European football championship has set a record for overnight stays in Germany
The UEFA European Football Championship, held from mid-June to mid-July, has set a new record for overnight stays in Germany: In the first half of the year, the number of overnight stays increased by 2.2 percent to 223.2 million compared to the same period last year - a new record for the first half of the tourism year, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden on Friday. The previous record was reached in the first half of 2019.
Most guests came from within Germany, where the number of overnight stays increased by 1.2 percent to 185.7 million. However, the increase was much higher for foreign guests: The number of overnight stays here increased by 7.1 percent, especially due to the EM.
In June alone, the number of overnight stays by foreign guests increased by 15.7 percent to 8.7 million. This was the highest June value ever recorded for foreign guests, the statistical office explained. It was 6.0 percent higher than the previous record June. In contrast, the number of overnight stays by domestic guests decreased by 4.5 percent compared to the previous year to 40 million.
In total, hotels, pensions, and campsites recorded 48.7 million overnight stays in June, which was 1.4 percent less than in June 2023.
The EM, or UEFA European Football Championship, significantly contributed to the increase in overnight stays by foreign guests in the middle of the year. The record-breaking number of overnight stays by foreign guests in June was positioned in the middle of the championship period.
