Germany
Germany is the seventh most visited country in the world,
[1][2] with a total of 407.26 million overnights during 2012.
[3]
This number includes 68.83 million nights by foreign visitors, the
majority of foreign tourists in 2009 coming from the Netherlands, the
United States, and Switzerland (see table). Additionally, more than 30%
of Germans spend their holiday in their own country. According to
Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Reports,
Germany is rated as one of the safest travel destinations worldwide.
The official body for tourism in Germany is the
German National Tourist Board
(GNTB), represented worldwide by National Tourist Offices in 29
countries. Surveys by the GNTB include perceptions and reasons for
holidaying in Germany, which are as follows: culture (75%),
outdoors/countryside (59%), cities (59%), cleanliness (47%), security
(41%), modernity (36%), good hotels (35%), good gastronomy/cuisine
(34%), good accessibility (30%), cosmopolitanism/hospitality (27%), good
shopping opportunities (21%), exciting nightlife (17%) and good
price/performance ratio (10%) (multiple answers were possible).
In 2012, over 30.4 million international tourists arrived in Germany,
bringing over US$38 billion in international tourism receipts to the
country.
[4]
Domestic and international travel and tourism combined directly to
contribute over EUR43.2 billion to the German GDP. Including indirect
and induced impacts, the industry contributes 4.5% of German GDP and
supports 2 million jobs (4.8% of total employment).
[5] The
ITB Berlin is the world's leading tourism
trade fair.
[6]