In the tourism year 2002 4.75 million visitors from inside and outside Germany were registered in the…
In the tourism year 2002 4.75 million visitors from inside and outside Germany were registered in the accommodation sector in the city of Berlin: 3.6 percent fewer than in 2001. The number of overnight stays, at around eleven million, was 2.9 percent lower than the previous year.
The reason for these declines is the reticent travel behaviour of indigenous visitors: the ongoing despondent economic climate in the country was the main reason why hotels and guesthouses in the city on the river Spree last year welcomed 5.7 percent fewer domestic visitors (3.55 million) than in 2001. The number of nights which Germans spent in their capital (7.8 million) also fell by 6.3 percent. During difficult financial times city trips, the classical second or third trip in a year, are cancelled in order to relieve the burden on a family`s finances, were the words used by Hanns Peter Nerger, Managing Director of Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH (BTM), to describe the regrettable current development.
By contrast, the results from the international markets are positive: last year 1.2 million foreign visitors to Berlin checked into the accommodation sector in the city: 3.2 percent more than 2001. The number of registered overnight stays even rose by 6.3 percent to a total of 3.2 million. Hanns Peter Nerger commented, Whereas in 2001 the terrible events surrounding September 11 led to significant losses from foreign markets, the positive increase in numbers of arrivals and overnight stays by international guests in 2002 confirm that the negative trend in cross-border tourism has been overcome. This is also underlined by the proportion of overnight stays by foreign visitors of all registered overnight stays, which at 29.2 percent is 2.5 percent higher than last year.
This positive trend is particularly clear in the results for December 2002, as confirmed by the recently published figures of the Statistical Regional Office. The number of international visitors to the Spree in that month compared to December 2001 rose by 17.3 percent to 69,982. But Germans also paid more frequent visits to the Spree metropolis – in December 2002 a total of 238,624 (+2.5%). Overall, last December the Berlin hotels and guesthouses attracted 308,606 travellers from Germany and abroad (+5.5%). They spent 646,984 nights in the city (+0.4%). Moreover, the Spree metropolis in the twelfth month of 2002 proved to be extremely popular with hotel guests from Japan (+42.5%), Spain (+41%), France (+40%) and Italy (+25.4%).
The 560 Berlin hotels and guesthouses offered around 66,900 beds in December 2002, 3,900 more than in the same month last year. The average occupancy rate in 2002 of 45.6 percent was below the previous year level (49.9%). BTM Managing Director Nerger, The results for the month of December still do not point to a breakthrough. The current political and economic situation has led to uncertainty amongst end users.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
