Is German tourism about to take another giant leap forward? Very likely, and it is all down to a game invented by the British, which involves 22 men chasing an inflatable piece of leather around a field.

Germany’s last footballing success, the hosting of the 2006 World Cup, was a big turning point in the nation’s image and self-confidence. Previously, the country had been thought to be too reserved and regimented to make a good host, but instead the impression coming back both from fans and TV screens was of a hospitable place, comfortable in its own skin.

That World Cup produced a surge in the economy of 1.7 percent (cruelly, the Brazilians were the biggest-spending visitors, and look what Germany did in return!). In the course of just six months, Germany went from 5^th to 1^st in the top ten countries for tourism and culture, and its tourism image moved from 19^th to 13^th in the world rankings. Before that, younger Germans would often say that they were European first, and German second; afterwards, they were proud to be German first, European second.

In the years since, the country has shown considerable economic leadership in Europe, as the only nation which sailed through the recession unharmed. But that doesn’t necessarily win it any friends.

Football does, however. And it couldn’t have worked out better. If this year’s semi-final, against Brazil, had been the final, then the Germans could have been cast as the villains, humiliating the host nation; in the second half of that match it was as if someone had died. But beating the Argentinians in the final restored the local support, and doing it with a flash of brilliance after a performance of considerable resilience couldn’t have been better scripted.

In general, German tourism has been increasing steadily over the last decade, by a small percentage every year. I daresay that this year will outshine those previous advances. Who says that football is only a game?

It’s been another good year for German tourism. Figures to June show a rise in British visitors of 7.5 percent over 2012, and while a good proportion of that is undoubtedly due to the upturn in business travel and the European economy, 55 percent is still leisure travel, particularly city breaks (Berlin accounts for a whopping 22 percent of all overnight stays). Looking back further, the number of British overnights in Germany has increased by a massive 30 percent in the decade since 2003, whilst the likes of France and Spain have been largely static over the same period.

The numbers break down as follows: The most popular city is Berlin, with more than twice as many overnights (1,002,175) as the secondmost popular, Munich. After Munich comes Frankfurt and then Hamburg. Berlin also counts as the most popular federal state, with Bavaria hard on its heels, followed by North Rhine-Westphalia (Dusseldorf, Cologne and the Ruhr) and then by Hesse (Frankfurt and part of the Rhine valley). Germany also tops the worldwide league table when it comes to culture-related trips (ie classical concerts, opera festivals etc).

So why are British visitors picking up on Germany? The German tourist board ascribe some of the increase to the positive publicity emerging from the 2006 World Cup, staged in Germany. Positive leadership during the economic crisis has clearly helped, and Germany surprised everyone by emerging top in a ‘most popular country’ survey done by the BBC this year. Good air links have played their part, as have hotel prices which are considerably better value than elsewhere in Europe. For example the most expensive city in Germany, Munich, has an average price of €123, compared to the average in Paris of €256. And finally a small part of it has to be down to increased awareness of the range and diversity of what Germany has on offer, and a tiny part of the credit for that is due to websites like this one.

Next year’s themes the tourist board will be promoting are: 25 years since the Fall of the Wall (yes, it really is 25 years!), all the German UNESCO World Heritage sites, a big barrier-free travel initiative, and a celebration of 300 years since the first of the House of Hanover acceded to the British throne (being marked with the launch of the new Royal Heritage Route and website http://www.germany.travel/en/ms/royal-heritage/start/royal-heritage.html)

Onwards and upwards!