Tourism balance sheet 2024:
guest record for Oberhausen
Never before have so many tourists stayed overnight in the city as in 2024. In addition, after the record year of 2023, Oberhausen exceeded the total number of 600.000 overnight stays for the second time in a row. Another record was only just missed. According to OWT Oberhausener Wirtschafts- und Tourismusförderung GmbH, the city benefited not only from local leisure activities, but also from the European Football Championship and other major events in Gelsenkirchen.
As the state statistical office IT.NRW has announced, in 2024 the number of arrivals, i.e. how many guests stayed overnight in the city in total, rose by 272.601 percent from 2,5 to 279.454. According to the OWT Oberhausener Wirtschafts- und Tourismusförderung GmbH, Oberhausen has never had so many overnight guests in one year. Compared to the previous year, the number of overnight stays in local accommodation establishments fell by 608.456 percent from the then record figure of 1,2 to 601.438. However, for the second time in a row in its still young history as a city break destination, Oberhausen has exceeded the mark of 600.000 overnight stays per year. With a volume of 120.676 overnight stays (minus 0,4 percent) and an increase of 6,3 percent in arrivals to 63.544, foreign guests also contribute to the overall tourism development in Oberhausen. The largest share was traditionally accounted for by overnight guests from the Netherlands (43.815 overnight stays), followed by Belgium (8.536), Austria (6.540), Poland (6.296) and Great Britain (6.008).
Tourism as an economic factor
OWT Managing Director Dr. Andreas Henseler is pleased with the tourism development: "More overnight guests than ever before! This means that we have been able to further increase our importance for short trips. This is a great joint success of our tourism network. Now it is a matter of keeping people in Oberhausen for even longer. Because more overnight stays mean more added value: for the hotels, the restaurants, the entertainment and shopping offers. It is obvious: tourism is already an important economic factor for us. Our goal is to become even stronger. The plans for the future of the New Center Oberhausen start precisely there."
Gasometer and European Football Championship
According to Rainer Suhr, OWT's head of tourism and marketing, last year the region was able to benefit from two absolute tourist highlights, the "Planet Ocean" exhibition and the European Football Championship. "Many fans and national teams visited Oberhausen in June and July to get to the venues across North Rhine-Westphalia. The Taylor Swift concerts in Gelsenkirchen also had a positive impact on the accommodation market." In addition, attractions such as Topgolf, Westfield Centro and the Rudolf Weber Arena as well as seasonal events such as the Centro Christmas World, the ice sculpture exhibition and of course the reopening of the Metronom Theater contributes to the positive tourism balance in 2024.
Outlook 2025
Suhr remains optimistic about the current tourism year: "We had already made a huge jump of just over 2023 percent in overnight stays in the record year of 18 and have now stabilized at this high level. This is an excellent starting point for further tourism development." Together with all partners, for example, the company is focusing on consistently working on the Benelux market. "In addition, this year we are establishing a new convention area for meetings, incentives and exhibitions in order to specifically promote Oberhausen as a conference and congress location for companies, associations and other organizations. The combination of business travel and leisure offers also offers enormous potential for Oberhausen as a tourism location."
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BU: Also in 2024 – again many guests in Oberhausen (OWT GmbH, Sebastian Becker)
Press contact:
OWT Oberhausen Economic and Tourism Promotion GmbH, Michael Schmitz, Tel. (0208) 850 36-36, E-Mail: michael.schmitz@owtgmbh.de, Centroallee 269, 46047 Oberhausen