Berlin, Germany’s largest city is a vibrant hub of culture, innovation and diversity, renowned for its top universities, dynamic sports events, world-class museums and captivating arts scene, Berlin offers a rich tapestry of experiences.

With residents of 190 different nationalities, Berlin embraces inclusivity and creativity, making it a truly cosmopolitan destination.

Source: HVS Research

Economic Indicators – Germany

Source: IMF

Tourism Demand

As a business, leisure and meetings destination, there are many reasons to visit Berlin. Its economy is led by the service, technology and creative sectors, strengthened by the city’s emphasis on research and development.

For more than a decade, Berlin has ranked within the top 10 international association congresses, as per the ICCA. This sector has lost some momentum since COVID-19 and is taking longer to recover than business and leisure. However, a number of large events are planned in 2024, especially in the fields of medicine and science. Furthermore, the IFA trade show (electronics) will be celebrating its 100th year in September, with 180,000+ delegates expected over the five-day event.

Overall, leisure demand has led the recovery. Berlin has the fundamentals to draw a globally diverse mix of shoppers, gastronomes and art and nightlife enthusiasts. The capital is often cited amongst the best destination city breaks in the world.

In 2023, domestic demand remained the most important source market with 60% of overnight stays. Following the pandemic, the strongest international source countries are once again the UK and the USA. Demand from the Netherlands has already returned to pre-COVID levels, while demand from countries such as Spain and Italy has been growing more slowly, currently at less than 60% of that observed in 2019. One particularly strong contributor in 2023 was Poland, with 42% more bednights recorded than in 2019.

Post-pandemic, 2022 visitation recovered to around 75% of historical levels, which further increased to 87% in 2023, in line with accommodated bednight volumes. The length of stay has remained stable at around 2.5 days.

Visitation and Accommodated Bednights

Source: Visit Berlin

Hotel Performance

Occupancy: Owing to a varied demand base, hotel performance in Berlin has historically been strong. With levels ranging from the low to mid 80s, 2018 and 2019 had some record-high occupancies. Following performance declines due to the pandemic, the market started to recover in 2022, when occupancy rebounded to 75% of its pre-pandemic level. This positive trend continued into 2023 with Berlin’s hotel demand returning to around 85% of its historical volume.

Read the full story here