Germany’s Federal Statistical Office announced on Wednesday that it had recorded 40.8 million overnight stays by residents in hotels and other accommodation establishments in September – an increase of 3.0 per cent compared with the same month in the pre-crisis year of 2019.

There was a 10.1-per-cent increase when compared with September 2020. However, many foreign tourists stayed away, resulting in an overall fall in overnight stays of 5 per cent, when compared with the pre-pandemic level.

From January, up to and including September of the current year, hotels, guest houses, holiday homes, campsites and other accommodation recorded a total of 224 million overnight stays.

That was 11.6 per cent less than in the same period last year. Coronavirus restrictions meant that overnight stays for private travellers were banned until June in some German states.