Tourism in Frankfurt is booming and reaching new record levels. In 2024, 11.14 million overnight stays and 6.39 million guests were recorded in the Main metropolis - an increase of 7.6 and 7.0 per cent respectively compared to the previous year. This exceeded the previous records, as Mayor Mike Josef announced at a press conference.
Together with Thomas Feda, Managing Director of Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main (TCF), Josef presented the latest figures and the background to them. Frankfurt has not only established itself as an internationally important conference and congress location, but is also becoming increasingly important as a destination for city travellers. Although the pandemic had interrupted this development, the city is now building on the successes of previous years. More than ten million overnight stays were recorded for the first time in 2019, a figure that has now been significantly exceeded.
Dynamic growth in the domestic market
Tourism from within Germany developed particularly strongly. The number of guests from Germany rose to 4.12 million (+6.4 per cent) and the number of overnight stays to 6.72 million (+6.0 per cent). Domestic visitors thus accounted for 60.3 per cent of the total number of overnight stays. "The figures are not only above the pre-pandemic level, but also mark a new record", explained TCF Managing Director Feda.
Foreign market with significant growth
More travellers also came to Frankfurt from abroad. The number of overnight stays rose by 10.1 per cent to 4.42 million and the number of guests by 7.9 per cent to 2.27 million. However, the volume in the international sector is still 6.4 per cent below the pre-crisis level.
The European market developed particularly positively. The UK was the strongest source market with 319,853 overnight stays (+20.6 per cent), ahead of the Netherlands (193,226, +5.7 per cent), Italy (190,425, +12.1 per cent) and Spain (172,123, +1.1 per cent).
The USA continued to dominate the overseas market with 773,372 overnight stays (+11.6 per cent). Although the number of visitors from China and Hong Kong recovered (+45.4 per cent compared to the previous year), it remained 27.2 per cent below the 2019 figure at 242,683 overnight stays. The Arabian Gulf states (128,675, -14.3 per cent) and Japan (108,884, +10.2 per cent) followed among the most important overseas markets.
Stable infrastructure and rising occupancy
The number of accommodation establishments rose slightly to 284 in 2024 (+3 compared to 2023), but is still below the 2019 figure (-27 establishments). Bed capacity remained almost constant at 64,005 beds (-0.1 per cent compared to 2023, +7.1 per cent compared to 2019). Average bed occupancy increased to 47.6% (+3.3 percentage points), while room occupancy reached around 66%. The length of stay of guests rose from 1.73 to 1.74 days.
Major events as growth drivers
Mayor Josef attributed the growth to the major events of the year, among other things. The UEFA EURO 2024 with the Fan Zone on the banks of the Main and a record year for Messe Frankfurt with numerous world-leading trade fairs contributed to the positive development. "Frankfurt closed the tourism year with a new record high. Congresses, flourishing business travel and growing individual tourism in combination with the excellent infrastructure offer the best conditions for further growth", summarised Josef optimistically.
