Germany's tourism and hotel industry records more overnight stays

The number of overnight stays in German accommodation facilities in August increased by 3.4 percent year-on-year, according to preliminary figures published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Friday.

During the last month of the main holiday season, Germany's tourism and hotel industry recorded 57.9 million overnight stays of domestic and international guests, according to Destatis.

The number of international guests who stayed overnight in Germany in August rose slightly by 0.8 percent to a total of 10.7 million while the number of German guest increased by 4 percent to 47.2 million.

According to Destatis, the number of overnight stays rose to 338.9 million between January and August, an increase of 3.8 percent year-on-year. With 277.4 million, the large majority of overnight stays came from domestic guests.

Because many areas in Germany still had no reception for telecommunication, concrete measures were needed to "get on the right track", Reinhard Meyer, president of the German Tourism Association (DTV) recently demanded.

For 2019, the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (DEHOGA) is expecting Germany's tourism and hotel industry to increase total turnover by 2 percent.

"Despite the economic downturn, people's joy in travelling and going out is still unbroken," said DEHOGA President Guido Zoellick.