2023: Berlin tourism continue to rise

Berlin, 23 February 2024 Berlin tourism sees a steady recovery: Around 12.1 million guests visited the German capital in the year 2023 and accounted for 29.6 million overnight stays. The figures were presented this morning by Berlin's Senator for Economic Affairs Franziska Giffey together with Managing Director of visitBerlin Burkhard Kieker at a press conference on the Berlin TV tower. The number of guests jumped by 16 per cent and the number of overnight stays increased by twelve per cent. A total of 718 accommodation establishments were ready to welcome visitors.

Franziska Giffey, Mayor and Senator for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises said: "2023 was a very successful year for Berlin's tourism and convention business. This positive trend is sure to continue. We are among the top cities in Europe alongside London and Paris, and Berlin was recently voted one of the most interesting destinations in the world alongside New York and Cape Town. With more than twelve million guests from all over the world and around 30 million overnight stays last year, the trend is quite obvious: Berlin is luring an ever growing number of tourists. The city's cosmopolitanism and tolerance, culture and creativity, neighbourhoods and metropolis, innovation and economic strength together with its commitment to urban tourism are the aces up our sleeve. This development is beneficial for our entire city and we will continue to systematically support the industry in order to secure important jobs and make Berlin one of the most attractive, innovative and sustainable cities in the world - in other words, a place that everyone should visit at least once in their lives."

Burkhard Kieker, Managing Director of visitBerlin, said: "Berlin is buzzing. We welcomed more international guests again in the year 2023. We are very pleased about the interest expressed by our Polish neighbours. The whole city benefits from this success, especially the culture, tourism and event industry. This is not a simple matter of course, rather it is the culmination of close cooperation between all players in the industry."

Overnight stays by international guests, especially from the UK, the USA and the Netherlands 
In the year 2023, the share of international overnight stays exceeded 40 per cent for the first time since 2019. In addition to Germany, the most important source markets were once again the UK (1.3 million overnight stays, +35%), the US overseas market (1.2 million overnight stays, +19%), the Netherlands (843,000 overnight stays, +10%), Spain (643,000 overnight stays, +10%) and Italy (637,000 overnight stays, +23%). Polish guests also travelled more to Berlin (607,000 overnight stays, +30%).

The tourism and event industry reaps the benefits
The local leisure and cultural sector also enjoyed stable growth in the number of visitors. Tourist attractions were delighted to see a four per cent increase in visitors as compared to the previous year. The number of visitors to museums and memorials rose by 22 per cent. Theatres recorded an increase in visitors of 19 per cent and sightseeing providers had 17 per cent more guests. This data is based on the visitBerlin market research tool "Visitor Insight". 

Berlin ranks among the world's best destinations for city breaks
Berlin's appeal shines through in an international comparison: In the current "Best cities in the world 2024" ranking, Berlin is one of the three most interesting cities in the world, along with New York and Cape Town, according to TimeOut-Magazine. In the European City Travel Study 2023/2024 by ProjectM, in which 6,000 city travellers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland were surveyed, Berlin is placed first and, together with Paris, is one of the top city travel destinations in a comparison of 170 cities in Europe. 

Highlights for 2024: European Football Championships, 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, 100th anniversary of IFA
Berlin is hosting several high-profile events in the year 2024. In summer, Berlin will celebrate a giant football and cultural festival: The Olympic Stadium will host five matches and the final of the 2024 European Football Championships. Thanks to the fan zone at the Brandenburg Gate, even those who do not have a ticket for the Olympic Stadium can enjoy the big public viewing event. This September, the IFA celebrates its 100th anniversary. Autumn of 2024 will be dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Berlin is also looking forward to several other anniversaries, such as the 20th anniversary of the Festival of Lights, the 50th Berlin Marathon and 55 years of the Berlin TV Tower.

Important congresses for 2024 
The congress business is also booming: Numerous congresses are on the agenda in 2024, especially in the fields of medicine and science. Among them we have the EHRA Heart Congress in April (European Heart Rhythm Association, 7-9 April, with 5,000 participants), the Annual Breast Cancer Congress in May (ESMO Breast Cancer 2024, 15-17 May, with over 4,000 participants), the World Health Summit in October (13-15 October, with over 3,000 participants in Berlin) and the German Nursing Day in November (7-8 November, with 3,500 participants). In addition to the IFA, another absolute highlight will be the Greentech Sustainability Festival, which will take place for the first time at the Berlin Exhibition Centre (15-17 May) and is expected to host 10,000 guests.

visitBerlin
“Inspiring the world for Berlin.” With this mission, Berlin Tourismus & Kongress GmbH promotes Berlin’s destination management as well as the city’s tourism and congress marketing. Under the visitBerlin brand, the company is a partner, actor, source of creative ideas, and networker. Its remit is focused on sustainable product development and marketing city-compatible tourism services in all twelve Berlin boroughs with the aim of maintaining the life quality of local residents and harmoniously increasing experience value for visitors. As a tour operator, visitBerlin also issues the Berlin WelcomeCard, the city’s official tourist ticket. The company also operates the Berlin Tourist Info Centres. On visitBerlin.de, Berlin’s official tourism website, visitors can find all the information they need on every aspect of their trip to the city. Find out more about visitBerlin on about.visitBerlin.de

Take a look at the Berlin Highlights 2024 here. For all information about a visit to Berlin, please go to visitBerlin.de.

Press release from the Berlin-Brandenburg Statistical Office:  statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de/023-2024

Tourism in Berlin: Development of the travel industry: statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de/tourismus-berlin