The World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) 2023 Economic Impact Research (EIR) today reveals Germany’s Travel & Tourism sector is recovering at pace to recover to within 95% of pre-pandemic levels.

The sector is set to contribute €355BN to the national economy this year, getting to within 95% of the 2019 highpoint, and representing 9.3% of the economy. WTTC is also forecasting that the sector will create more than 168,000 jobs this year, recovering most of the jobs lost due to the COVID 19 pandemic to reach 5.6MN.

A look back on last year

Last year, the Travel & Tourism sector’s GDP contribution grew by 43.4% to reach more than €338BN, representing 8.8% of the economy, edging closer to the 2019 high of €374BN.

Last year the sector also created 550,000 more jobs from the previous year to reach 5.4MN jobs nationally – one in eight jobs across Germany.

The sector has now recovered over 50% of the 1MN jobs lost during the pandemic.

Last year also saw the return of international travellers heading to Germany with spending from overseas visitors growing 61% to reach almost €31BN.

Domestic visitor spend is within touching distance of the pre-pandemic level of €307.8BN and is currently €304.4BN, a year-on-year increase of 49%.

Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “The Travel & Tourism sector in Germany is making a strong recovery. It will contribute €355BN to the German economy this year and employ one in eight jobs across the country.

“Germany is forecast to remain the fifth most popular tourism destination in Europe over the next decade, demonstrating its enduring appeal.”

What does the next decade look like?

The global tourism body is forecasting that the sector will grow its GDP contribution to more than €440BN by 2033, 10.3% of the overall economy and will employ almost 6.1MN people across the country, with one in seven Germans working in the sector.

Europe

In 2022, the European Travel & Tourism sector contributed €1.9TN to the regional economy, just 7% below the 2019 peak. WTTC forecasts the region’s GDP contribution from the sector will reach more than €2TN in 2023 - within touching distance of the 2019 highpoint.

The sector employed almost 35MN people across the region in 2022, an increase of 2.9MN from the previous year but still 3.2MN behind pre-pandemic levels. WTTC forecasts the sector will fully recover the jobs lost during the pandemic by the end of 2024.