HIER IN BERLIN
An initiative by visitBerlin and you
Think. Debate. Express your views.
Berlin attracts people from all over the world – every year, several million visitors come to our city, and that is something we can all be proud of! As visitor numbers rise, the goal of promoting a sustainable and city-friendly culture of welcome is becoming increasingly important.
To improve coexistence between Berliners and tourists and create a positive atmosphere for everyone, we have launched the ‘HIER IN BERLIN’ initiative. Since 2014, visitBerlin has been engaging in dialogue with you, the city’s residents. Together, we develop ideas and measures that make Berlin a better place to live and make coexistence even more pleasant. Whether in discussions with Berlin’s boroughs, politicians or local initiatives – we are your point of contact and are committed to a city where Berliners and visitors alike feel at home.
HIER IN BERLIN aims to provide a space for new ideas. Do you have any ideas on how to further improve the quality of life in Berlin? If so, please feel free to share them with us at hier-in-berlin@visitBerlin.de.
Our focus is on dialogue and collaboration to ensure that Berlin’s tourism sector is well equipped for the future.
Since 2016, visitBerlin has been touring the districts with the HIER-Mobil: we can usually be found at tourist hotspots in particular, where we engage in face-to-face conversations with local Berliners about tourism in Berlin. This is important to us as it allows us to gauge the mood in the individual neighbourhoods. We’re on hand to answer questions, listen to suggestions and provide information about tourism in Berlin.
In 2024, we held numerous discussions at 10 tourist hotspots. For the majority of Berliners, tourism is a great asset to the city, and the importance of tourism as an economic factor for Berlin is also recognised. Recurring critical issues include, for example, holiday lettings (a shortage of housing and rising rents) and the feeling that the city is becoming increasingly noisy and polluted (the general sense that the city is changing). The concentration of tourist hotspots was also frequently criticised.
Your participation, as Berliners, is important to us. That is why, in 2022, together with the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises, we launched the Berlin Tourism Citizens’ Advisory Board to break new ground in citizen participation. The Citizens’ Advisory Board is an independent body comprising 24 committed citizens from Berlin’s 12 districts, which advocates for a forward-looking and environmentally sustainable approach to city tourism.
Further measures being implemented by visitBerlin as part of the HIER IN BERLIN project include
- annual special events such as the opening of the ICC or the storytelling salon marking the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall
- various surveys, in order to gain an even better understanding of tourism in Berlin and to take account of the views of Berliners:
- Public survey on the acceptance of tourism, analysis of tourist hotspots, ‘HIER-IN-BERLIN online questionnaire’ on tourism in Berlin
- Citizen participation initiatives relating to tourism in Berlin
- Dialogue with various Berlin-based initiatives to make the city an even better place to live
- the network of cities, including New York, Vienna, Barcelona and Amsterdam, in order to take into account solutions that have proved successful in other major tourist destinations
In addition, the districts that are less popular with tourists, as well as the importance of tourism as an economic factor, are being increasingly incorporated into visitBerlin’s wider communication initiatives.
Online survey
Berlin thrives on the diversity and creativity of its people – and that’s exactly why your opinion matters! By taking a few moments to complete our survey, you can help make tourism in Berlin even more sustainable and city-friendly. Do you have any ideas, suggestions or wishes regarding the development of tourism in Berlin? Then get involved and help shape a Berlin where we all want to live and where Berliners and our visitors alike feel at home – fill in our survey via this link.
HIER IN BERLIN on Instagram
Rediscover Berlin with @du_hier_in_berlin! Here, we share information about what visitBerlin has to offer and about Berlin itself. From off-the-beaten-track Berlin tips to topics such as reusable products and sustainability, dialogue, social engagement and hands-on activities – our aim is to inspire you with a love for Berlin and to take joint responsibility for our city.
More topics for Berliners at about.visitBerlin.de/en/berliner
