EN 
DE 
From Andrea Schawe
Dresden. More tourists visited Saxony in the first half of 2024 than last year. This is according to the latest figures from the State Statistical Office. A total of 3.7 million guests came from January to June, booking around 9.2 million overnight stays. This is an increase of 4.6 percent in arrivals and 2.6 percent in overnight stays.
In June alone, a total of almost 780,500 guests visited Saxony's accommodation facilities and booked more than 1.9 million overnight stays. All hotels and guesthouses with more than ten beds and campsites with at least 10 pitches are counted.
In June, the European Football Championships attracted more visitors from abroad in particular. Compared to the previous year, the number rose by around 30 percent, according to the state office. The frontrunners were the 14,555 visitors (+80.2 percent) from the Netherlands. There was also a significant increase in visitors from the Czech Republic. The 8,566 guests booked more than 15,000 overnight stays. The number of overnight stays by visitors from Croatia increased more than sevenfold compared to the previous year.
Leipzig benefits from soccer fans
The city of Leipzig and the region benefited the most from the large number of foreign visitors. Upper Lusatia and Saxon Switzerland also registered significantly more overnight stays by foreign guests than in the previous year. Many Czech visitors in particular spent their vacations here.
March and May also saw significantly more tourists visit the Free State. In both months, the number of overnight stays significantly exceeded the record year 2019. March in particular played a decisive role with almost 1.5 million overnight stays, giving Saxony's tourism industry its most successful winter season in five years. One reason for this was that the Easter vacations were in March in most federal states this year.
The regions of Upper Lusatia, Saxon Switzerland, Elbland and the city of Dresden were particularly popular with overnight guests in the first half of the year. The Vogtland region and the city of Leipzig also exceeded the figures from the same period last year. The Ore Mountains and the Chemnitz/Zwickau region have not yet matched last year's figures.
Tourism industry with record turnover in 2023
Tourism Minister Barbara Klepsch (CDU) said that tourism in Saxony had found its way back onto the road to success. "Overnight stays and guest arrivals are building on the best year ever in 2019." Employees have had to face increasingly stressful conditions in recent years - especially rising costs and staff shortages.
"We are also seeing the changes in the industry with fewer businesses but more beds, reduced opening hours in the hospitality industry, but also the increasing digitalization of orders, bookings and payments," said Klepsch. Saxony has With the tourism master plan, a strategyto face up to the challenges. "Tourism is important for Saxony, it creates income, investments and jobs."
Jörg Markert, President of the State Tourism Association, emphasized the economic importance of the industry. According to an analysis by dwif-Consulting GmbH, tourism in Saxony generated a record turnover of almost 9.3 billion euros in 2023. Over half of this gross turnover is attributable to day tourism. "Thanks to the hospitality of numerous committed stakeholders, people enjoy coming to Saxony and enjoy the diverse nature and the rich cultural offerings.“
According to Tourismus Marketing Gesellschaft, a positive picture is also emerging for the remaining summer months and into the fall.
