Press release

Hannover – a strong tourist destination (25.02.2013)

Over 3.7 million overnight stays were posted in Hannover Region. After record year 2011, the tourist destination continues on a healthy course in 2012 too.

Hannover – a strong tourist destination

Over 3.7 million overnight stays were posted in Hannover Region. After record year 2011, the tourist destination continues on a healthy course in 2012 too.
For the second time in succession, Hannover surpasses the Expo record for the number of overnight stays – and tops the two-million mark. Although trade shows took place on a lot fewer days last year, according to Lower Saxony’s Office for Statistics and Communications Technology the number of overnight stays only dropped by a marginal 0.5 per cent to 2.08 million between January and December 2012. “This figure is a real success, especially since some trade shows take place only at certain intervals and were not scheduled for 2012”, explains Hans Christian Nolte, Managing Director of HMTG. “Hannover is a strong tourist destination”, adds Nolte.
Therefore, the increase in the number of guests arriving by a total of 3.5 per cent to 1.2 million is remarkable. This figure means that in 2012 more guests stayed the night in Hannover than ever before.
But the whole of Hannover Region (Hannover, plus 20 further districts) has broken records. At 3.73 million nights spent in 2012 (up 1.7 per cent) and 1.98 million guests arriving (a plus of 2.4 per cent in overnight stays), Hannover Region is more popular than ever before as a place to spend the night.
“Trade shows and congresses are the pillars of tourism in Hannover, but the figures show that an increasing number of private visitors are coming to Hannover too”, says Nolte. He goes on to say that the entire Hannover Region benefits from activities to market the venue and destination.
As spokesperson of the marketing partnership entitled “die 9_Städte in Niedersachsen” (the 9 cities in Lower Saxony) Nolte is equally delighted by the development in the 9 towns (Brunswick, Celle, Göttingen, Goslar, Hildesheim, Hannover, Hamelin, Lüneburg, Wolfenbüttel). The number of guests staying the night there has remained at a similarly high level as in the record year of 2011. “This means the towns are on the right track with their joint foreign marketing strategy.”
For photos for journalistic purposes go to www.hannover.de/fotodownload. For further information visit www.visit-hannover.com , www.hannover.de/urlaubsregion