This year’s Oktoberfest will take place between September 21 and October 6 in Munich, Bavaria. The traditional Volksfest has gained a big following in recent times and captivates regional and international tourists alike. And this won’t change anytime soon! Since the Oktoberfest is an annual event, anything tour and activity providers can do to increase brand awareness will pay off in the long run. That’s why we’ve decided to collect relevant tips & tricks on Oktoberfest for this and the next editions. In the next paragraphs, we’ll introduce the event, elaborate on its effect on regional tourism, and present you with ideas to increase your online visibility and attract more tourists.
About the Munich Oktoberfest
We’ve all heard of the phenomenon that is Oktoberfest by now… But if this is your first time on the rodeo, Oktoberfest is a Volksfest held yearly in Munich during late summer. Over the years it has transcended its reputation as a local beer festival to evolve into an international event for people from all over the world to enjoy: Adult visitors dressed in the traditional attire of Lederhosen and Dirndl indulge in the bacchantic pleasure of drinking alcoholic beverages (mostly beer) and celebrating life by singing songs late into the night in beer tents, and often accompanied by a live band. For a more relaxed experience, you can also visit one of the outdoor beer gardens.
There’s also a huge selection of amusement rides to enjoy, like rollercoasters, a Ferris wheel or even little circus shows. So even the younger ones can have a fantastic time as well. A small tip from a local: try the Wilde Maus roller coaster! It’s a classic and one of the few rides I go on every year.
Of course, doing all these fun activities will make you hungry. But don’t worry, as Oktoberfest offers a culinary haven where you can get a taste of Bavarian culture, such as Pretzels, Roast chicken, and other mouthwatering meals, including vegetarian and vegan options.
This year’s Oktoberfest opens its gates on September 21 and will last until October 6.
Here are some interesting facts about Oktoberfest 2024:
- Oktoberfest was first introduced in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
- Historically, it takes place at Princess Therese’s Theresienwiese. When it is transformed into the festival ground that is Oktoberfest we like to call it “Wiesn”.
- The beer served must be brewed by breweries within the city limits of Munich and adhere to the Reinheitsgebot, meaning it can only contain barley, hops, and water (such as Augustiner or Löwenbräu).
- Around 7,500,000 liters of beer are consumed every year. Prost!
- People tend to lose their stuff at the Oktoberfest: Around 4000 items are handed into Lost & Found every year. Be wary!
- Even though it’s called Oktoberfest, it has always started in mid-September. Why Prince Ludwig I decided to emphasize October remains a secret…
Oktoberfest and its effect on German tourism
Oktoberfest is huge. In 2023, 7.2 million attendees visited the festival, the record number of visitors to date. The largest Volksfest in the world didn’t just return to its pre-COVID numbers of around 6 million visitors, it actually surpassed them.
While the majority of visitors are coming from Munich and the surrounding areas (roundabout 71%) there’s also a high number of attendees from other German federal states and abroad, most notably from the USA, Austria, France, and Italy according to last year‘s report. Having the 7.2 million visitors in mind, this is a massive number of give-or-take 2 million people who decide to travel to Munich, with two-thirds staying overnight in the city during the festivities.
These numbers leave no doubt that the 16 days of Oktoberfest have a significant influence on regional tourism in Munich and Bavaria. But it affects the whole of Germany, too: when considering tourists from far away, such as the States, it’s only logical for them to combine their vacation with a roundtrip to make their stay worthwhile. And they’ll be in the mood for spending! Oktoberfest is not known for being on the cheaper side of activities (this year’s price for a liter of beer averages out to about 15 euros), so you can expect tourists to save up for this trip.
This is where tour & activity providers come in: Especially Bavarian operators will profit from the tourists’ willingness to spend some extra money! So without further ado, let’s make sure you’re prepared.
How to attract more tourists during Oktoberfest
In the following section, we’ve collected tips and tricks to help you prepare for the German tourist peak at the end of September and get the tourists out of the beer tents and onto your site! We’ll cover working with OTAs, explore the advantages of localization, and discuss the importance of a strong online presence.
Make yourself visible with OTAs
As mentioned above, Oktoberfest is attended by locals and a substantial number of tourists from Germany and abroad. Therefore, it is a must to make your brand visible in the vast landscape of tour and activity providers. A quick and affordable way to do so is by connecting with Online Travel Agencies (OTAs): it’s basically like digital windowshopping, where the OTA displays your offers alongside those from other providers so that customers can find what they’re looking for in no time.
The major OTAs, such as Civitatis or GetYourGuide, draw millions of visitors each month to their websites, providing their partners with plenty of exposure. However, a drawback you should consider is the commission fees, which usually range from 20% to 30% of your ticket prices. Evaluate your options to keep the external fees low while gaining maximum exposure. For example, a big OTA might not be the way to go if you offer sustainable regional tours such as hiking tours in Bavaria. Yes, you would have lots of visibility but you might not reach your target audience, potentially skewing your return on investment (ROI). On the other hand, if you offer experiences in central Munich, such as city tours or attraction visits, your best bet would be going with the most popular OTAs, including Musement, Viator, or the aforementioned Civitatis and GetYourGuide.
Beware that most OTAs will only accept your experiences if you can provide real-time availability. A booking system can help here, which is a specialized software for tour professionals to sell tickets, distribute their offers, and manage online bookings. Our solution, Regiondo, features a Channel Manager that lets you manage your product listings on multiple OTAs simultaneously.
Internationalize your products and online presence
To gain the attention of an international audience during Oktoberfest, consider localizing your offers into multiple languages. Providing English will already be a major advantage, as you can reach most foreign tourists. However, localizing doesn’t just involve the process of translating but also adapting your messages to cultural differences. If your resources allow, you can hire a seasonal worker who specializes in a foreign language and can help you in this effort. This can be particularly useful if you want to cover a language that’s more “niche” than English as, for example, French. The same goes for your online presence: offering your website in multiple languages and tailoring your content to nationally relevant keywords will optimize the search engine results for each language. This can take some time, but your brand will benefit not only during Oktoberfest but also in the long run!
To make the customer journey as seamless as possible, consider implementing different payment methods. Working with multiple payment providers will help you cover ground in demographics and currencies, thus maximizing your online and offline sales.
With a powerful booking solution such as Regiondo, you can translate your offers into any of the 11 natively supported languages and integrate industry-standard payment methods like credit cards and PayPal into your website. Speaking of which, if you need help with your website, Regiondo’s Website Builder will give you an easy and reliable foundation to build a multi-language page. No programming skills required!
Go mobile
For travelers looking for activities on the go – which makes up almost half of them – it’s crucial to provide a mobile-friendly experience! Your website should make it easy to quickly assess whether your offerings are a good fit and make the booking process simple. Ensure that your site is easy to use and accessible to mobile users, possibly even considering the ones who may have drunk a couple of beers…
Regiondo’s selection of widgets will help you design a digital storefront that’s intriguing and accessible at the same time. The included Widget Editor lets you customize the widgets to match, creating a coherent experience through and through.
Boost your search engine ranking
As mentioned above, using relevant keywords in your website will organically enhance your online presence. You’ll want to reach visitors looking for activities around Oktoberfest or in Munich. Maybe it’s a spontaneous decision to enjoy some culture after a day of celebration or to relax at a spa in the area. Or maybe it’s “weekend trip to Munich” they googled while traveling there. Either way, identifying relevant keywords and implementing them on your website will increase your traffic and hopefully lead to more bookings.
Creating a Google My Business account and claiming your listing will boost your website traffic as well. The better your profile, the better the ranking! Fill out all the details, add high-quality photos, and encourage your customers to review your activities on Google My Business. Set up additional profiles on other review platforms such as TripAdvisor to make it as easy as possible for your customers to leave their feedback. As a positive side effect, this will not only improve your ranking but also your overall reputation as a tour and activity provider.
Leverage targeted and paid advertising
If you want to go the extra mile, consider using paid channels to increase your brand awareness on a global scale. On the one hand, you could utilize geo-targeting and run ads for specific locations and target groups, for example, American fans (age 21 and up) of Oktoberfest and traditional Volksfests. Promote on social media and leverage their demographic data for a tailored ads campaign. Or bid on keywords for ad placement on the Google Search Engine. Keep in mind that popular keywords such as “Oktoberfest” are pretty expensive during prime time in summer. You could focus on more specific queries instead to lower your bidding costs and reach a targeted audience.
On the other hand, working with nano-influencers (influencers with a reach of at least 1.000 and up to 10.000 followers) that promote activities in and around Munich could work for you! The good thing about smaller influencers is that the financial outcome can be more efficient, so you get more bang for the buck. Additionally, their engagement rates are usually higher because they have a more personal relationship with their followers – you can almost consider them friends & family. Depending on your budget and resources, you could also go a step further and collaborate with macro-influencers (up to 100.000 followers). Targeting efforts may lose some of their effectiveness but you will gain exposure!
Conclusion
Oktoberfest’s immense popularity offers German tour operators and activity providers a prime opportunity to attract a regional and international audience. Equipped with Regiondo, the leading booking solution provider in Europe, businesses can access tools that maximize visibility and bookings. The platform integrates with major OTAs, simplifies localization, and its website builder and responsive widgets help create an engaging online presence. To find out more about how Regiondo can support your business, book your demo today. Our team will be happy to show you hands-on how to be ready for peak season during “Wiesn”.
