BERLIN, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The number of overnight stays in German hotels continued to rise in July, according to preliminary figures published on Monday by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).
The total number of accommodations in July increased by 5 percent year on year from a year ago, and reached a total of 56.2 million.
The figures for the period of January to July 2018 also developed positively, growing by 4 percent to a total of 270 million overnight stays. Nominal turnover of the German hospitality industry grew by 2.5 percent.
According the German hotel and restaurant association DEHOGA, the persistently good weather over the last months has been one of the main reasons for this renewed increase in the number of tourists. "Coastal regions in particular are the winners this summer," Stefanie Heckel, spokeswoman of DEHOGA, told Xinhua on Monday.
Almost a quarter of overnight stays in Germany were spent by guests from foreign countries while 220.8 million stays were attributed to German domestic guests. The majority of foreign tourists to Germany was from the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States. With growth rates around twenty percent, countries from Eastern Europe such as Ukraine, Estonia and Croatia are catching up fast.
"The hotel and restaurant industry is heading for the ninth record year in a row," president of DEHOGA Guido Zoellick had said in August.
Referring to the favorable general economic situation as well as the successful summer season, the German hotel association expects a two percent increase in turnover for the hospitality industry in 2018.
