Positive outlook for Dresden Elbland as a travel destination in 2024

Dresden, 3 March 2025. In terms of tourism, the destination of Dresden Elbland was able to exceed the previous year's result and almost reach the level of the record year 2019. ‘Culture and tourism experience a special symbiosis here in Dresden Elbland. 5.7 million overnight stays in 2024 and thus a renewed growth of 4 percent compared to the previous year are a success for all those involved in tourism in the area and at the same time the foundation for continued high-quality offers, for example in the field of culture. Both tourists and citizens benefit from this. I would like to thank everyone who has worked to promote growth in tourism and thus also our extraordinary cultural landscape. At this point, I would like to express my particular thanks to Dresden Marketing GmbH, under the direction of Corinne Miseer, which has been able to build up an efficient network and ensure a highly positive perception with its marketing measures,’ says Annekatrin Klepsch, Mayor for Culture, Science and Tourism of the state capital Dresden.

With 2.6 million arrivals and +7 per cent versus 2023, growth in arrivals is even greater than in overnight stays. Dresden Elbland is only 5.3 per cent behind the record and pre-corona year of 2019 in terms of overnight stays and 4.6 per cent behind in terms of arrivals.

84 per cent of the guests come from Germany. In 2024, the top foreign markets for Dresden Elbland, in terms of overnight stays, are exactly the same as in the previous year, with Poland in first place (117,236 overnight stays), followed by the USA (82,886 overnight stays), Austria (75,482 overnight stays), Switzerland (71,698), the Netherlands (65,230) and the Czech Republic (53,439). In 2025, the DMG will build on the successful marketing activities in Germany and in foreign markets. This includes participating in the International Tourism Exchange in Berlin (ITB), the largest travel trade show in the world, where the DMG will be presenting Dresden Elbland from tomorrow until Thursday, 6 March, in Hall 27, Stand 201.

Caspar David Friedrich inspires tourists and tourism experts

‘With the annual campaign marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of Caspar David Friedrich, we have succeeded in attracting a great deal of national and international attention, with an effect for the Dresden Elbland destination that extends beyond 2024,’ says Corinne Miseer, Managing Director of Dresden Marketing GmbH (DMG). Media representatives, for example from the DACH region, were invited to the region for research and contributed to the extensive media coverage. 1.7 billion contacts were achieved in German online media alone, and as many as 2.8 billion with the articles on GMX Online and WEB.de. The CDF campaign is an example of successful cross-border networking. Museums have cooperated, as have tourism organisations, from the Saxon Switzerland Tourism Association and the Saxony Tourism Marketing Association to the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Tourism Association and the German National Tourism Board with its foreign representatives.

One of the major drivers of tourism for Dresden are also mega-events such as large-scale concerts. They are now one of the top reasons to visit Dresden, even ahead of sightseeing (source: Magic Cities City Travel Monitor June 2024). In 2024, the concerts by Rammstein, AC/DC, Roland Kaiser, the Böhsen Onkelz and Silbermond noticeably boosted tourism. In 2025, in addition to the major attraction Kaisermania, there will be some particularly large sporting events, most notably the FINALS 2025 (31 July to 3 August) and the World Transplant Games 2025 (17 to 24 August) with Dresden as the host city.

Annual campaign: Dance City Dresden 2025

This year, the GNTB is combining travel offers and communications under the umbrella theme of dance, inspired by major anniversaries such as 200 years of ballet at the Semperoper and 100 years of the Palucca University of Dance Dresden. ‘With dance, we have another strong theme for the year, which we can use to showcase exciting, contemporary positions and offers while also showing our traditional roots,’ says Corinne Miseer. Accordingly, the DMG has aligned its communication measures with the dance theme and, for example, started the podcast series of the official Dresden-Elbland podcast NU GUCKE MA DA! with a conversation with Christian Bauch, solo dancer with the Semperoper Dresden ballet. Dance is also the common theme running through this year's Dresden Magazine issue and the poster motif, which is being used by both WallDecaux and Ströer for two campaign flights. From 1 May to the end of June 2025, a total of 2,200 spaces in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich and Stuttgart will be used to promote a visit to Dresden Elbland.

Strong 2024 balance sheet is motivation for tourism stakeholders in the city

The hotels can see the huge impact of mega-events such as the Rammstein and AC/DC concerts and the Kaisermania festival directly in their room occupancy rates of almost 100 percent and room prices. They are therefore calling for targeted investment in the acquisition of cultural mega-events, in addition to the MICE sector. Sebastian Klink, General Manager of the Bilderberg Bellevue Hotel Dresden and Chairman of the Board of the Dresden Tourism Association, says: ‘We have to succeed in creating a culture of facilitation for events and major concerts that generate enormous additional tax revenues. It is important to be successful in our applications to national and international organisers and to ensure that their concerts take place here in Dresden.’ Klink adds: ‘Dresden's tourism industry invests around 20 million euros of private funds annually in marketing and promoting the offers in the Saxon state capital. The city can only do its part if Dresden Marketing GmbH has sufficient financial resources. These investments not only pay off in the overall value added, but also in the income from the accommodation tax. The industry is therefore in favour of changing the model in the future, along the lines of Leipzig, where a fixed percentage of the revenue from the accommodation tax goes directly to Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH for additional acquisition and marketing measures. It is also conceivable to set a limit, with any additional revenue going to the DMG.’

Working together to promote tourism

Preparations are currently underway for the Dresden Elbland Discovery Weekend on 5 and 6 April 2025, under the leadership of the Elbland Dresden Tourism Association (TVED) and the DMG, supported by the Dresden Tourist Board and the tourist information centres in the Elbland region. ‘The Dresden Elbland Discovery Weekend is an invitation to all residents to get to know the offers that tourists and residents can use alike. We also want to use it to show how much tourism boosts the quality of life here,’ says Gundula Bleul, 2nd deputy chairwoman of TVED and managing director of Kulturlandschaft Moritzburg GmbH. In addition, Bleul emphasises the importance of attractive events: ’Events are one of the most important pillars for attracting guests to our region, whether it's for a day trip or a longer stay. They not only offer unforgettable experiences, but also significantly increase visitor numbers. The sold-out stallion parade events for the ‘100 Years of Moritzburg Stallion Parades’ anniversary or the Meissen Literature Festival are impressive examples of the success of events. In 2025, the 100th anniversary of the Meissen Castle Festival awaits us with a new concept and numerous other highlights such as the medieval Easter Spectaculum in Freital or the Karl May Festival in Radebeul, which underline the diversity and attractiveness of our region and will draw a wide audience.’

Implementation of sustainability strategy

Sustainability is increasingly becoming a success factor in tourism and has already arrived in the business travel sector. ‘We are convinced that in the coming years, private travellers will also pay significantly more attention to acting sustainably during their holidays. This segment is still very price-sensitive, while the regulatory requirements for business trips and business-related events such as conferences have reached a very high level,’ says Corinne Miseer. That is why DMG is a driving force for sustainability, for both private and business travel.

‘In 2023, we developed a sustainability strategy for the Dresden Elbland destination for the first time, and we are consistently implementing it. For us, this includes training our tourism service partners and encouraging them to launch their own sustainability initiatives,’ explains Corinne Miseer. In 2025, the DMG has placed the promotion of slow travel at the centre of its work. The aim is to draw visitors to other districts away from the Old and New Towns and to lesser-known places. The Dresden webzine has a special section on districts with authentic interviews and tips, https://dresden-magazin.com/stadtteile. ‘With our slow travel offers, we are evening out the flow of visitors and, above all, encouraging them to stay longer, and that is sustainability in the best sense of the word,’ says Miseer.

Dresden Convention Service continues to drive Dresden's success with a congress offensive

Business travel ensures long-term planning, high occupancy rates in periods when there are fewer private travellers, and comparatively high profit margins. The convention offensive, led by the Dresden Convention Service, a department of the DMG, has helped this important segment for Dresden to achieve noticeable growth and a strong increase in the number of participants by one third compared to 2019. 1.87 million participants in 2024 corresponds to +24 per cent compared to 2023 and +32 per cent compared to 2019.

Business travel is an important mainstay for Dresden, as evidenced by a current trend towards increased price awareness among private travellers. While private spending is declining, business spending is growing. This is confirmed by current data from Mastercard transactions in Dresden. According to this data, private travellers will spend an average of six percent less (98 euros) per visit and person in 2024 compared to 2023 via Mastercard credit cards, while business travellers will spend two percent more (205 euros).

‘Our goal is for top decision-makers in the MICE segment to know, appreciate and choose Dresden as their location for suitable formats,’ says Corinne Miseer. Accordingly, acquisition and basic communication, for example via the dedicated website at https://www.dresden-convention.com/ and a new image film, is aimed at event agencies, associations and professors in Germany and selected target markets.

‘The tourism industry is motivated despite or perhaps because of the crises that have characterised the last few years and which have also posed enormous challenges for this industry. Ultimately, we are all tourists and want to be able to travel to the most beautiful places in the world today, tomorrow and for many years to come. That is why we should all work towards successful and sustainable tourism,’ says Corinne Miseer in conclusion.