Schwarzwald Tourismus GmbH: Farewell to Chairwoman Dorothea Störr-Ritter and Record Figures

At the supervisory board meeting and shareholders’ meeting of Schwarzwald Tourismus GmbH (STG) in the Konzerthaus in Freiburg yesterday (November 16, 2023), District Administrator Dorothea Störr-Ritter (Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald) was farewelled as chairwoman of the supervisory board. As a thank you for her services to tourism in the Black Forest, she was appointed honorary chairwoman. Managing director Hansjörg Mair gave an insight into the record figures for the first three quarters of the year.

In 2007, Dorothea Störr-Ritter was elected as the first female district administrator in Baden-Württemberg. Together with District Administrator Frank Scherer (Ortenaukreis), District Administrator Dorothea Störr-Ritter was appointed chairwoman of the supervisory board of Schwarzwald Tourismus GmbH for the first time three years later, starting on January 1, 2011. In the years that followed, she alternated between chairing the supervisory board and the shareholders’ meeting every three years. In recognition of her many years of service as chairwoman of the shareholders’ meeting and the supervisory board of Schwarzwald Tourismus GmbH as well as for her commitment to tourism, District Administrator Störr-Ritter was appointed honorary chairwoman of Schwarzwald Tourismus GmbH at yesterday’s shareholders’ meeting after the end of her term of office on March 1, 2024.

During her term of office, she played a key role in ensuring that Schwarzwald Tourismus GmbH, which emerged in 2006 from the three tourism companies Mittlere Schwarzwald Tourismus GmbH, Tourismus Südlicher Schwarzwald eV and Touristik Nördlicher Schwarzwald eV, grew together into a homogeneous competence center for all 321 municipalities in the Black Forest. With many measures that Ms. Störr-Ritter accompanied during her 13-year term as chairwoman, a valuable contribution was made to the further tourism development of the Black Forest, so that the Black Forest is now one of the most successful destinations in Germany, which is also reflected in reflects the current overnight stay figures.

From January to September 2023, 6.8 million guest arrivals were recorded in commercial accommodation establishments in the Black Forest holiday region. That was 741,296 guests or 12.2% more than in the previous year. Compared to the comparable period before the corona pandemic (January to September 2019), guest arrivals were back to pre-crisis levels with a slight increase of 0.44%. The number of overnight stays also continued to rise: with around 17.9 million overnight stays, tourism in the Black Forest recorded an increase of around 1.4 million overnight stays (+8.4%) compared to the same period last year. The previous record values ​​from 2019 were exceeded by 1.4% more overnight stays in the comparable period from January to September 2023. (From January to September 2019, the Black Forest recorded around 17.6 million overnight stays). “The Black Forest once again contributed to the new guest record in Baden-Württemberg. The Black Forest accounts for almost 38.8 percent of guest arrivals in the country and over 40 percent of overnight stays,” said Hansjörg Mair, Managing Director of Schwarzwald Tourismus GmbH. “In addition, we rank second among all travel destinations nationwide when it comes to the number of overnight stays in our holiday region. A positive sign for our industry.”

(Press release: Schwarzwald Tourismus GmbH, November 17, 2023)