Wirtschaftsstandort Oldenburg

for the regions goes to the Ammerland with its garden
culture and Lower Saxony’s third largest lake, closely followed
by the Oldenburger Münsterland around the
district towns of Vechta and Cloppenburg together with
the Wesermarsch, where Butjadingen peninsula scores
in the North with its North Sea flair similar to Friesland.
The tourism sector in the Oldenburger Land is growing,
and most of the businesses are fairly satisfied. At least this
is indicated by the tourism survey for the 2014 summer
season conducted by Oldenburg Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (CCI). Nearly 60 percent of the accommodation
and catering sector reported good business conditions
in the summer six months of 2014, with negative
tendencies from only 5 percent. This was due above all
to the improved turnover enjoyed by two thirds of all businesses.
Carola Havekost, CEO for Tourism at Oldenburg
CCI, attributes this to the “persistently good summer
weather” which attracted many guests to the coast in
particular. “In addition, many guests from other parts of
Lower Saxony came on the spur of the moment so that
many places had scarcely any beds, parking spaces or
beach baskets left at the weekends.”
According to the CCI survey, most of the businesses
intend to make investments before too long. “This is important
to keep pace with competitors in other tourism
regions”, emphasises Havekost. The most important investment
by far consists in modernising the furnishings and
equipment. Around one third also wants to invest in new
ideas and products. A good ten percent want to expand
their capacities, which refers primarily to increasing the
number of beds. A similar quantity also want to invest in
environmental protection measures.
In 2014, the CCI commissioned a study by ift Freizeit- und
Tourismusberatung GmbH in Cologne to ascertain the
significance of tourism for the Oldenburger Land. According
to the study, tourism has a far greater significance
than indicated by the official statistics. In addition to the
counted overnight stays, the experts from Cologne also
produced the following figures: a good 2.5 million over -
night stays in small establishments, about 7.8 million
private overnight stays with friends and relatives (aka sofa
tourists), around 2.4 million overnight stays in caravans
and motor homes, together with a good two million other
overnight stays, for example in holiday homes. Ift CEO
Jan-F. Kobernuß therefore comes to a total of 18.5 million
days spent in the region by overnight guests. “If we add
the approx. 32 million day-trippers, then the Oldenburger
Land has about 50 million days stayed in the region each
year”, summarises Kobernuß. In this way, the region gen -
erated turnover of more than 1.8 billion Euro in 2013,
corresponding to added value of a good 900 million Euro.
Several hundred million Euros of this total flow into the
state purse as taxation.
But Havekost attributes tourism with far greater sig -
nificance going over and beyond the pure economic
figures. “This is a cross-section branch with a widespread
impact. Together with the classic providers such as ac -
commodation, catering and leisure businesses, many
other branches profit directly and indirectly from the
money spent by tourists”, explains the CCI Tourism CEO.
These include retailers, the skilled crafts, agriculture, transport
companies, energy producers and many other service
providers. Thomas Bruns, CCI Vice President and CEO of
Friesenhörn-Nordsee-Kliniken, also attributes tourism
with having an “important image factor for our region”.
Bruns is certain that “if we are seen as an attractive travel
destination, then this also has a positive impact on other
branches and generally helps to improve the quality of
life in our towns and villages”.
But, as everybody knows, to stand still is to lose ground:
competitors, in this case other regions, never sleep. ift
Freizeit- und Tourismusberatung GmbH has ascertained
a whole series of areas where the region can improve its
value creation. Here are a few examples. There’s room for
improvement in the number of overnight guests. Here
Kobernuß sees a need for better quality accommodation
facilities, good service and a better quality of stay. “For
example, businesses can give themselves a special attraction”,
offering something that is quite unique. Kobernuß
sees great potential in health and nature tourism. “Germany
is spending increasing amounts particularly on
health-related issues”, says the tourism expert. What’s
more, this particular line of business continues regardless
of the season. Bad Zwischenahn for example has been
focusing on this growth area for several years – with great
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