Tourism boom in Garmisch: Gastronomy is fighting against a shortage of staff!

Tourism boom in Garmisch: Gastronomy is fighting against a shortage of staff!

Tourism is really booming in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen district. In the first half of 2025, around 1.6 million overnight stays were counted here, which corresponds to a sharp increase of around 7.6 percent compared to the previous year. This makes the district one of the most popular holiday regions, which the Munich Merkur also underlines in its article when it highlights the importance of tourism for the local economy. This is particularly pleasing when you consider that Bavaria was only able to increase its overnight stay volume by 0.8 percent overall.

Manuel Halbmeier from the NGG Rosenheim-Oberbayern points out that the tourist offer is diverse. Vacations, day trips, business trips and even medical treatments draw people to the region. Garmisch-Partenkirchen alone receives a million tourists every year. To illustrate this, wanderundmehr.at adds that the region had 1.635 million overnight stays last year - 67,000 more than in 2019. Upper Bavaria is the most popular holiday region in Bavaria and can look back on a total of 44.8 million overnight stays.

Challenges in the catering industry

But not everything is going smoothly in the catering sector. Due to a lack of staff, many companies are forced to reduce their opening hours. During the Corona pandemic, many full-time employees left the industry. This means that catering establishments are dependent on temporary staff, which has a negative impact on the quality of service. Despite a collective wage of 17.85 euros per hour for cooks and waiters, the reality is often different: many employees only receive the minimum wage of 12.82 euros. Here the NGG criticizes the fact that DEHOGA Bayern allows catering establishments to avoid collectively agreed wages, which degenerates the industry into a low-wage industry.

There is also a clear call for catering establishments to hire more staff to reduce workloads and long shifts. From January 2026, the catering tax will also fall from 19 to 7 percent - a relief that could create financial leeway for many businesses. Halbmeier demands that these savings should be invested directly in the personnel structure instead of simply maximizing the profits of the innkeepers. It is estimated that around 3.6 billion euros per year could be saved nationwide through this tax reform.

Tourism in the Bavarian Alpine region

The Alps attract tourists not only from Germany but also from abroad. In 2022, the proportion of foreign guests in Bavaria was 16.6 percent, and the number of foreign overnight stays increased by 18.9 percent compared to 2022. Around 30 million people visit the Alps every year. The main attractions are the impressive nature and activities such as hiking, swimming and cycling.

Aside from the challenges facing the gastronomy sector, it is clear that the Garmisch-Partenkirchen region is on a promising path both in terms of tourism and economics. The future will show how the industry reacts to the changes and whether it will be possible to maintain quality in the catering industry. The sight of the majestic mountains will certainly continue to attract many visitors in the future.