Berlin, 13 April 2010 The frosty temperatures in February didn’t put people off visiting the German capital. In the course of the month 350,600 national guests travelled to Berlin, 12.1 percent more than in the same month the previous year. They spent 697,700 nights in the city on the river Spree, a plus of 12.8 percent. These figures were provided by the Berlin-Brandenburg Statistics Office.

The numbers of foreign guests also chalked up a positive trend: 192,800 international visitors (10.3%) generated 499,700 room nights (11.3%). Berlin was particularly popular amongst visitors from Spain (14.6%), Italy (13.6%) and the USA (11.4%).

Overall, some 543,400 arrivals (11.4%) and 1,197,400 room nights (12.2%) were recorded in February.

“The results for February, a traditionally weak month in terms of bookings, confirm that Berlin has established itself as a year-round destination”, says Burkhard Kieker, CEO of Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH. “We are delighted with this growth which is by no means obvious in difficult economic times. It remains to be seen whether these enormous leaps in figures for January and February will continue throughout the rest of the year.”

In February Berlin had 722 accommodation establishments, 69 more than in the same month the previous year, and 109,300 beds (plus 12.5 percent).

(1,417 characters)