Hospitality, Leisure & Tourism Industry is Second Largest Private Employer in Germany

(eap) In collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO), the Denkfabrik Zukunft der Gastwelt – DZG (Thinktank Future of Hospitality Indurstry) has published the latest figures on the importance of the hospitality industry, which includes the leisure and tourism industry. According to the study, around 6.185 million people worked in the tourism, hospitality, food service and leisure industries in 2023. This corresponds to a 13.5 percent share of the working population in Germany. At 453.1 billion euros, the industry contributes eleven percent to the gross domestic product (GDP), making it the second largest economic force after the automotive industry.

DZG President Gerhard Bruder emphasized that the hospitality industry, with its presence in all 11,000 German communities, not only plays a significant economic role, but also contributes to social networking. The comprehensive analysis, which was published by Fraunhofer in 2022 as a baseline study, interprets the hospitality world as a networked ecosystem in which all hospitality touchpoints from travelers to everyday interactions are included.

DZG-Vorstandssprecher Dr. Marcel Klinge (l.) und DZG-Präsident Gerhard Bruder. © DZG “Hospitality is not an exclusive product for travelers, but an integral part of everyday life,” explains Bruder, pointing out that every eighth minute of an average life is spent in a hospitable environment.

The hospitality, leisure and tourism industry is therefore an indispensable economic sector in Germany’s value chain. “The work of our service sector is therefore not a 'nice to have', but a central cornerstone of our economic prosperity and social coexistence. The hospitality world is therefore without a doubt the #HeartOfOurSociety,” emphasizes Bruder.

With this new interpretation, the hospitality world is also positioning itself in relation to other industries, explains Dr. Marcel Klinge, DZG Board Spokesman. The fragmented presentation of the industry in the past has meant that the economic importance of the hospitality industry has often been underestimated in political discussions.

The updated figures for 2023 also show a willingness to invest in the industry with an investment sum of 36.3 billion euros. The majority of the hospitality industry’s contribution to GDP comes from private spending (82.2 percent), while business travel accounts for 17.8 percent. The number of overnight stays reached 487.2 million in 2023, only slightly below the record level of 2019. ■