Positive final balance for overnight stays in 2023 in the state capital Hannover

Hannover's hotel landscape reaches a new milestone: the number of overnight stays exceeds the record year 2019*: At just over 2.3 million, the number of overnight hotel stays in Hanover in 2023 is 0.9 percent higher than in the pre-corona and previous record year of 2019, according to official figures from the State Office for Statistics of Lower Saxony (LSN), which were released on March 28.


While the number of overnight hotel stays in the city area in the first half of 2023 was slightly below that of the comparable year 2019, the figures caught up again in the second half of the year. The stable increase compared to the pre-corona year and thus the base year for comparisons shows solid growth in times of global uncertainty. However, the increase in overnight stays from 2022 to 2023 is also outstanding, exceeding expectations with an increase of 16.1 percent.

Of the total of 2,359,354 overnight stays last year, the State Statistical Office recorded 479,352 from abroad. In the previous year 2022, 385,223 international guests booked accommodation in the state capital out of a total of 2,031,876 visitors; in 2019, the statistics list 482,083 of the 2,338,758 overnight stays from abroad.

"The fact that the number of overnight stays this year exceeded the previous record year of 2019 by almost one percent marks a significant success for the location and is the result of Hannover's resilience as a tourism and business location. This development has been accompanied by increased demand in day and city tourism. The newly launched overnight packages for families have generated great demand in the day tourism sector, as have our new city tours, for which we have trained twenty new tour guides, such as the torchlight tour for children and the crime tour by bike," comments Hans Nolte, Managing Director of Hannover Marketing und Tourismus GmbH (HMTG), on the results.

In the city trip index compiled by the travel experts at TRAVELCIRCUS, Hanover was recently ranked 6th out of 82 major German cities as the most budget-friendly metropolis for a weekend trip. A wide range of expenses that are typically incurred on a city trip were analyzed: Accommodation in a mid-range hotel, meals, dinner, entertainment and cultural experiences. Parameters such as arrival and departure and guided city tours were also analyzed.

There is still some catching up to do when it comes to overnight stays in the surrounding municipalities

Compared to the previous year with 3,599,505 overnight stays, the region recorded an increase of 12.5 percent in 2023 with 4,050,972 guests. However, the reason for this positive development is that tourism in 2022 was still heavily influenced by the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the positive trend in the state capital did not quite continue in the 20 surrounding municipalities. At 4,050,972 overnight stays in 2023, the figures for the Hannover Region are down 4.8 percent compared to 2019 with 4,254,598 overnight stays.

While 2019 broke all meteorological records with one of the hottest summers in Germany's history, 2023 saw exceptional levels of precipitation. This not only resulted in 20 percent fewer guests at the Maschsee Festival. The bad weather also affected the vacation region of Hanover, as significantly more holidaymakers preferred European vacation destinations.

New hotels positively enrich the cityscape and strengthen the local economy

Last but not least, the region is probably also losing overnight stays due to the increase in hotel capacity in the city area.
The latest developments in the Hanover hotel landscape signal an internationalization trend. Following hotels from the French Accor Group, Best Western, Marriott with Sheraton and Courtyard, the NH Hotel Group and Wyndham, the city has received a strong internationalization boost with the me and all Hotel Hannover from the Hyatt Group and recently with the global hotel chain Hilton, Motel One and Premier INN, one of the largest hotel brands from the UK.

The June Six, the flagship of the Prime Star Group, will open in the former Loccumer Hof in the heart of Hanover in spring 2024. Penta Hotels is hoping for a speedy opening of the former Maritim at the New Town Hall and the internationally active Titanic Group has announced a new building in Königstrasse. With the opening of several new hotels in the coming months, the state capital is underlining its growing reputation as an attractive destination for tourists and business travelers alike. The arrival of the international hotel chains will have a positive impact on the city's architectural appearance, while the tourism-related knock-on effects for local restaurants and stores are also of particular importance.

"We welcome the trend towards cooperation between local hotels and international hotel chains and their efforts towards global marketing. These developments essentially contribute to the internationalization of the business and tourism location," says Nolte. He adds: "Despite the location's increased presence, investor expectations represent an ongoing challenge. In order to sustainably utilize the capacities in the state capital and the surrounding communities, significant marketing efforts are still required in the region.
Significant marketing efforts in the source countries of Hanover's tourism are still required. However, we are confident that the continued efforts to market the Hannover Region nationally and internationally will bear fruit."

Hannover Marketing & Tourismus GmbH
Vahrenwalder Straße 7
30165 Hannover
Germany

https://www.visit-hannover.com

Frau Ela Windels
+49 511 123490-26

windels@hannover-marketing.de

Hannover Marketing & Tourismus GmbH (HMTG), with Managing Director Hans Christian Nolte, is Hannover's central service provider for regional, location and city marketing as well as tourism services. Renowned business enterprises and interest groups from the Hannover Region support HMTG, which was founded in 2008, as cooperation partners and shareholders. The focus is broadly diversified and includes supra-regional measures to strengthen and further develop Hannover as an ideal region and space for innovation.

The aim of the HMTG is to strengthen identification with the entire economic and living space of Hannover as well as its national and international positioning.

The central field of activity is the supra-regional and international marketing of the Hannover Region (Lower Saxony's state capital plus 20 other towns and municipalities in the surrounding area of Hannover).

This release was published on openPR.