Coach tourism fuels German economy & employment

The “Economic Impact of Coach Tourism“, a two-year study involving 3,000 coach travelers and companies, published by the German Association for bus and coach (bdo) shows that coach tourism in Germany generates annual sales of EUR 10.5 billion Euros and ensures over 200,000 employments, including in hotels, leisure facilities, and gastronomy. For example, the commercial accommodation sector has 30 million overnight stays generated by the coach tourism in Germany.

“Coach tourism has an important economic impact in Germany. It is not a secret that employees and coach companies are generating millions of Euros and secure workplaces within the bus industry, as well as within touristic destinations” said bdo president, Wolfgang Steinbrück.

An average coach trip takes about 3.4 days during which customers pay approximately € 100 for an overnight stay, with additional spending of €28.30 per day, mostly in food and local retail. Depending on the purpose of the trip, expenditure can be significantly higher with culture and city trips, increasing expenditure by up to 100%.

Each employment in German coach companies within the coach tourism sector creates 4.7 additional jobs among suppliers and providers operating in complementary services. CEO of bdo, Gunther Mörl, stressed: "This significant number of jobs would not exist without the coach tourism."

Read the summary of the study (in German only)