Millions of people in Germany will be celebrating Carnival from Thursday – and the economy can look forward to nationwide sales of more than 1.7 billion euros. This emerges from a calculation by the employer-related German Economic Institute (IW), which was published on Wednesday.
Business in the carnival strongholds is particularly lucrative for the catering industry. Jecken will again spend a lot of money on Kölsch, Altbier and crazy delicacies. The IW expects sales of 770 million euros here. Other areas also benefit from the carnival. Through the sale of costumes and sweets, retailers can hope for sales of around 360 million euros.
“The carnival is a ray of hope for the regional economy. The catering and hotel industries in particular need these important impulses,” says IW director Michael Hüther. In addition, carnival is particularly important “especially in times when we are moving from one crisis to the next.”
According to the IW, the carnival business has recovered after the Corona period. The experts expect slightly higher sales for this season than in 2022/2023. At that time, revenues of around 1.65 billion euros were achieved. (dpa)