Tourism direct GDP (2022) | Tourism direct employment (2023) | Travel exports (2024) |
|---|---|---|
3.1% of total GDP (up 0.7 percentage points since 2021) | 4.2% of total employment (up 0.3 percentage points since 2022) | 8.5% of total service exports (up 0.2 percentage points since 2023) |
OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2026
National tourism strategy: National Tourism Strategy
Responsible government agency: Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
National tourism budget in 2026: EUR 40.6 million (promotion) and EUR 2.9 million (tourism-specific budget lines only)
Key tourism policy priorities and actions:
Reducing administrative burden for tourism businesses – Expanding so-called ‘reality checks’ to reduce red tape for businesses and entrepreneurs in tourism sectors.
Strengthening competitiveness and improving connectivity of tourism destinations, both at a national and regional level – Working to make mobility affordable, available and environmentally friendly with initial steps to decrease taxes, fees and charges.
Advancing digitalisation in the tourism sector – Supporting tourism businesses, particularly SMEs, to make smart use of digital tools, as well as speeding up the visa application process for inbound travellers.
Tourism is an important economic sector in Germany. In 2022, the year of the most recent official statistics, tourism directly contributed EUR 122.3 billion to the economy, accounting for 3.1% of GDP. Travel exports accounted for 8.5% of total service exports in 2024.
According to more recent estimates jointly compiled by the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry, and the German Tourism Association, Germany’s tourism sector accounted for 3.7% of GVA in 2024, only slightly below the pre-COVID level of 3.8%. The same estimates indicate that 1.6 million people were employed in tourism industries in 2024, accounting for 6% of total employment.
International tourism continues to recover but remains below 2019 levels. In 2024, Germany welcomed 37.4 million international tourists, up 7.8% compared to 2023. Germany’s top three international source markets were the Netherlands (14.0%), Switzerland (8.9%) and the United States (8.6%). International arrivals to Germany fell by 0.8% in 2025. Domestic tourism is a significant contributor to German tourism and has returned to record levels, with 147.3 million domestic overnight visitors in commercial accommodation in 2024, 2.6% above 2023 levels.
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has lead responsibility for tourism policy at the federal level. Within the Ministry, the Federal Government Co-ordinator for Maritime Economy and Tourism is responsible for co-ordinating tourism policy within the Federal Government and Parliament, particularly the Parliamentary Tourism Committee.
The 16 federal states (Länder) are responsible for developing, shaping and promoting tourism. Their ministries are responsible for designing, implementing and funding policies to promote tourism development. Each federal state has a DMO that represents the interests of regional and municipal organisations. Local tourism offices co-ordinate the work of tourism SMEs, promote product design and undertake relevant marketing activities.
The Joint Federal/Länder Scheme for the Improvement of Regional Economic Structures (GRW) is a regional policy instrument which aims to offset locational disadvantages and to incentivise investment for both companies and municipal infrastructures (including basic infrastructure for tourism). This is designed to boost regional attractiveness, economic development potential, employment growth and prosperity in the assisted areas. The GRW budget set aside for tourism was EUR 1.1 billion for 2021-25, divided evenly between federal and Länder contributions, 18.2% of all GRW funds across all sectors were approved in this period. Due to the federal structure in Germany, the Länder can make use of their own budgets independently.
Financing for tourism at municipal, regional, and Länder levels comes from various sources. In addition to public funds, revenue is also generated from spa and tourism taxes besides bed taxes. In 2026, institutional support for the German National Tourist Board (DZT) is EUR 40.6 million. This funding covers national tourism promotion abroad only, with domestic tourism promotion the responsibility of each Länder. The Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy also provides budgetary funds for selected projects to enhance performance in the tourism sector (EUR 2.9 million in 2026). Tourism also benefits from whole-of-government programmes.
Note: The Tourism Policy Forum is scheduled to begin its work in the year 2026.
Source: OECD, adapted from the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, 2026.
Germany is currently in the process of implementing a new National Tourism Strategy. The goal of the Strategy is to create the necessary framework conditions to enhance the competitiveness of the tourism sector. While the process is ongoing, it is planned to be for the timeframe 2026-2029. In addition to the National Tourism Strategy, almost all Länder have their own tourism strategies to guide their tourism development. Key issues presented in the regional tourism strategies include accessibility, digitalisation, innovation, employee satisfaction and sustainable development.
Germany’s goal is to make mobility affordable, available, and environmentally friendly, improving accessibility to tourism destinations and reducing the cost burden for tourism businesses. To address this, Germany is reducing taxes for the aviation and gastronomy industries in 2026. Aviation-specific taxes will be reduced as of July 2026 to make travelling by plane more affordable and reduce the location costs for airlines. The value added tax for gastronomy was decreased from 19% to 7% as of 1 January 2026. Tour operators will benefit from a reduction in fees for insolvency protection, which is privately organised, yet supervised by the federal government.
International tourism promotion remains a key priority of the federal government, which is reflected by an increase in public funding of the national tourist board and a strengthened presence in overseas markets from 2026.
Digitalisation processes are a key element for tourism competitiveness and to exploit previously untapped potential, offering innovative solutions to current challenges such as simplifying bureaucracy, planning networks, environmentally friendly mobility, recruiting skilled workers, automating work processes, and managing visitor flows. Enhancing the smart use of digital tools in the tourism sector is one of the focus areas of Germany’s National Tourism Strategy.
Attracting workers and creating modern working conditions has been a key challenge for the tourism sector. To better address this challenge, Germany will continue to develop the relevant framework conditions. A modern, more flexible working time law will help to make working hours more flexible. This new law will have a weekly maximum working time, instead of a daily, to create room for a variety of working time models, like those in the tourism sector. To facilitate immigration of skilled labour, a digital agency for skilled labour immigration (‘work-and-stay agency’) will be created. It will offer a centralised IT platform as a single point of contact for foreign skilled workers. The tourism sector is expected to benefit from this agency due to an above-average share of workers with an immigration background (54% of cooks, 45% in-food services and 40% in hotels, compared to 26% national average).
Cutting administrative burden and red tape is necessary to encourage innovation and growth for tourism businesses. Germany is pursuing options to reduce unnecessary documentation and instead focus on a risk-oriented approach with increased sanctions for infringements. To obtain starting points to reduce bureaucracy to a tolerable level, Germany will expand the ‘reality check tool’ and implement it across various areas of tourism. This involves a practical check, working with entrepreneurs and the relevant enforcement authorities, to examine processes from start to finish, analyse bureaucratic obstacles and develop practical solutions. The practical check on documentation requirements in the hospitality sector has provided some good experiences (see box below).
Tourism’s cross-cutting nature means many regulations that impact tourism are negotiated in different ministries or departments. To improve collaboration and communication across ministries and with the regions, the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is pursuing extensive networking with all tourism-related policy areas at the Federal and Länder level, and with stakeholders. These networking activities will take place in various panels. As a central body, a Forum for Tourism Policy will be established, co-ordinated by the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. It will operate as a flexible panel with experts involved according to the issues to be dealt with.
To promote a reduction of bureaucracy in the hospitality sector, the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy and the Bavarian State Government's Commissioner for Bureaucracy Reduction, carried out a ‘reality check’ of the regulatory requirements in the hospitality sector, together with industry representatives. The focus was on the areas of food hygiene, allergen labelling, occupational health and safety, fire safety and electrical checks. Key results included:
Targeted controls instead of documentation requirements for all businesses: Restaurants and catering establishments that comply with hygiene standards should not be required to document compliance with hygiene standards as a preventative measure but only after hygiene deficiencies have been identified. For businesses that cater for vulnerable groups, such as hospital or school canteens, the comprehensive documentation requirements remain in place.
No over-fulfilment when implementing EU regulations on the national level: According to existing EU regulations, the origin of food can be traced via mobile phone photos - a stricter application of these regulations should be avoided.
Transparency and simplification: Businesses need to understand what the law requires of them. Clearer rules on fire safety, for example, including on inspection intervals and persons authorised to carry out inspections, will save time and money. Standardised requirements by the Länder are also helpful.
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is committed to implementing these and further measures.