According to tourism professional Recep Yavuz, the European Football Championship, which will start a month later, will create great activity in Germany’s tourism sector. Strengthened by the positive experiences gained in the 2006 World Cup, Germany is preparing to host hundreds of thousands of football fans from all over Europe this time. Hotel occupancy rates are expected to peak, especially in big cities such as Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. Yavuz emphasizes that the tournament will make a significant contribution to Germany’s tourism revenues and strengthen the country’s image internationally. Germany European Football Championship
Recep Yavuz’s Germany Tourism Evaluation Before the European Football Championship
In the article he shared on his blog, tourism professional Recep Yavuz discussed the positive effects of the European Football Championship, which will start in Germany a month later, on the tourism sector. Yavuz stated that Germany aims to continue its successful performance in tourism after the 2006 World Cup. He emphasized that during the championship, hotel occupancy rates will be very high, especially in main cities such as Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, and this will contribute greatly to tourism revenues. He also stated that, in addition to the economic revival in the cities where events and matches will be held, it will also have a positive impact on Germany’s international image. Yavuz added that the tournament is not only a sports event, but also offers a great opportunity for cultural and social interactions. Here is that article…
“GERMANY WILL FILL EMPTY BEDS WITH FOOTBALL
A month later, the European Football Championship starts in Germany. The country, which successfully hosted the World Football Championship in 2006, is already excited about this.
24 countries are participating in the tournament between 14 June and 14 July. 51 matches will be played in 22 days.Especially the cities of Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig, Cologne, Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Munich will be delighted with football.
2.7 million spectators, 650 thousand of whom will be from abroad, will watch the tournament in the stands, and 7 million people will watch it on giant screens that will be installed in many areas of the cities. More than half a million guests will stay in hotels for a week to a month, depending on their team’s matches.
UEFA foresees a contribution of 250 billion dollars.
HOTEL PRICES INCREASED 5 TIMES
German Tourism Center officials (DZT) estimate that the tournament will contribute an additional 4% to tourism in the areas of accommodation and in-coming. Especially in the cities where the matches will be held, hotels expect their best occupancy between June and July. All 18 hotels in Leipzig were already booked months in advance.
Berlin, where 6 matches will be played, plans to turn the football championship into a promotional festival with a hundred different events. They will turn the Brandenburger gate, the symbol of the city, into a giant football goal and cover it with 24 thousand square meters of artificial turf.
Netherlands, Austria, Croatia and Spain will play their matches in Berlin. Stating that although there is sufficient hotel capacity, it will be difficult to find a place in hotels as the days approach. Thomas Lengfelder, President of the Berlin Hotel and Gastronomy Association , stated that hotel prices have already increased 5 times for matches falling on the weekend. For example, a 3-star hotel with an average price of €70 was put on sale for €869 for two nights on July 6-7, when the quarter-finals will be played. A total of 5 matches will be played in Hamburg, where Turkey will also play one match. Hotels are not full yet.
Generally, hotels close to the stadiums are preferred, and hotels close to the stadium are most frequently queried in search engines.
Efforts continue to ensure that people who come to the matches have a good time with various events, tours and organizations. Cafes and restaurants are rearranging their decor and menus according to the European Championship.
Germany is preparing for an important test.
THE IMAGE OF 2006 WILL BE PROTECTED
In addition to all this, Germany wants to maintain the positive image it achieved in the 2006 World Cup in the 2024 European championship. They know that this organization is an important promotional activity and believe that this opportunity should be evaluated very well. After the 2006 World Championship, they passed the test well and gained the appreciation of the world public opinion. In fact, after the tournament, Germany ranked first in the world rankings in the image-oriented IPhos survey and has maintained its top three position ever since.
Germany is trying to create environments where visitors can feel happy and safe, have fun and celebrate, with the awareness that the European championship does not only consist of matches, but that this event will bring together people from many countries of the world and interact.
Germany, which hosts approximately 35 million tourists in 2023, hopes to have a good summer season with this momentum.
WILL THE CHAMPIONSHIP AFFECT GERMAN TOURISTS?
German tourist visits to our country are increasing every year after the pandemic. In fact, tourism professionals expect a new record in 2024. In addition, tourists who will stay in their country and not go on holiday due to the championship are also accounted for. I wonder if a one-month tournament will deter those who go abroad from their holidays?
I don’t think this will create a significant negative impact on tourism activities. Even those who postpone their holidays because of the matches dream of throwing themselves into the waters of the sea as soon as the tournament ends. As of mid-July, the flow from Germany to the south will intensify. Watch…
There is also a group of people who prefer to escape from the crowd and rest, for whom the best time is a month during the championship.
I’m sure our hotels, cafes and restaurants will make their preparations for the championship and turn the organization into a festive environment. It will be followed enthusiastically by us in the evenings of June and July, when the whole world is glued to the screens. ‘Beach during the day, match on the giant screen at night’ will be the tourist’s diary.
I wrote this with some jealousy, because I would love to experience such an event in my own country.
I always dreamed that one day we would host a World or European championship. We will hold the 2032 European Championship together with Italy. I thought of doing the opening in the middle of the pitch-dark stadium, with dervishes in their pure white clothes, and then getting the audience excited and ready for the matches with Tarkan. As the country that teaches the world tribune choreography, I cannot even think of tribune shows.
Such events are not only sports competitions, but also very important touristic activities that contribute significantly to the promotion of the country. As the world’s fourth in tourism, don’t we deserve these organizations?
How nice it would be if we had a World Championship before our stadiums and hotels get older, our roads wear out and we pass away from this world…”
