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Most tourists in Germany come from the country itself. The trend towards travelling to all kinds of regions, from the Baltic Sea to the Alps, has continued in recent years. According to the Federal Statistical Office, hotels, guesthouses and campsites recorded 223.8 million overnight stays in the first six months of this year, a new record for Germany.
And the growing number of guests booking holiday flats online is not even counted. Germans also top the rankings for online bookings of holiday rentals, followed by visitors from the Netherlands, Poland and the United States.
Southern Europe turns to the Black Forest
Regionally, however, there are some striking trends. The Black Forest is particularly popular in Spain and Italy. That has less to do with its delicious Black Forest gateau, which has long since made a name for itself internationally, and more with the search for cooler climes.
With the 1,493 metre Feldberg and the picture-postcard Titisee, the Black Forest, like Scandinavia or Scotland, is regarded in this era of climate crisis as a “coolcation”, in other words as a particularly cool holiday destination. The fact that summer 2026 in south-west Germany, as in neighbouring France, was marked by heatwaves has so far done little to dent that image.
According to Schwarzwald Tourismus GmbH, the number of visitors from Spain coming to the Black Forest has risen particularly sharply, by 64 percent since 2015. The State Statistical Office of Baden-Württemberg counted 199,000 overnight stays by Spanish guests last year.
Italians are close behind, with 194,000 overnight stays in the Black Forest.
The famous fairy-tale brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm grew up in the 19th century not far from the Black Forest and collected stories from all over Germany. The slightly eerie atmosphere of “Hansel and Gretel” and “Little Red Riding Hood” draws visitors not only at Halloween, but can also be relived on a summer walk through the forest in its more mystical corners.