Destination Dresden Elbland makes 2023 a successful year for tourism

Photo: Dresden Marketing GmbH uses this motif to promote a visit to Dresden Elbland in Germany and abroad. The occasion and inspiration for the campaign motif is Caspar David Friedrich, whose 250th birthday Dresden Elbland is celebrating throughout the year.  

Dresden, 28 February 2024. 5.5 million overnight stays and 2.5 million arrivals in Dresden Elbland 2023/ Above-average growth in foreign guests/Largest foreign markets are Poland, the USA, Austria and Switzerland/ December 2023 with the highest room occupancy of all major German cities/ Caspar David Friedrich and Erich Kästner anniversaries, major concerts, sporting events, classics and conferences and congresses attract visitors to Dresden in 2024. Congresses attract visitors to Dresden Elbland in 2024 

Dresden Elbland as a tourist destination will once again prove its great appeal for both private and business travellers in 2023. "With a total of 5.5 million overnight stays in 2023 and a recovery rate of 91 per cent compared to 2019, we have almost reached the pre-corona level again and thus matched our previous record year of 2019. We attribute this success to the high level of commitment shown by tourism stakeholders and the authenticity of Dresden Elbland as a destination. Travelling is fun again, and together we have succeeded in ensuring that many people from Germany and abroad put Dresden Elbland on the map of their travel plans," says Annekatrin Klepsch, Mayor for Culture, Science and Tourism of the state capital Dresden. Compared to the previous year, Dresden Elbland 2023 will grow by 15 per cent in terms of both overnight stays and arrivals. For Dresden alone, the recovery rate for overnight stays in 2023 versus 2019 is even 94 per cent. In addition to the beauty of the travel destination and the wide range of leisure and activity options, Dresden and the Elbland 2023 region scored points with special travel events, the Rosalba Carriera exhibition in the Old Masters Picture Gallery, the Striezelmarkt in December and the summer open-air events such as the Film Nights on the banks of the Elbe and the Meissen Literature Festival. The Lonely Planet recommendation for Dresden as one of the top 30 travel destinations worldwide is likely to have provided an additional tailwind, especially abroad.

Top travel reason Christmas markets 

The pre-Christmas period once again proved to be a major magnet for Dresden Elbland, giving Dresden the highest room occupancy rate of all major German cities in December at 75 per cent. The highest room occupancy rate in Dresden over the whole of 2023 was 78 per cent in September, which saw particularly strong business travel with numerous conferences and congresses, such as KONTEC with its international symposium with 1,100 participants. However, the MICE business was also boosted by the low season, for example with the annual conference of the German Physical Society in March 2023 with 7,500 participants. 

An above-average number of tourists for Dresden from abroad 

83 per cent of all overnight stays are booked by guests from Germany. "The domestic market is generally the largest market for Dresden, but we see the greatest growth potential abroad and we were able to capitalise on this potential perfectly in 2023. All of our top foreign markets have grown compared to the previous year, such as Poland with 32 percent in overnight stays and Switzerland with 36 percent, as well as our new target markets such as Sweden with an increase of 37 percent and Denmark with 31 percent," explains Corinne Miseer, Managing Director of Dresden Marketing GmbH (DMG), Dresden's official destination management organisation. The big driver for the destination as a whole is Dresden, with above-average growth of 30 per cent for guests from abroad - this is also confirmed by a comparison with Germany as a travel destination and its 19 per cent increase in overnight stays and with Saxony with a 21 per cent increase in overnight stays in 2023 versus 2022.

Poland cracks the 100,000 mark 

Poland is once again the top foreign market for Dresden Elbland and may even break the "sound barrier" with 114,192 overnight stays in 2023: For the first time in the history of Dresden Elbland tourism, a foreign market can generate more than 100,000 overnight stays per year. The USA (73,970 overnight stays) is number two in terms of guests from abroad, followed by Austria (71,051 overnight stays), Switzerland (70,206 overnight stays), the Netherlands (61,174 overnight stays) and the Czech Republic (54,609 overnight stays). In 2024, DMG will continue its extensive marketing activities in Germany and in foreign markets, for example by supporting the Dresden State Art Collections at the opening of their major Wettin exhibition in Krakow in September.  

 Positive feedback on the tourism balance sheet comes from the hotel industry. Sebastian Klink, General Manager Bilderberg Bellevue Hotel Dresden and 1st Deputy Chairman of the Dresden Tourism Association, says: "With the increase in average hotel occupancy, the hosts in Dresden are pleased to have more planning security for the coming years in addition to good results. In addition to good marketing, targeted acquisition for Dresden Elbland has been carried out here. The expansion of offers and tourist highlights in Dresden Elbland was also important. This is thanks to the successful cooperation of all tourism partners, providers and hosts, who pull together and know that only together can the advantages of our beautiful Dresden Elbland be publicised. Business tourism also plays an important role in the growth in the number of guests, with major events in the MICE segment, among other things. After all, Dresden is not only an impressive centre of culture and art, but also a congress, business and science location. I see great potential here." 

"Dresden Congress Fund" is intended to promote the acquisition of meetings and congresses 

Business travel accounts for around 20 per cent of the volume of overnight stays. Mayor of Culture Annekatrin Klepsch would like to significantly expand this segment with a congress fund, the financial support of which is intended to attract particularly profitable business events to Dresden. Together with the MICE industry, DMG has developed the financing model for this, which, among other things, defines the criteria for funding, such as a minimum number of 800 participants. "Dresden is a first-class congress location with a perfect infrastructure, a high level of scientific expertise at the location, the beauty of the city, top-class culture and short distances. However, in order to be competitive as a congress destination in the medium and long term, we need a clear commitment from all stakeholders as well as financial resources directly for the organisers of conferences and congresses," says Annekatrin Klepsch. Monetary support for conference and congress organisers is already common practice in Europe. In Germany, Berlin is regarded as a pioneer, while other congress locations are working on similar models to Dresden. The concept for the congress fund will first be submitted to the relevant departments and committees of the state capital Dresden and then presented to the Dresden City Council.

2024 is all about Romanticism 

250 years of Caspar David Friedrich is a central communication theme for trips to Germany this year, thanks in part to the intensive worldwide marketing under the aegis of the German National Tourist Board. "Caspar David Friedrich literally carries guests from Germany and abroad on his hands through Germany, luring them to Greifswald, Hamburg, Berlin and Dresden. We are promoting Dresden with the temporary offers for the Friedrich anniversary, such as the unique exhibitions in the Albertinum, the Kupferstich-Kabinett and the Kügelgenhaus, and also invite visitors to take a holiday in the footsteps of 'CDF' at any time," says Corinne Miseer.  

Another search for clues is also generating a great deal of interest, and Dresden is honouring this like no other place in Germany: the 125th birthday of the writer, journalist and publicist Erich Kästner, who was born and grew up in Dresden. DMG markets the year-round Kästner programme (dresden-kulturstadt.de/) in Germany and abroad.

Big concerts rock the hotels 

Unusually, hotels and guesthouses are already seeing significant peaks in advance bookings at the beginning of the year for the periods of the planned major concerts, above all the four Rammstein concerts in May and the AC/DC concerts in June. Classical music, rock and pop, along with culture, beauty, leisure and active holidays, are the aspects that will determine the tourism year in Dresden Elbland in 2024. Major sporting events such as the opening of the Heinz Steyer Stadium as a modern and multifunctional sports and event venue and the Dresden City Biathlon in September, as well as many conferences and congresses, such as the 19th German Allergy Congress in September with 1,200 expected participants and the 38th Congress of the German Society of Implantology in September.

Even if the UEFA EURO 2024 matches do not take place in Dresden, the first positive effects for tourism in Dresden Elbland are already being felt. Numerous event organisers are coming to Dresden with their conference or congress because other MICE locations in Germany are fully booked. Fans are also switching to accommodation outside Leipzig or combining their visit to the stadium with a trip to Dresden Elbland. "We are actively communicating our capacities and experience offers here, especially in our neighbouring countries Poland and the Czech Republic," says Miseer. 

Active in the city and region with hiking favourites and new cycling offers  

"Hiking and cycling on holiday have experienced a noticeable upswing as holiday motifs in recent years. That is why we are working with the Elbland Dresden Tourism Association to expand the range of activities on offer in the Elbland region, and in particular to develop first-class hiking and cycling trails. Under the title 'Wanderlieblinge Dresden Elbland' (Dresden Elbland Hiking Favourites), a total of twelve particularly attractive trails are being created in cooperation with the district of Meißen and various municipalities, marked and signposted according to current guidelines," says Olaf Raschke, Lord Mayor of the city of Meißen and Chairman of the Board of the Elbland Dresden e. V. tourism association. At the same time, three gravel bike routes and three child-friendly cycle routes are currently being created, which are based on the ADFC recommendations for child-friendly cycling offers 

Dresden Elbland goes TikTok 

Dresden Elbland is an exciting destination for everyone, including and especially for younger target groups. DMG is therefore continuing to invest in its digital offensive, for example with the recently launched TikTok channel @VisitDresdenElbland. "Our aim is to win new fans for Dresden Elbland on TikTok with communication tailored to user needs," says Miseer. The TikTok channel complements Dresden Elbland's social media presence on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube as well as its own online platforms such as the webzine at www.dresden-magazin.com and the platform www.visit-dresden-elbland.de, with which DMG has just merged the B2B and B2C platforms into one. 

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