Every year and in the run-up to Christmas time it is once again time to get the tills ringing. Christmas is big business. During the festive season, purse strings are not quite as tight, something that also benefits the Christmas markets. Did you know that there are approximately 2,500 of them in Germany? Year after year they look for visitors ready to spend and thirsty for mulled wine. And the attractions to entice these customers have to be upped as time goes by.
In England the typical German Christmas markets are popular and the attraction is increasing. Pre-Christmas celebrations “Made in Germany” have become an export hit, with the warm and friendly German atmosphere finding more and more fans.
The first English Christmas market was in Lincoln, back in 1982. Today this market (which has always sold wine from its German partner town Neustadt an der Weinstraße) is attracting the crowds. A well-meaning warning – if you have claustrophobic tendencies, you should avoid this market. The official figures indicate that on the four days it is held, more than 250,000 people push and shove their way through the medieval streets. To put this into perspective – Lincoln has a population of only 90,000. The larger Christmas markets are designed in line with the Frankfurt Christmas market, one of Germany’s oldest and largest. This is particularly true of Birmingham, a partner town of Frankfurt since 1966. Here whole stands along with their staff are “imported” from Frankfurt. Today the Birmingham Christmas market, which was the first to be designed in the style of the Frankfurt Christmas Market, is considered the largest Christmas market outside Germany.
England has made huge progress. Even though Germany can look back on a much longer history (with the Frankfurt Christmas Market dating back to the 14th century) the hard figures certainly have something in common:
– Birmingham and Frankfurt each recorded more than 3 million visitors. (The most popular market in Germany is Cologne which racks up some 5 million visitors a year.)
– In Manchester and Frankfurt, drinks, food and Christmas (as well as not so Christmassy) goods are sold at over 200 stands.
– It is estimated that gross sales at the Frankfurt Christmas market will top EUR 100 million. In Manchester every year the Christmas market generates approximately GBP 50 million.
– It has been reported that visitors to German Christmas markets spend roughly EUR 30 per visit, with money also being spent in shops, restaurants and inner-city hotels. Food and drink regarded as “typically German” such as mulled wine are sold on English markets. Even though the English term exists, the German term Glühwein is preferred which further adds to the Germanness of it all. In general prices are higher than in Germany, which could well indicate that average spending per person on Christmas markets is somewhat higher than in Germany.
But enough with the figures. After all Christmas is meant to be about something entirely different. And it is along these lines that we wish you all the best for the holiday period.
