Federal Government Report on Tourism Policy - 17th legislative term - . Page 2 Table of Contents Part 1 – Opportunities and challenges for tourism policy 1.1 Tourism – successful midmarket growth sector 1.2 Tourism: an important factor for the economy 1.3 Framework conditions for the tourism industry Shaping demographic change Targeted support for SMEs active in the tourism industry Social responsibility in the tourism industry Sustainable tourism International framework conditions Part 2 – Tourism policy at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology 2.1 Improving competitiveness, boosting performance – priority projects for the tourism industry 2.2 Training and education in the tourism industry 2.3 Regional and structural policy for the tourism industry 2.4 Germany as a travel destination – the German National Tourist Board (DZT) Part 3 – Collaboration at the European and international level in tourism policy 3.1 European tourism policy 3.2 Bilateral collaboration 3.3 Collaboration on tourism policy within the framework of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) 3.4 Collaboration on tourism policy within the framework of the UNWTO (World Tourism Organisation) Part 4 – The role of other federal ministries in tourism policy Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt (AA)) Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) . Page 3 Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) Federal Ministry of Justice (BMJ) Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (BMVBS) Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Part 5 – Key players and organisation of tourism policy in Germany . Page 4 Part 1 – Opportunities and challenges for tourism policy 1.1 Tourism successful midmarket growth sector Tourism is one of Germany's booming and lucrative economic sectors. At the same time, the industry promotes a positive and friendly image of the country. Tourist services increase the appeal and popularity of cities and regions and thereby strengthen Germa- ny's position as a place for business and investment overall. Tourism is a multifaceted industry, encompassing tour operators and travel agencies, hotels and restaurants in urban and rural areas, trade fairs, convention and event centres, museums, theatres and other cultural facilities, camping sites, car, boat and bike rental, sporting facilities, preventive health and rehabilitation clinics, nature reserves and leisure parks, bus, rail and air transport companies, and some of the retail sector - all of which offer attractive services to both private holiday-makers and the business traveller. Tourism also offers work and training opportunities that are tied to a specific location. In Germany, tourism is an economic heavyweight and a driver of job growth, with 2.9 million workers directly employed in the industry. The sector generates a gross value add (GVA) of close to €100 billion, thereby accounting for 4.4 percent of the total GVA of the German national economy, while tourism spending in Germany amounts to roughly €280 billion - impressive figures for an industry whose economic importance had long been underestimated. The Federal Government's Annual Economic Report highlights the fact that Germany tops the league in terms of growth in Europe, and the tourism industry certainly made a substantial contribution to this economic success. The Federal Government has significantly improved the conditions for growth and employment and will continue this policy in the future. Credit for the good economic results must be given above all to the many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country. For this reason, the promotion of a competitive midmarket is at the heart of the Federal Government's economic policy. The aim of the Federal Gov- ernment's SME policy is to create a business framework that allows small and medium- sized enterprises to strengthen their competitive position and fully develop their poten- tial for growth and employment. Page 5 As a horizontal sector, tourism cuts across many areas of government policy. And given that tourism is primarily the domain of SMEs - aside from the few big names in the industry - it particularly benefits from the SME policy of the Federal Government. Current priority areas of the Federal Government's SME policy include: The Federal Government's Skilled Labour Strategy adopted in 2011: a two- pronged approach to secure an adequate supply of skilled labour by unlocking domestic workforce potential and by applying a smart immigration policy to at- tract skilled workers from abroad. Securing funding for SMEs by making the arrangements under "Basel III" more midmarket-friendly. These arrangements concern the capital adequacy of credit institutions at the EU level. Reducing bureaucracy to give businesses greater latitude. Since the introduction of the "Bureaucracy Reduction and Better Regulation" programme in 2006, the Federal Government has cut a quarter of the costs of bureaucracy borne by German businesses (for more information on the SME Initiative of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), go to www.bmwi.de). 1.2 Tourism: an important factor for the economy The role of tourism in the German economy Comprehensive, up-to-date figures on the economic importance of tourism to the German national economy have been available since February 2012. Following the studies conducted by the Institute of Economic Structures Research (GWS mbh) in 2003 and 2005, new and enhanced statistics, known as a "tourism satellite account" (TSA), were compiled at the initiative of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Tech- nology. These TSA data are based on an internationally accepted procedure that is consistent with German national accounts, and facilitate an informed appraisal of the impact of the German tourism industry on income and employment. The results are remarkable: . Page 6 Generating €97 billion in 2010, the German tourism industry accounted directly for a 4.4 percent share of the total GVA of the national economy. If we also factor in indirect effects, such as intermediate inputs, and induced ef- fects (direct and indirect income which is spent in Germany, thereby generating further income and employment), with roughly €214 billion tourism accounts for 9.7 percent of the total GVA. This means that every euro of GVA that is directly provided by tourist spending generates an additional €1.25 of indirect and induced value added. Hotels and restaurants make the biggest contribution with €57.1 billion. The importance of business travel was also gauged: In 2010 business travellers spent €57.2 billion in Germany, with €14.7 billion spent by foreign and €42.5 billion by domes- tic business travellers. This translates to a good 20 percent of overall tourism spending in Germany worth €278.3 billion. Tourism creates and safeguards jobs in Germany. Most of these jobs are linked to a particular location and are therefore of particular value for the regions. Here too, impressive figures are available that are testament to this fact: 2.9 million workers are directly employed in the tourism industry in Germany, which is equivalent to 7 percent of the entire working population. If indirect and induced effects are also factored in, a total of 12 percent of the entire working population is directly and indirectly employed in tourism. This means that every direct job in tourism creates 0.7 additional jobs in up- stream and downstream sectors. All in all it appears that the tourism industry is a powerful motor for job development, is responsible for strong revenue generation and is therefore an important economic factor for Germany (study available for download at www.bmwi.de). Page 7 Positive trends in tourism development 2012 was an outstanding year for tourism in Germany. For the third consecutive year Germany reported record numbers of overnight stays by tourists, passing the 400 million mark for the first time ever with 407.3 million overnight stays that year. This translates to a growth of 3.6 percent on the previous year. A particular increase was seen in the number of international visitors, with overnight stays in Germany by non- resident visitors rising 8.1 percent to 68.8 million in 2012. Figure 1 Development of overnight stays by resident and non-resident guests in commer- cial accommodation establishments in Germany since 2006: Source: Federal Statistical Office Wiesbaden As of 2011 overnight stays in accommodation establishments with 10 or more bed- places or in camping sites with 10 or more places Southern Germany is the most popular holiday region in Germany: Bavaria and Baden- Württemberg alone accounted for roughly 131.8 million of the 407.3 million overnight stays in Germany in 2012 (over 32 percent of all overnight stays). Page 8 Source: Federal Statistical Office Wiesbaden Overnight stays in accommodation establishments with 10 or more bed-places or in camping sites with 10 or more places Compared with figures for 2011, the city states of Hamburg and Berlin reported the biggest increase in the number of overnight stays in 2012, a fact which underlines the positive trend in city-based tourism: . Page 9 Source: Federal Statistical Office Wiesbaden Overnight stays in accommodation establishments with 10 or more bed-places or in camping sites with 10 or more places Increasing importance of non-resident visitors Of the 407.3 million overnight stays in German accommodation establishments in 2012, 68.8 million were by international visitors. This equates to a percentage share of 16.9 percent. With 52.1 million overnight stays, guests from Europe dominate, accounting for 75.7 percent.