Report

The economic importance of tourism in Germany

November 2024

Tourism is not only one of the most important economic factors worldwide, but also makes a significant contribution to the German economy.

But how big is this contribution really?

The exact determination is complex, as tourism is a cross-sector industry that is closely intertwined with many other markets. This makes it difficult to precisely define the relevant sub-sectors. For example, the retail trade benefits considerably from tourism, but cannot be fully attributed to this sector. As a result, there are often only rough estimates and projections of the amounts generated, as there are no exact figures for individual sectors.

As part of the Hospitality Project at Heilbronn University, the existing travel market analysis from 2006, which Ellen Graeff, Consultant at Horwath HTL Germany, wrote as her dissertation, was updated.

Project Hospitality is an interdisciplinary project in which students carry out independent hotel projects in small groups. They often work in cooperation with tourism companies in order to gain practical experience and master real challenges in the hotel industry.

“Determining the added value of tourism is essential in order to fully understand the economic importance of tourism and to be able to respond strategically,” emphasizes Ellen Graeff. “Precise analyses can not only be used to plan targeted investments and build meaningful partnerships, but also to strengthen competitiveness in the long term and set the course for sustainable growth and regional development.”