German inbound tourism sees dynamic growth in demand as the summer season gets underway

Frankfurt am Main, 11 September 2026 – Germany as a tourist destination continues to show positive growth in international tourism: at the start of the peak holiday season in July, the number of overnight stays by foreign visitors in Germany increased by 3.2 percent year-on-year to 10.8 million, according to provisional figures from the Federal Statistical Office, against a backdrop of market volatility.

A total of 47.1 million overnight stays by international guests were recorded between January and July – an increase of 1.0 percent compared with 2025. This means that the positive half-year results are continuing to stabilise. According to the German National Tourist Board (GNTB), further growth is possible in the second half of the year.

Petra Hedorfer, CEO of the GNTB, comments: “Despite geopolitical conflicts and economic uncertainties, inbound tourism to Germany is holding its own, with demand on the rise. The current trend reflects the appeal of the ‘Germany as a Travel Destination’ brand and its solid positioning in the face of international competition. The perception of Germany as a service-oriented, safe and high-quality destination, its attractive value for money, and its broad positioning and presence in our source markets are helping us to meet the current challenges. Germany is once again one of the top holiday destinations in Europe this summer.”

The latest GNTB Travel Industry Expert Panel survey for the third quarter provides a further indicator of an optimistic mood: according to the survey, 45 percent of decision-makers in the international travel industry view their current business with Germany positively – an increase of 17 percent compared with the previous quarter. Fifty-one percent view the outlook for the business situation over the next six months positively.

On the customer side, the latest ETC Monitoring Sentiment for Intra-European Travel report confirms that the proportion of Europeans planning a trip between June and November has risen by four percentage points compared with last year, to 81 percent.