Rostock (dpa/mv) - From the point of view of the tourism association, the year 2022 went better than expected. "Permanent and complex crises put pressure on the mood and sometimes made business appear worse than it actually was," said managing director Tobias Woitendorf on Wednesday. In addition to the war in Ukraine, he mentioned the energy crisis and the shortage of workers. These have a negative impact on the prospects for the coming year.
Nevertheless, the association expects a significant increase in overnight stays of more than 20 percent to around 32 million euros for 2022. "It felt different due to the many hardships. But if the forecast were to be confirmed, 2022 would be the second best year for tourism," said Woitendorf. The pre-pandemic year 2019 holds the top spot.
According to the information, the Mecklenburg Baltic Sea coast in particular benefited from the recovery after the corona easing in the summer. By September, the number of overnight stays had risen by 40 percent to 7.6 million. Rügen and Usedom followed with an increase of 26 and 25 percent to 5.5 and 4.7 million.
The number of international guests fell well short of expectations. With around 670,000 overnight stays in the first three quarters, around a third fewer people came to the northeast than in the pre-Corona period. "The need to catch up is significantly higher in the international area than in the overall view of tourism in MV," it said.
