Berlin, 14 January 2014 Berlin is welcoming more and more guests from the Arab countries. November 2013 saw 12,431 overnight stays, a 90.3% jump and the largest increase seen in recent years. In the first eleven months of 2013, guests from the Arab countries spent a total of 174,954 nights in Berlin, an increase of 20.9% over the previous year. With an average of 4.4 days, visitors from the Arab Gulf States stay in Berlin the longest (whereas the overall average stay is 2.2 days).

“Word is spreading among Arab families and groups of friends: Berlin is a welcoming, tolerant city, which is appreciated by our Arab guests. In addition, a great selection of first-class hotels sets us apart,” says Burkhard Kieker, CEO of visitBerlin. “The numbers demonstrate the direct connection between non-stop flights to and from Berlin and the success of the city as a tourist destination. We need to thank Air Berlin and Etihad Airways for their daily flights to and from Abu Dhabi and Qatar Airways that flies a wide-body jet to and from Doha each day.”

Arab guests are an important target group for Berlin. Especially families appreciate the city’s vibrant outdoor culture and its many sightseeing and shopping attractions. Arab visitors are generous with their pocketbooks, too, and spend an average of €337 per tax-free purchase.

Berlin sees a rise in medical tourism

In addition, an increasing number of visitors from the Arab-speaking world are coming to Berlin for its excellent medical services. Berlin and its top-ranked hospitals are catching up with Munich’s historical draw as the top destination for medical tourism in Germany. Just the seven Berlin hospitals with the largest numbers of international patients registered 9,271 international patients last year.

Berlin Tourism in November 2013

In the first eleven months of 2013, Berlin welcomed 10.5 million people from all over the world who spent 24.9 million nights in the city. The most important markets for this period were Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United States. The figures were announced today by the Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg.