Berlin, 25 June 2011 On 25 June 2011 the Christopher Street Day Parade across downtown Berlin, followed by the CSD Final in front of the Brandenburg Gate, was the highlight of this year’s gay-lesbian pride week. On this occasion visitBerlin and Berliner CSD e.V. published a new study which informs about the visitor structure as well as the tourism and economic impact of the colourful gay demonstration.

The current study entitled “CSD Berlin 2010” was conducted on behalf of visitBerlin Partnerhotels e.V., the visitBerlin Berlin Convention Office and Berliner CSD e.V. by Publicom GmbH and is a follow-up study to earlier surveys in 2001.

Clear internationalisation

The total of 600,000 CSD visitors in 2010 included 210,000 tourists, 45 percent of whom came from abroad. With 11 percent the Dutch were the largest group among the international CSD visitors, followed closely by the French and British (9 percent each). The rise in CSD tourists from non-Western countries is particularly noteworthy. Whilst 94 percent of the international guests still came from Europe or North America in 2001, they accounted for only 76 percent in 2010. At the same time the number of guests from other regions increased.

Economic power and tourism impact

The current study covered not only the visitor structures but also the tourism and general economic impact of the event on the city of Berlin. The net tourism effect of CSD Berlin amounted to EUR 113 million in 2010 with a total economic power of EUR 278 million. This corresponds to a 90 percent rise versus 2001.

CSD Berlin 2011

As far as the two large large-scale CSD events on 25 June 2011 – the Parade and the Final - are concerned, more than 700,000 visitors from all over the world demonstrated under the sports motto “Fair Play for Diversity” for more tolerance and equal rights. “Berlin has again lived up to its reputation as a cosmopolitan and tolerant party metropolis. CSD attracts every year tourists from Australia to Tahiti to the city on the river Spree.”, says Burkhard Kieker, CEO of visitBerlin.

(2,151 characters)