Great World Cup finals for Germany and its incoming tourism industry: 11.5 per cent increase for the period January to July.
Football World Cup provides massive boost for incoming business – Overnight stays up 19.3 per cent for June/July – Provisional figures for the period January to August indicate nine per cent increase
Frankfurt am Main – The 2006 FIFA World Cup™ was a tremendous success for Germany. With a massive 12.5 million overnight stays by international visitors in June and July 2006, figures for Germany’s incoming tourism industry were up 19.3 per cent on the same period of the previous year. The number of overnight stays by international visitors during the first seven months of the year reached a total of around 30 million, up 11.5 per cent on the previous year or, in absolute terms, an increase of 3.1 million overnight stays.
July 2006, during which the final stages of the FIFA World Cup™ were played, was an exceptionally good month for Germany’s incoming tourism industry. Overnight stays by international visitors were up by 9.5 per cent on the same period of the previous year to a total of around 6.7 million.
„Many of our international visitors used the opportunity to explore the diversity of Germany as a travel destination after the tournament had ended. They travelled around the country and – as the results of our survey had predicted – they had such a good time that they recommended Germany as a travel destination to others. This further reinforced the strong results for July in which the final stages of the tournament were played“, commented Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB).
[GADS_NEWS]Provisional figures for January to August indicate nine per cent rise
According to preliminary results from the German Federal Statistical Office, the number of overnight stays by international visitors fell slightly, by one per cent, in August 2006. But despite this, the overall incoming tourism figures for the first eight months of the year are still very encouraging at around 36.3 million overnight stays, an increase of nine per cent on the same period of the previous year.
Strong growth for Germany incoming in June and July 2006 thanks to the World Cup
A lot of Italian fans also came to Germany to cheer on their national team, particularly when they reached the final. During the two months of the World Cup, 15.3 per cent more overnight stays were recorded by the compatriots of the new World Champions. In terms of growth, the clear leader in the south-west region, which also includes France, was Portugal
South Africa, which will be playing host to the next World Cup, also recorded an encouraging increase of 40.2 per cent in June and July 2006.
FIFA World Cup Host Cities and the trend towards city breaks boost overnight stays by international visitors in July.
