ADVERTISING
Growing interest in city breaks and city tours
As Darmstadt Marketing writes in a press release, the positive trend in tourism continues: With 780,787 overnight stays in 2024 (+6.2%), Darmstadt recorded significant growth, exceeding both the national (+1.9%) and Hessian averages (+3.2%). The international market, in particular, is continuing its recovery, reflected in an 8.2% increase in arrivals and an 11.0% increase in overnight stays by international guests..
"Darmstadt has a strong tourist appeal, characterized by science, culture, a diverse range of leisure activities, and a vibrant city center," explains Mayor Hanno Benz. The Mathildenhöhe World Heritage Site, the reopened exhibition building, the ESOC, and the wide range of cultural offerings are particularly attractive to numerous visitors.
Tourism growth exceeds expectations
The figures now published for 2024 refer to hotels, youth hostels, guesthouses, and boarding houses with at least ten guest beds. A total of 376,088 arrivals were registered, 79,619 of which were from abroad. The average length of stay increased to 2.1 days, and even to 2.5 days for international guests.
Despite rising guest numbers, bed occupancy remains below pre-pandemic levels at 36.7% across all establishments and 56.0% in hotels with more than 25 rooms. This is due to the significantly increased number of available beds – from 4,823 in 2019 to 5,845 in 2024.
Guided city tours are enjoying increasing popularity
In addition to the overnight stay figures, bookings for city tours also show a positive trend: Last year, almost 2,400 tours were conducted – an increase of 21% compared to 2023. Tours of the Mathildenhöhe were particularly popular (+28%), confirming the great appeal of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. "These figures show that Darmstadt is becoming increasingly attractive as a travel destination," says Anja Herdel, Managing Director of Darmstadt Marketing GmbH.
A further step towards strengthening tourism is the participation of Darmstadt Marketing GmbH in the International Tourism Exchange (ITB) in Berlin (March 4–6). Darmstadt will be represented there both at the Hessen Tourism stand and in the Culture Lounge to network with the international cultural travel industry.
With the supra-regional image campaign “DA staunst du.” Darmstadt continues to focus on targeted city marketing in order to assert itself as an attractive city destination in the competition and to utilize synergies with the tourist destinations FrankfurtRheinMain and Bergstraße-Odenwald.
(Darmstadt - Red/Dam)
Tourism in Darmstadt. Photo: David Vasicek
