Germany is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. In 2013 Germany again has marked tourism increasing in the number of foreign visitors to the country. According to statistics the number of tourists from European countries has increased by 4 percent in Germany for the first eight months of 2013. Most often people come to Germany from its neighboring countries. The overnights number in Germany hotels has increased over this period for tourists from Switzerland at 5.5%, from the UK by 9.1%.
Number of tourists from China, Japan, UK, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region also noticeable increased in last time. Tourists from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region countries spend in Germany for this period of 2013 about 17% more time, compared with 2012. It is also important that tourists from these countries often are wealthy people and bring good income on the German economy.
Number of nights (million nights) spent by tourists from some countries in hotels in Germany in 2012.
- Netherlands - 10.7
- Switzerland - 4.8
- U.S. - 4.7
- United Kingdom - 4.3
- Italy - 3.3
- Austria - 3.0
According to experts, advantage of Germany is its convenient location in the central part of Europe, a large number of interesting tourist cities, tourist attractions, museums and interesting events. There was also a trend to reduction in the duration of a tourist trip. Tourists often prefer to make a few short trips to different cities in Germany, instead of one longer trip. Germany also is one of the safest countries for tourists around the world.
List of the most popular tourist cities in Germany include Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt. In 2012, Berlin was visited by nearly 11 million tourists who spent in the Germany capital hotels about 25 million overnight stays. Approximately half of the total number is foreign tourists, the rest tourists from other parts of Germany.
The revenue of the tourism industry in Germany is estimated at 28 billion euros ($38.1 billion). Tourism employs about 2.9 million people in Germany. Tourism industry revenues continue to grow.
Tourism is an important source of income for the economy of countries
According to statistics 8 most visited countries receive about 40 % of the total income of the world tourism industry. In first place in the ranking is the U.S. (tourism income are estimated about $126 billion, about $2,000 per tourist). Among the European countries most revenue from tourism is obtained in Spain ($55.9 billion), France ($53.7 billion), Italy, Germany and the UK. China is the leader among the countries of Asia and the number 4 in the world ranking ($50.0 billion).
Turkey is one of the most popular tourists destination with the income from the tourism industry about 26 billion dollars. Turkey attracts about 35 million visitors a year who spend an average of 743 dollars per tourist during their stay in Turkey. This is significantly lower than the average income in the 8 most popular holiday destinations of Europe (1100 dollars). This is probably due to the fact that Turkey is positioning itself as an affordable place for a summer holiday. The rich get richer and the poor poorer in crisis time. Therefore, the most benefits at this time give attracting wealthy customers and providing luxury services. Less wealthy people have to save money and spend less at the time of its trip or cancel the travel. The rich can spend for their travel more than usually. Probably, during the economic crisis should try to attract tourists from the world's richest countries.