Düsseldorf’s success story continues

Düsseldorf’s upward trend as a destination continues unabated following a record-breaking 2011 (almost 3.85 million bed nights).

According to the state’s Statistics Office, bed nights in the NRW capital for the first half of 2012 totalled 2,015,436. Düsseldorf Marketing and Tourism GmbH (DMT) estimates that in 2012 the ceiling of four million bed nights has never been closer.

“Düsseldorf’s success story will be continued in 2012”, is the pleased assertion from Dr. Eva-Maria Illigen-Günther, Managing Director of DMT. “For the first time in Düsseldorf, we have recorded more than two million bed nights for a half-year period. Since the ‘Caravan Salon’ is currently still underway, and will be followed by other events such as the ‘Rehacare’ trade fair in autumn, we are optimistic that in 2012 we may reach four million bed nights over a full year for the first time.” The DMT Managing Director ascribes the good figures for the first six months to the “drupa” and other trade fairs on the one hand, and also as proof of the city’s growing attractiveness for tourists on the other. She says that major events such as the Eurovision Song Contest last year or the BAMBI awards this November – which would not have been possible without the commitment of Düsseldorf’s Lord Mayor, Dirk Elbers – also play a crucial role in Düsseldorf’s tourist appeal.

In order to better demonstrate the long-term dimension of Düsseldorf’s success, the DMT has compared the current year’s figures with those from 2004, a year in which the “drupa” trade fair also took place. The results are remarkable. Eight years ago, most bed nights were already being booked by German visitors. Comparing the first half of 2012 with the first six months of 2004 one can see an increase of 65.5 percent for this group alone. To put it in figures, German guests booked 1,211,131 bed nights in 2012, compared with 731,735 in 2004.

The DMT is especially gratified by the growth in visitors from Russia and the Arab Gulf States. Russian bed night bookings have risen by 272 percent: While only 14,629 bed nights were recorded from January to the end of June 2004, the figure stood at 54,372 for the same period in 2012. With regard to the Arab Gulf States, there were 12,081 bed nights booked during that period in 2004, rising to 28,454 in 2012 – an increase of 136 percent.

“From 2008/2009 DMT focused its international marketing very closely on these two markets. For example, DMT specifically attended numerous international tourism fairs in order to cultivate personal contacts with travel agents and also to reach consumers. Parallel to this, brochures and material relevant to the target group were developed in the respective languages,” explains the DMT boss. This latest success is therefore partly, but not exclusively, down to DMT’s efforts. In any event, this strategy will be retained. During this year, for example, DMT has already assisted 52 journalists and 97 travel agents from various countries, and has presented Destination Düsseldorf at 18 trade fairs. In total, DMT will market the metropolis on the Rhine at close to 40 national and international trade fairs and workshops during the course of 2012.

Source markets too – for which slightly less impressive percentage increases are recorded because the figures are already very high – have nonetheless shown strong growth. Thus US Americans booked 54,947 bed nights during the period under review in 2012, an increase of 15,141 compared with 2004. The comparison reveals similar growth of 16,226 bed nights for guests from the UK (75,285 in 2012). These source markets too are being intensively cultivated by DMT.

In DMT’s opinion, there are many reasons for Destination Düsseldorf’s continuing boom. One important cornerstone is the Messe and the city’s success as an economic hub. Equally, Düsseldorf’s attractive five-star hotels – beacons of the hotel sector – have had a positive impact on the industry as a whole since the second half of the last decade. In addition, there has been a general rise in city trips which has continually served to increase the attractiveness and popularity of Düsseldorf, in particular, as a travel destination.