Key figures

-* Population: 3,502,000 -* Surface Area: 892 sq. km -* Number of Hotels: 900 -* Number of Rooms: 108 000 -* Tourism revenus: 10 billion euro -* Visitors: 9 million per annumA city in growthWhile the tourism industry in the rest of the world is still just recovering from recession (if at all), Berlin is one of the few European cities that is posting steady growth in tourist arrivals. It has in fact taken Rome’s former title as the third most visited city in Europe. This is an exceptionally welcome position for Berliners, as more than 275,000 Berliners are employed in the tourism industry. “We are on the right track,” says Sybille Von Obernitz, Senator for Economic Affairs. “Half a million guests per day in our city are an optimistic sign for the future.” To confirm Von Obernitz’ optimism, occupancy in Berlin’s hotels grew 4% in the first half of 2012 compared with the same period last year, stays are up 7% from a year ago according to Berlin city government data, and the hotel landscape is constantly under construction to satisfy increasing, all despite a spreading euro crisis.The city offers more than three opera houses, seven symphony orchestras, over 130 theaters, around 300 cinemas, 4,650 restaurants, around 900 bars and 190 clubs and discotheques, and as the office of tourism loves to remark, “more museums than rainy days” with 175 museums total. So there is always something to do, something to see. But more than traditional tourism, as the most densely populated German city, Berlin has taken center stage as an urban tourism hotspot, with its strong suit in infrastructure and the MICE segment.Urban tourism hotbedUrban tourism is an increasing trend in the hospitality industry, in which travelers are more and more being...