Tourism

The Danish government is ready to allocate DKK 10.5 million in an extraordinary initiative to ensure that the opening of the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link attracts more international tourists, primarily from Germany and Poland.

With the upcoming Fehmarnbelt connection, a new chapter is opening for tourism on Zealand and the southern islands. The new link between Denmark and Germany creates significant potential to attract even more foreign visitors, the Ministry of Urban, Rural and Ecclessiastical Affairs writes in a press release. Therefore, the government now aims to step up efforts to strengthen tourism and accelerate tourism development on Zealand and the islands.

New Tourism Initiatives
As part of its tourism strategy, the government allocated DKK 200 million in the 2025 Finance Act for new tourism initiatives over the next four years.
Of these funds, DKK 10.5 million will be earmarked in 2028 for an extraordinary initiative designed to ensure that the opening of the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link attracts even more international tourists, primarily from Germany and Poland. This will be achieved by highlighting the many qualities of the region and expanding holiday accomodation capacity, ensuring that the government’s investment generates value for tourism from day one of the opening.

The Fehmarnbelt Link Creates New Opportunities
Germany has for decades been the largest foreign market for Danish tourism.
In 2024, the number of German overnight stays reached a new record of more than 21 million, accounting for 32.5 percent of all overnight stays in Denmark.
However, Zealand and the southern islands remain below the national average when it comes to German overnight stays. The opening of the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link therefore creates entirely new opportunities in the German market for Danish tourism, especially for Zealand and the southern islands, which will be significantly closer to Germany in terms of travel time.

Of the total DKK 10.5 million, DKK 9.5 million will be dedicated to an extraordinary international marketing campaign targeting Germany and Poland. This campaign will be carried out by VisitDenmark in cooperation with relevant partners and destination companies. The remaining DKK 1 million will be used for efforts to encourage more private holiday home owners on Zealand and the southern islands to make their quality homes available for rental.

According to an analysis conducted by the tourism alliance SMA-Z, 10 million Germans have Zealand, Lolland-Falster, and Møn on their radar for a holiday within the next three years. The study also shows that German tourists’ interest in visiting eastern Denmark will increase significantly once the Fehmarn Belt Tunnel opens, writes Business Lolland-Falster in a press release.

For 52% of travel-inclined Germans, the tunnel raises the likelihood of visiting eastern Denmark. This means that more than 5 million Germans are more likely to travel to Zealand, Lolland-Falster and Møn when the Fehmarn Belt Tunnel opens in 2029.

500,000 More Overnight Stays 
The shorter travel time and easy access make a vacation in Lolland-Falster even more attractive for Germans. At the same time calculations indicate that the number of international overnight stays in the Zealand region will increase by more than 500,000 solely due to increased accessibility once the Fehmarn Belt Tunnel opens in 2029.
These calculations, conducted by HBS Economics, do not account for tourism-promoting activities that will build on this ease-of-access to Denmark.

German Tourism Potential Needs to be Considered 
Lindy Kjøller, Destination Manager at Visit Lolland-Falster and Project Manager for SMA-Z, welcomes the analysis and points out that the Fehmarn Belt Tunnel will transform the entire tourism sector's self-perception on the eastern side of the Storebælt.
“For many years, we have primarily focused on Danish visitors in Zealand, Lolland-Falster, and Møn because they are the majority. But in a few years, this could turn completely around, with German tourists filling vacation homes and hotel beds. This places new demands on our reception facilities,” says Lindy Kjøller.

This means that tourism businesses need to consider German-speaking staff, signage, and websites in German. In fact, 46% of German tourists that participatet in the survey state that it is important for them that staff understand and speak German, and 55% prefer brochures, maps and guides in their native language. Both studies are the first to clarify the tourism potential related to the Fehmarn Belt Tunnel.

Good News for Tourism 
The possibility that increased German interest in eastern Denmark may already materialize in the coming three years, with 10 million German tourists potentially finding their way to Zealand, Lolland-Falster, and Møn, is good news for tourism, but it poses two very specific challenges.
“Accommodation capacity and qualified workforce are the main barriers to growth. The Fehmarn Belt Tunnel could help solve our labour challenges by enabling us to attract employees from a much larger area. However, the tunnel also opens up completely new customer groups from northern German cities who prefer to stay in hotels, and we have too few of those,” says Lindy Kjøller.

43% of respondents from Berlin indicate that it is likely they will travel to Zealand and Lolland-Falster. Although city dwellers often prefer to stay in hotel rooms, most German overnight stays take place in Danish holiday homes, and there is also a shortage of those.

Facts About Strategic Marketing Alliance – Zealand 
The Strategic Marketing Alliance – Zealand (SMA-Z) is a new, unique alliance that aims to strengthen tourism in Zealand, Lolland-Falster, and Møn and foster strategic collaboration in analysis, marketing, and development among the five destinations outside Copenhagen: Visit Sydsjælland og Møn, VisitFjordlandet, VisitNordsjælland, Destination Sjælland, and Visit Lolland-Falster. Additionally, VisitDenmark, Danish Coastal and Nature Tourism, Erhvervshus Sjælland, and Erhvervshus Hovedstaden are part of the project.

The vision is for Zealand, Lolland-Falster and Møn is to stand as strong as possible as a tourism area when the permanent Fehmarn Belt Tunnel opens in 2029. This will be achieved through a coordinated marketing effort and core narrative.
The project aims to increase the number of international tourists, especially Germans, and to create a more sustainable tourism sector in Zealand, Lolland-Falster and Møn by better utilizing capacity throughout more of the year and enhancing the environmental sustainability and appeal of tourism products, particularly for environmentally conscious German travelers.