Spatial patterns of tourism development in Germany

Abstract

Tourism is one of the most important and dynamic sectors of the world's economy. However, the coronavirus pandemic in 2020–2021 caused significant losses in the tourism industry. The pandemic has also significantly affected the tourism development in Germany, which is one of the world's leading tourist destinations. The article analyzes the dynamics of tourism development in Germany in 2012–2022 and calculates the indicator of the integral index of tourism development in the federal states of Germany. The average values of the initial partial indicators for 2018–2022 are taken, to determine the integral index of tourism development level in the federal lands of Germany, which reflect both absolute and relative parameters of tourism growth. Based on the calculated average integrated index of the tourism development level in the federal lands of Germany, the features of spatial differentiation in the tourism development in the country are clarified. The analysis shows that before the coronavirus pandemic, tourism in Germany was significantly developing. The total number of tourist arrivals by 2020 increased annually by more than 20 %. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, their number and tourism revenues halved in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, this indicator and other indicators of the development of the German tourism industry tended to improve. Domestic tourists dominate the total number of tourist arrivals. The calculated average integral index of tourism development in the federal lands showed a significant spatial asymmetry in the levels of development of the German tourism industry. According to this index, the federal lands of Germany are divided into five groups: high, high than average, medium, lower than average, and low tourism development levels. The lands of Berlin and Bavaria have a high level of tourism development. These regions are well-known tourist destinations in Germany. They have a rich cultural heritage, abundant natural resources and attractive landscapes, and a large number of tourist accommodation facilities. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, and Baden-Württemberg have a higher level of tourism development than the national average. These lands are characterised by a large number of tourist overnight stays, accommodation facilities, territorial concentrations, and a high intensity of tourism. The western German lands of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia have an average level of tourism development. These lands are characterised by high tourist arrivals and the number and capacity of accommodation facilities. However, due to the large area of these territories, they have low indicators of the territorial concentration of tourism activity. Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Bremen, Saxony and Brandenburg have a lower level of tourism development than the German average. These regions are characterised by moderate tourism development indicators. The federal lands of Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saarland have the lowest level of tourism development due to low volumes of tourist flows and low concentration of accommodation facilities. The German government has introduced several measures to support the tourism industry during the pandemic, including emergency financial assistance, grant support, a special loan program, tax measures, and short-term leave for businesses. It is known that higher tourism development indicators are typical for the lands with the highest level of social and economic development. Tourism is a factor that influences the economic development of both the country and individual federal states. Keywords: integral index of tourism development, Germany, tourism, tourist arrivals, federal state.