Germany set a January-to-September record with 389.8 million overnight stays

Germany recorded 389.8 million overnight stays between January and September, the highest total ever logged for that nine-month period, according to provisional data released Wednesday, Nov. 11, by the Federal Statistical Office, known as Destatis.

The total was 2.2 million higher than in the same period of 2025 and 0.6% above the previous record of 387.6 million, which had been set in January through September 2025. The figures cover hotels, guesthouses and other lodging businesses with at least 10 beds, as well as campgrounds with at least 10 pitches.

The new record came after a modest year-over-year increase in September, when lodging providers reported 48.9 million overnight stays, up 0.8% from September 2025. That marked a return to annual growth after August, when overnight stays fell 1.1% from a year earlier to 58.7 million.

The September improvement was driven by foreign visitors. Overnight stays by international guests rose 4.8% from a year earlier to 8.1 million in September, while overnight stays by residents were unchanged at 40.8 million. The data suggest that inbound travel helped offset softer domestic demand and pushed the monthly total back into positive territory.

The month-to-month drop from August to September was much larger in absolute terms, with overnight stays down by 9.8 million. That decline reflected normal seasonal patterns rather than a sudden weakening in travel demand. August is typically one of the busiest months for German tourism because of summer vacations, while travel eases in September even when year-over-year performance remains stable or improves.

The January-to-September record indicates that Germany’s lodging market has continued to expand, though at a slower pace than in some earlier recovery periods. The 0.6% increase over the prior record showed growth, but only by a narrow margin. Even so, the figures were enough to establish a new high for the period and to show that the sector remained resilient through the first three quarters of the year.

Destatis described the September figure as provisional. Its data are widely used as the main official measure of lodging demand in Germany because they capture guest overnight stays across the country’s larger accommodation businesses and organized campgrounds. That makes the series one of the clearest indicators of tourism activity in Europe’s largest economy.

The August comparison cited in the release was based on Destatis data that had also been referenced by the German Travel Association in a publication dated Oct. 9. In that month, the annual decline had interrupted the run of growth seen earlier in the year. September’s rebound, supported by stronger foreign demand, restored a positive year-over-year trend heading into the final quarter.

While the release did not break out performance by region or lodging type, the aggregate figures showed that demand remained close to the high summer level by historical standards. Nearly 49 million overnight stays in September kept the market on track for another strong full-year result, provided that travel demand holds through the autumn and holiday season.

For now, the main signal from the official figures is that Germany’s accommodation sector set a new benchmark through September, with international travelers providing the clearest source of growth at the end of the third quarter.