Tourism and Conventions
Key Economic Drivers for Bremen
The tourism industry is a major economic driver in Germany and a key sector for job creation. Tourism fulfills citizens’ desire and need for experiences, relaxation, culture, and mobility. Visitors, locals, and business owners all benefit from a wide range of tourism, leisure, cultural, and culinary offerings, as well as accommodations and events.
For a city destination like Bremen, business travel plays a particularly important role. The MICE industry (Meetings, Incentives, Congresses, and Events) in particular is considered the driving force behind city tourism. The Bremen Convention Bureau is responsible for this sector.
Soft location factors are crucial in the competition for businesses and skilled workers. As a high-revenue, cross-sector industry, tourism has achieved remarkable success throughout Germany in recent years and is emerging as a key economic sector and driver of quality when it comes to securing and expanding jobs, infrastructure, and the city’s image.
Tourism by the Numbers – Arrivals & Overnight Stays
Never before have so many guests booked so many overnight stays in the Hanseatic city: 2025 was the most successful year in Bremen’s tourism history. With 2,544,247 overnight stays in the city of Bremen, the Bremen State Statistical Office recorded a 2.23 percent increase compared to the previous year. In the state of Bremen, there were 3,016,321 overnight stays, an increase of 3.36 percent compared to 2024. In addition, there were approximately 34 million day visits to the city. This shows that Bremen’s appeal as a travel destination is steadily growing.
Most guests came from Germany
Around eighty percent of overnight guests in the city of Bremen traveled to the Weser from Germany and stayed an average of two nights. Of the total of nearly 2.5 million annual overnight stays, approximately twenty percent were booked by foreign travelers (2024). As in previous years, the main European source market is the Netherlands, with 94,198 overnight stays and an increase of 11.7 percent compared to 2023. Denmark ranks second, recording an increase of 4.8 percent with 37,122 overnight stays. Third place goes to the United Kingdom with 30,559 overnight stays (down 9.9 percent).
In recent years, the state of Bremen—including the destinations of Bremen and Bremerhaven—has benefited from the positive growth momentum in German tourism, enabling the tourism industry to emerge as a major employer.
In 2024, 33.5 million day trips were recorded in the city of Bremen. The slight decline in the number of day trips can be explained by the fact that, on the one hand, the number of overnight stays rose last year, meaning that an increasing number of day visitors chose to stay overnight in Bremen. On the other hand, the day-trip market is highly dynamic and dependent on various factors such as weather, vacation periods, crises, and the private economic situation.
Together with revenue from overnight guests, total gross revenue of just under €1.8 billion was generated. The employment effect corresponded to approximately 27,000 people who were able to earn a living through tourism in the city of Bremen.
Furthermore, the hospitality industry (43%), retail (38%), and the service sector (20%) are the industries that benefit most directly from tourism.
According to dwif (German Economic Institute for Tourism), approximately €163 million in value-added tax and income tax remained in the city of Bremen. In addition, there are other taxes such as property tax, business tax, and the tourism tax.
With these figures, the tourism industry was on par with other major economic sectors.
According to figures from the State Statistical Office, in December 2024 there were 92 hotels in the city of Bremen with 13,834 beds in commercial accommodation establishments (State of Bremen: 114 hotels with 16,731 beds). For the city of Bremen, this represents an increase of approximately 580 beds compared to December 2023.
The average occupancy rate in 2024 was 44.8% in the city of Bremen (43.5% for the state of Bremen).
Step off the train, walk two minutes, attend a conference at the Congress Centrum Bremen or visit a trade fair in the adjacent halls, take a spin on an off-road vehicle course during the break, and stay overnight in one of the hotels near the venue. The easy combination of meetings and experiences, along with short distances and engaging supporting programmes, has made Bremen a popular location for conferences, corporate events, and congresses of international standing.
An additional advantage that is far from standard: the Bremen Convention Bureau (BCB) has many years of experience in planning, organising, and delivering conferences, congresses, and corporate events. It serves as the first point of contact for all stakeholders in the events sector. In addition to corporate and association clients, this also includes professors from universities and higher education institutions, as well as representatives from research, business, and politics who use their national and international networks to bring conferences and congresses to Bremen.
Many years of experience and close cooperation with Messe Bremen, the Congress Centrum Bremen, the local hotel and hospitality sector, and all tourism-related organisations ensure optimal preparation and execution of events. The BCB provides neutral advice, always in the best interest of its clients, to identify the most suitable venue. It also connects all relevant stakeholders in Bremen—from service providers to key contacts in politics and business. This is where Bremen’s well-known “short distances” truly make a difference.
Our services range from consulting, planning, and soliciting quotes to the implementation of customized event concepts, all the way through to the complete management of a conference or congress. Depending on your needs, the BCB can handle budget planning, venue procurement, participant registration using professional conference software, and the organization of suitable supporting programs, as well as arranging for service staff and interpretation services and preparing a final invoice including statistical data.
The BCB serves as the single point of contact for all national and local representatives of the events industry. It also supports the general marketing of Bremen as a conference and congress destination, assists clients with site inspections, and participates in MICE trade fairs.
All information is available at www.bremen-convention.de/en
Success Stories
State of Bremen at Expo Real 2025: impetus for a resilient and liveable city
The state of Bremen will be presenting itself with a strong joint stand at Expo Real in Munich, Europe's leading real estate trade fair, from 6 to 8 October 2025. 25 companies and institutions from Bremen and Bremerhaven will present their current real estate projects and development prospects.
Learn moreBremen – Germany's greenest city
The greenest major city in Germany is Bremen - with an average of 60 square metres of sports, leisure and recreation space per person. Parks, sports facilities, but also water areas invite you to relax from the hustle and bustle of the city every day.
Learn moreBremen as a Street Art City: when a City becomes the Canvas
From gigantic murals to graffiti hidden in the alleyways: Bremen's street art scene is a vibrant expression of creativity and diversity. With the Street Art Cities app, anyone can now discover this world on their own - and experience the Hanseatic city from a new perspective.
Learn more