UEFA EURO 2024: Positive outcome of the final weekend

Berlin, 12 July 2024 Even before the big European Football Championship final between Spain and England in Berlin's Olympic Stadium, another winner has been announced: Berlin. The German capital welcomed football fans from all over the world during the tournament. Pictures from the Fan Zone at the Brandenburg Gate and from the Olympic Stadium travelled around the world from Berlin.

"Berlin and its Visitor Economy have presented themselves as a cosmopolitan and hospitable metropolis during EURO 2024. The people of Berlin were fantastic hosts," says Burkhard Kieker, CEO of visitBerlin. "We also expect positive effects for Berlin tourism in the post-match period, which we will continue to feel in the coming months and years. Ultimately, the European Football Championship was a huge, priceless advertising campaign for our city and its hospitality. Thank you to all the many people who visited us and celebrated here during these wonderful weeks, and to all the hosts."

Berlin's hotel industry reports full houses for the final weekend
The entire city is benefiting from the UEFA EURO 2024 in Berlin: the hotel industry, restaurants, taxi and Uber drivers, late-night cafés and cultural institutions. According to a study by Mastercard, on the match days of the group games that took place in Berlin in June, there was a year-on-year increase in sales of 16 to 32 per cent in the hospitality industry. Hostels, guesthouses and 2- to 3-star hotels in particular were very well booked over the past four weeks.

On the final weekend, with an estimated occupancy rate of 90 per cent, the hoped-for high occupancy rate will ultimately be achieved across the entire range of hotels, including the city's luxury hotels. The 5-star hotels are sensationally booked on the final weekend, especially the suites.Exact overnight figures from the Berlin-Brandenburg Statistical Office will be available for June in August and for July in September.

European fans travelled to Berlin for the UEFA EURO matches 
The national teams from the Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Croatia, Poland, Italy, Turkey and Switzerland played in Berlin. The city experienced a particular increase in flight and train bookings and visitor numbers from all these countries - they are the travel champions for Berlin tourism anyway. Many guests from Spain and Great Britain travelled to the final weekend. The airlines Ryanair and Eurowings, for example, announced that they had offered additional flights to Berlin in time for the final.

Based on flight searches in June 2024, the top 10 European countries with flight bookings for trips to Berlin were the UK, Spain, Italy, France, Turkey, Greece, Switzerland, Austria, Portugal and Denmark. 

For years, these guest groups have been among the most important European markets for Berlin tourism: Great Britain took first place in the ranking of overnight stays from other European countries last year (1.3 million overnight stays). It was followed by the Netherlands (843,000 overnight stays), Spain (643,000 overnight stays) and Italy (637,000 overnight stays). With a 76 per cent share of overnight stays abroad in the first five months of this year, Europe is the most important foreign market for Berlin overall. The football matches also attracted many business travellers to Berlin: the proportion of business trips at BER Airport rose by 14.5 percent in June compared to the same month last year (source: Forward Keys).

Comprehensive service for Berlin's guests at the UEFA EURO 2024 
On the occasion of the European Football Championship, visitBerlin offered a comprehensive range of services for all guests: in addition to information, visitBerlin's Berlin Tourist Info centres also offered fan merchandise and limited special editions of the Berlin Welcome Card. Information about the UEFA EURO in five languages, public viewing tips throughout the city were available on the visitBerlin website, as well as individual Berlin tips for football fans of all nations playing in Berlin.

A new EURO 2024 special in the "Going Local Berlin" app suggested bars and restaurants in each district as well as football tours through Berlin. Bicycle tours to important football venues and with public viewing options were presented by visitBerlin in collaboration with Komoot. visitBerlin promoted a visit to Berlin for the UEFA EURO 2024 with extensive online and offline advertising and competition campaigns in all European countries that played in Berlin during the UEFA EURO, as well as on the city's most popular social media channels (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter etc.).

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