Struggling tourism sector at the year's onset - Slight Decrease in Tourism Industry at Year's Start
Schleswig-Holstein Tourism Slightly Slows Down to Begin 2025
After a remarkable year in 2024, Schleswig-Holstein's tourism sector has commenced the new season with caution. According to the Schleswig-Holstein Tourism Agency, the number of hotel and pension check-ins across the North and Baltic Seas, as well as inland regions, dropped by 7.3% during the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2024. This figure amounts to approximately 1.286 million guests and 4.4 million overnight stays.
Bettina Bunge, managing director of the tourism agency, attributed this decline to hesitation in short-term bookings for vacations, second holidays, or weekend trips. Previously, the trend leaned towards last-minute bookings for these types of getaways, making the tourism landscape less predictable for accommodation providers, camping site operators, and leisure businesses.
The tourism agency highlighted a 19.8% decrease in overnight stays for the month of March as noteworthy. This decline can be largely attributed to the relatively late Easter holiday, which fell at the beginning of April in 2025, as well as the absence of any school holidays in any federal state during March.
Schleswig-Holstein's Tourism Minister, Claus Ruhe Madsen (CDU), pointed out that tourism plays a significant role in the state's economic performance. Despite the decrease in overnight stays, he emphasized the importance of maintaining quality and a fair price-performance ratio.
In 2024, Schleswig-Holstein achieved a record-breaking result with approximately 9.4 million guest arrivals and over 38 million overnight stays, including camping. This placed the state fifth among the federal states, following Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Lower Saxony.
Withstanding factors potentially impacting tourism at the beginning of 2025 are rising prices for accommodation due to unprecedented demand in 2024, increased investments in regional infrastructure, and the attractiveness of high-profile events such as the International Day for Women in Maritime in Kiel, scheduled for May 2025. While there is no direct evidence of a significant decline in tourism at the start of 2025, the industry's focus on infrastructure and event hosting appears to be a stabilizing factor.
The Community policy concerning tourism infrastructure Investment could potentially mitigate the effects of the 7.3% drop in hotel and pension check-ins seen in Schleswig-Holstein's tourism sector at the beginning of 2025, highlighted by the Schleswig-Holstein Tourism Agency. Meanwhile, the Employment policy within the tourism industry should consider accommodating steadier bookings for vacations, second holidays, or weekend trips, to ensure a more consistent influx of guests for leisure businesses and accommodation providers.
