Tourism in Rhineland-Palatinate: Hope and crisis for the summer season!

Tourism in Rhineland-Palatinate: Hope and crisis for the summer season!

Ludwigshafen, Deutschland - On June 21, 2025, the Rhineland-Palatinate hospitality industry draws a mixed record at the beginning of the summer season. In a special evaluation of the economic survey, the IHK Working Group on Rhineland-Palatinate has determined that tourism is slowly recovering from the pandeme-related burglaries, but the economic situation of many companies remains tense. Currently, only 18% of the respondents rate their business as good, while almost 50% of them have negatively assessed them as satisfactory and a third of the companies.

Another concern is the sales development that remains behind the expectations. Only 14% of companies have a increase in sales in the past 12 months, while 39% of falling income report. The business climate index fell from 91 to 83.4 points compared to the previous year, which indicates a deteriorated atmosphere in the industry.

warning of increasing costs

Jan Heidemanns, spokesman for tourism policy of the IHK working group Rhineland-Palatinate, comments concerned about the increased costs that burden the industry. Almost half of the companies report a decline in equity, and every fourth company has acute liquidity bottlenecks. Only 15% of companies are optimistic about the summer season.

The causes of the tense situation are diverse: high energy and raw material prices, rising wage costs and a lack of specialists and workers increase the companies. The uncertain economic policy framework also contributes to uncertainty, which leads to investments being planned reluctantly.

Guest numbers stable, but challenges remain

Rheinland-Pfalz recorded around 8.67 million guests and 22.35 million overnight stays in 2024, which corresponds to a slight increase of 0.4% compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, the number of hospitals has dropped by 10% in the past ten years. The IHK working group therefore urgently demands better economic framework to secure the hotel industry and gastronomy in the region.

A special aspect that burdens the industry is the introduction or expansion of tourism taxes, in particular the so -called bed tax. In order to improve the situation of the companies, the IHK working group supports measures to secure skilled workers as well as company succession and start-up. For this purpose, the “Working Family” employer network was set up to make the hospitality more visible as an attractive employer.

, which offers additional qualifications for young people in gastronomic professions. Such initiatives are necessary to master the challenges and to strengthen the tourism industry sustainably.

For future planning and analyzes, various studies and surveys are also available that document current trends and developments in travel behavior, including regular travel analysis of the research group Vacation and Travel (for) and the ADAC travel monitor. These data records offer valuable insights into the booking and travel behavior of German vacationers and can be used to develop targeted marketing strategies and support the hospitality.

The challenges of the industry are undisputed, but with targeted measures and a focus on the satisfaction of the guests and the improvement of working conditions, the course could be set for a positive development of the Rhineland-Palatinate hospitality. Further information for interested parties can be found in the reports from mrn news and Competence Center Tourismus .