Germany

From 22 May we will be working to update all of the data and documents on this page following the Office of National Statistics (ONS) revision of the International Passenger Survey (IPS) data for 2009-2018 and the released detailed 2019 data. UK data will be updated first and followed by the regional data from 27 May. Please be patient as we update these pages or contact the VisitBritain research team if you have any questions- VB/VEResearch@visitbritain.org. Thank you.

Visitor characteristics

Business visitors are more than three times as likely to be male than female
More than three-in-five of holiday visitors are making a repeat visit to Britain (excluding British expats, within ten years)
Virtually all holiday and business visitors are German nationals but 21% of visiting friends and relations (VFR) visitors are British nationals
96% of departing Germans are either ‘likely’ or ‘extremely’ likely to recommend a visit to Britain

Popular activities

Dining in a restaurant

Sightseeing of Famous Buildings/ Monuments

Went Shopping

Global context


Measure	2019
International tourism expenditure (US$bn)	93.2
Global rank for international tourism expenditure	3
Number of outbound overnight visits (m)	115.8
Most visited destination	Austria

Key demographic and economic data


Measure	2019
Population (m)	83.1
GDP per capita PPP (US$)	50,122
Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%)	1.9
Annual average GDP growth in the past year (%)	0.6

Germany Market Snapshot (PDF, 1.5MB)

Germany Market Profile (PDF, 2.57MB)

Germany Aviation Profile (PDF, 892KB)

Find out where visitors from Germany reside in their own country (Excel, 176KB, Published 2015)

Find out which perceptions of Britain act as a barrier to exploring beyond London (PDF, 904KB, Published July 2013)

Learn more about the role culture and heritage play for German visitors (PDF, 2.37MB, Published 2014)

Learn more about the role of social media in the context of holidays (PDF, 3.08MB, Published 2015)

Read about the preferences of Europeans towards tourism (PDF, 1.65MB, Published March 2015)

Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.1565 EUR

As of 25 February 2021

Retrieved from the Bank of England

Inbound visits to Britain from Germany

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Touch the data points to see the values.

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Number of visits

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Total expenditure (GBP)

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Total nights spent

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Average length of stay (Nights)

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Average spend per visit (GBP)

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What Germans think about Britain

Germans rate the UK highly for contemporary culture, culture in general, built heritage, vibrant cities, and sports, but less so for scenic natural beauty and welcome, rated 32nd and 21st out of fifty nations respectively on these two attributes in 2020
Music and museums are the cultural products or services most strongly associated with the UK among Germans
A trip to the UK would be expected to be ‘educational’, ‘exciting’ and 'fascinating'
Australia and to a lesser extent the USA are the destinations that Germans consider the ‘best place’ for delivering the things they most want from a holiday destination
Areas of strength for Britain include being somewhere to see ‘famous sites’ and for ‘lots of history’, while very few consider Britain is the ‘best place' for ‘food and drink’
Activities that appeal to potential visitors from Germany include 'driving through the countryside in England', 'visiting Madame Tussauds', 'spotting wildlife in the Scottish Highlands', 'sharing stories over a pint with locals in a cosy rural pub' and 'going hiking on the South West coast'

Caring for visitors

Very few German visitors expect their British hosts to speak German, with the majority of younger Germans speaking English
German visitors are likely to have planned their itinerary in some detail, but younger visitors may be more spontaneous, but all will welcome local recommendations for things to do and see
Germans often try to find accommodation that has ‘character’
German vegetarians are often impressed by the range of choices on offer in Britain

The leisure & travel trade

The German travel market is very mature, there are a few big players dominating the market but also a fair number of small specialist operators with comprehensive Britain programmes
Although in Germany retail agencies are still more important than in other European countries they are now also increasingly facing competition from internet travel portals
Large tour operators research their main season programmes between April and June, with off-season/city break operators doing their research in March and April

Access to Britain from Germany


Measure	2019
Weekly aircraft departures	1,174
Weekly seat capacity	178,050
Airports with direct routes in Germany	20
Airports with direct routes in Britain	21

Most Germans travel to Britain by plane. The destination can also be accessed by direct coach services, by car through the Channel Tunnel, by ferry or by a simple change of train in Brussels or Paris
In 2019, there were 1,174 weekly departures with an average seat capacity of 178,050
20 German airports have access to 21 British airports
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic led to a 68% reduction in seat capacity from Germany to the UK in 2020
German visitors flying home from Britain pay £13 in Air Passenger Duty

Markets

Markets

Germany

Germany