The Berlin tourism industry is preparing for a difficult year in 2021. Burkhard Kieker, managing director of the Berlin tourism and congress company Visit Berlin, does not expect a noticeable improvement until the summer.
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Two brochures with the logo of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association e. V. lie on a table.
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By the end of the year, he believes that Berlin tourism could be back at a level of 50 percent compared to the pre-crisis year 2019, when the number of guests was 14 million and the number of overnight stays was 34.1 million. “The Germans come back first,” said Kieker. “There is a need to travel to the capital.”
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Market research expects a pronounced catch-up effect after months of doing without
Especially those who would already have a vaccination in 2021 would also make the trip. “We expect a real rush of people in the course of summer and early autumn.” Market research speaks of Revenge travel – a distinct catch-up effect after months of doing without. “Those are the ones who were tied up at home, they want to know,” said Kieker. “And Berlin will be at the top of the list with the other European metropolises with whom we share the cake, such as London, Paris and Rome.”
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Kieker also considers the record figures of 2019 to be achievable in the medium term: “I estimate that we will be able to match the level from before the crisis by 2024 at the latest.” According to this, moderate growth of two to four percent annually is realistic. One thing is certain: 2020 was a bitter year for the Berlin tourism industry. The complete data is not yet available. Kieker expects five million guests and around twelve million overnight stays. That would be a decrease of around 70 percent compared to 2019.
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Positive development of city tourism possible from April 2021
Thomas Lengfelder, General Manager of the Hotel and Restaurant Association Berlin (Dehoga), said 2020 was the worst year he has ever experienced in the hotel industry. And he is skeptical about the near future: “The outlook for January, February and March is extremely bleak. We assume that little is going on, ”he said. “It’s not the time for city tourism, and the trade fairs from Green Week to ITB have all been canceled.” It is positive that the vaccinations against the coronavirus have started. In terms of city tourism, Lengfelder believes a development for the better is possible from April. “I don’t see the trade fair and event business positively for a long time,” said the Dehoga managing director.
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“If we achieve a total room occupancy of 40 percent in 2021, that would be fantastic,” said Lengfelder – but well below the 83.8 percent of 2019. “If everyone has been vaccinated, I believe that city tourism and the congress sector will be like that recovered that the 2019 figures will be reached again. ” Visit Berlin boss Kieker emphasizes that Berlin accounts for almost a third of the overnight stays and over half of the sales with trade fair and congress guests. He expects the congress and conference business to pick up from autumn this year. «Where there is a question mark, there is the future of the big trade fairs. We’ll have to work on whether they’ll return quickly in this size, but I don’t think that’s certain. ”
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Source: dpa
| Updated: January 5, 2021
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