Frankfurt posts record number of...

Tourism booming in German city with GCC travellers among top three overseas source markets

Frankfurt broke tourism records for both the number of guests and overnight stays in 2024, with more than 11 million overnight stays beating the previous pre-pandemic figure.

Overnight stays were up 7.6% to 11,139,063 while overnight guests rose 7% to 6,387,089 compared to the previous year, with GCC travellers among the top three overseas source markets.

As well as being an important European hub for finance and business events, Frankfurt has been gaining a strong following from leisure tourists thanks to its 1,000-year history, diverse dining, superior shopping, abundant green spaces and a vibrant calendar of events.

Located on the river Main, Frankfurt is packed with great things to do and places to go, from fine-dining restaurants to majestic museums, modern malls to more than 100 street festivals.

About half of Frankfurt's urban area consists of open green spaces

Mayor of Frankfurt Mike Josef said tourism to the city was boosted by the Euro 2024 football tournament which saw five matches held in the city, as well as a record year for Messe Frankfurt, the world’s largest trade fair, congress and event organiser.

More than 60% of total overnight stays came from the domestic market, up 10.8% on 2019. And while overseas source markets were up 10.1% on the previous year to reach 4,418,989 overnight stays, the number remains below pre-pandemic levels.

Strong overseas markets boost Frankfurt
The top European source markets in terms of overnight stays were the UK (up 20.6%), the Netherlands (up 5.7%), Italy (up 12.1%) and Spain (up 1.1%).

The largest overseas source market by far was the US, with 773,372 overnight stays, up 11.6%.

It was not all positive news, however. While guest nights were up 45.4% from China and Hong Kong year on year and totalled 242,683 nights, that is still 27.2% below pre-pandemic levels as outbound travel continues to recover.

Guests from the GCC stayed for 128,675 nights, placing them in the top three overseas source markets, with Japan in fourth.

"We expect further significant growth in the coming years, especially from the Asian markets," said Thomas Feda, Managing Director at Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main (TCF), the city's tourism board.

The number of beds available held steady at 64,005, slightly down on 2023 but 7.1% higher than 2019, with room occupancy at 66% and average length of stay 1.74 days.

To facilitate future growth, more hotels will open in Frankfurt in 2025, including the Taj, Kimpton and Zleep brands, making their debut in Germany this year.

For more information, visit stpancras-highspeed.com. For more information on Frankfurt, visit www.visitfrankfurt.travel/en and follow Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn

GET YOUR FREE GUIDE TO THE MALDIVES NOW