BERLIN, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The number of overnight stays in Germany's hotels and guesthouses last year plummeted by 39 percent year-on-year due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Wednesday.

After ten years of growth, the total number of overnight stays in accommodation establishments with ten or more beds as well as in tourist campsites with ten or more pitches fell to 302.3 million, according to Destatis.

"The impact of the coronavirus pandemic is devastating for German tourism and thus for the hospitality industry," the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (DEHOGA) said in a statement on Wednesday.

The number of overnight guests in 2020 fell similarly and was down around 33 percent year-on-year, according to Destatis. "These results clearly show the impact of the coronavirus crisis with repeated accommodation bans or restrictions."

During the COVID-19 lockdowns in Germany, overnight stays by private guests in hotels in Germany are not allowed. Restrictions were temporarily eased in summer and fall but have been in place again since the second lockdown at the end of the year.

The number of overnight stays by international guests even dropped by around 64 percent year-on-year. Destatis noted that the "enormous decline" in the number of international overnight stays in Germany clearly reflected the COVID-19-related restrictions on travel worldwide.

"The lack of overnight stays and revenues threaten the existence of tens of thousands of businesses," said Guido Zoellick, president of DEHOGA, in a statement. "After the disastrous coronavirus year with four months of lockdown, the bank accounts of our companies are empty." Enditem

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