A selfie at the Brandenburg Gate without other vacationers in the picture? That is actually hardly possible. But the crisis has changed that too. Berlin's tourism advertisers dare to make a forecast.
Berlin (dpa) - The Corona crisis has dealt a heavy blow to Berlin tourism. In the first half of the year there were not even half as many visitors as in the same period last year.
As the statistics office announced, there were 2.7 million guests, a decrease of 59 percent. The last time there were so few visitors came in 2004. The decline in foreign holidaymakers was even greater: two thirds stayed away. The number of overnight stays fell to a similar extent: they reached a total of 6.5 million. Tourism is one of the most important branches of the economy in Berlin and has grown strongly in recent years.
After two successful months at the beginning of the year, the lockdown in March resulted in a crash to almost zero, said Burkhard Kieker, head of the tourism company Visit Berlin, the German press agency. There has been a clear recovery since June. "We are currently at 30 to 40 percent compared to last year," said Kieker. He also expects this level of guest numbers for the second half of the year.
From mid-March to the end of May there was an overnight stay ban for private guests in Berlin due to the pandemic. This should help stop the virus from spreading further. The USA shows that the corona situation in the holidaymakers' countries of origin was also decisive. From there, only a good quarter of the usual number of visitors came to Berlin in the first half of the year.
The crisis hit Berlin harder than Germany as a whole. Nationwide, the number of overnight stays fell by 47 percent in the first half of the year, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden.
Compared to some other cities, the capital is still in good shape, said Kieker. "That is because we are also very popular with German tourists." There are also guests from Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria coming to Berlin, said Kieker. This can also be observed from Great Britain. "But many European guests are still missing."
Tourists from Italy and Spain, for example, rarely returned to the German capital. "The summer was about as expected," said Kieker. "We are skeptical about autumn." The statistics from the statistical office refer to accommodation establishments with at least ten beds.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 200810-99-110386 / 4
