The Federal Republic of Germany is situated in the heart of Europe. 82 million people live here, of whom 7,3 million are foreigners. Germany has nine neighbours: Denmark to the north, the Netherlands and Belgium to the north-west, France and Luxembourg to the west, Austria and Switzerland to the south, the Czech Republic and Poland to the east. Nearly half the German people live in 85 towns with a population of more than 100.000. A lively, multicultural scene thrives in the population centres.

Germany is the seventh most visited country in the world . According to Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Reports, Germany is rated as one of the safest travel destinations worldwide.

Destination Germany registered record incoming tourism values for the first six months of 2014. Preliminary figures released by Germany’s Federal Statistics Office show that foreign guests spent 32.8 million nights in lodging establishments/hotels with ten or more beds. This equals a surplus of 1.9 million overnight stays and a growth of 6% in comparison to last year’s period. The month of June alone strengthened this balance with a surplus of 6% for international overnight stays and is therefore the most successful June since records of lodging statistics began in 1992. .