German incoming tourism picks up momentum in April following Q1 2025

Germany

With a visible upturn in inbound tourism in April 2025, the cautiously optimistic forecasts of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) for the upcoming summer season are being confirmed. According to preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office, the number of overnight stays by foreign visitors rose by 4.1 per cent in April compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching 6.6 million. As a result, the deficit for the period January to April compared to the same period in 2024 has narrowed to 0.7 per cent.

Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the GNTB, comments:"The positive development in overnight figures in April 2025 confirms the surge in demand we had anticipated due to this year’s late Easter holidays. In particular, short-break travellers took advantage of the public holidays for a trip to Germany. This is supported by the latest figures from MKG Consulting, which show that hotels were significantly busier at weekends in April than during the week.

Despite the exceptionally volatile conditions in many key source markets for Germany’s inbound tourism, we are seeing largely stable demand for the upcoming summer season. In the Long-Haul Travel Barometer published yesterday by the European Travel Commission (ETC), travel intentions for Europe across the markets surveyed stand at 39 per cent for the summer months — just two percentage points below last year’s level. The ETC reports declining travel intentions to Europe from the USA (down seven per cent), and also from Brazil, Canada and Japan. In contrast, interest from Chinese travellers in visiting Europe has risen to 72 per cent — an increase of ten percentage points compared to 2024.

Further trends identified by the ETC across all markets: the greatest obstacle for those choosing not to travel remains high travel costs. Travellers who are planning a trip are shifting their budgets for food, activities and shopping towards the mid-price segment. Based on everything we are currently observing, competition between European destinations is set to intensify further this summer. Therefore, competitive and attractive framework conditions are more important than ever for Germany as a travel destination."