Tourism surge expected in Germany with Euro 2024 Football Championship

Germany, the host of Euro 2024, can expect a 1 billion euro ($1.07 billion) boost to its economy thanks to foreign tourists travelling to the country for the soccer games, the Ifo institute forecast on Friday.

This corresponds to about 0.1% of economic output in the second quarter of the year, with Germany´s hospitality and food retail sectors set to benefit the most from the games, the country's top economic research institute said.

"However, the effect is only short-lived, so that exports of services due to returning tourists are likely to fall again after the end of the European Championship in the third quarter and remain the same on balance," Ifo researcher Gerome Wolf said.

More than an additional 600,000 foreign tourists and 1.5 million additional overnight stays are expected during the championship, according to the institute's calculations based on the numbers from the FIFA World Cup hosted by Germany in 2006.

The German Economy Ministry also expects a temporary upturn in consumer-facing sectors after very subdued retail sales this year, but not to the same extent as during the 2006 World Cup.

Experts agree that the overall effect of the Euro 2024 on Europe's largest economy also depends on how the German national team performs in the tournament.

Their match against Scotland will kick off the tournament on Friday evening.

($1 = 0.9333 euros)