Vibrant. Authentic. Radiant.
Tourism Strategy for the Karlsruhe Destination
The positive growth in tourism shows that more and more people are drawn to Karlsruhe!
This success drives us forward. With our clear tourism strategy, we have laid the groundwork to continue this success story together with our partners and to further strengthen the destination’s competitiveness and future viability.
Where the journey is headed
Tourism in Transition
Tourism is evolving—just as cities are changing. For more than 120 years, tourism development in Karlsruhe has been actively shaped. What began with the Karlsruhe Tourist Office is now carried forward by KTG Karlsruhe Tourismus GmbH. We confidently promote the city’s strengths, develop ideas, and implement strategies to enhance its appeal and create value for our city.
What sets Karlsruhe apart today: a diverse cultural scene, internationally acclaimed media art, a vibrant downtown, a strong scientific community, and a special tradition as a city of law. The Baroque planned city, founded by Margrave Karl Wilhelm, forms the historical framework of our identity with its palace, fan-shaped city layout, and Enlightenment tradition.
Changing travel habits, rising demands for sustainability, digitalization, and intense competition call for a strategy that motivates and sets concrete goals.
Our new tourism strategy is based on intensive dialogue with many partners. Representatives from the tourism industry, culture, city administration, politics, academia, and civil society have actively contributed.
The result is a shared vision and an action plan for Karlsruhe’s tourism development. Through close collaboration, pooled resources, and clear goals, tourism is intended to have a measurable impact on the destination, urban society, and the economy.
We want to embark on this journey together with you to bring our vision to life: vibrant culture, authentic living, and a bright future for Karlsruhe.
Our Strengths
The City's DNA: History, Character, and Potential
Karlsruhe has a relatively short history as a city. More than 300 years ago, Margrave Karl Wilhelm von Baden-Durlach is said to have dreamed of a new city: a place with a unique layout, whose streets radiate outward from a central point. This idea gave rise to the “Fan City” of Karlsruhe.
To this day, the Baroque residential palace stands at the center, from which 32 streets lead into the city like rays of sunlight. To make his vision a reality, Karl Wilhelm granted the new citizens far-reaching rights—an early expression of openness and the Enlightenment. This spirit continues to shape Karlsruhe to this day. Architect Friedrich Weinbrenner designed the market square as a neoclassical counterpart to the palace—a civic square that forms the culmination of the so-called Via Triumphalis. From the very beginning, the city was thus conceived as an open space for encounters, commerce, and social life.
A city without walls—
, open to ideas, innovation
, and people from all over the world.
With the founding of the Technical University in 1825—now the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)—and the subsequent establishment of the Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal Court of Justice, Karlsruhe gained two further defining elements of its identity: science and law.
To this day, the Baden metropolis lives up to the promise of its unique city layout: with innovative museums, inspiring SCHLOSSLICHTSPIELEN (light shows at the palace), and a vibrant independent cultural scene at the cutting edge, the city embodies a contemporary culture where media, art, technology, and social discourse converge. Furthermore, Karlsruhe impresses with a high quality of life and living, short distances, green urban spaces, culinary delights, an authentic, vibrant city life, and its immediate proximity to the Black Forest, the Palatinate, and Alsace.
This blend of culture, science, quality of life, openness, and the pursuit of justice makes Karlsruhe a destination with a character all its own.
Karl – more than just a name
Today, “Karl” symbolizes the shared origins, spirit, and vision for the future of the Karlsruhe region. The name not only traces back to the city’s founder, Margrave Karl Wilhelm, but also references other notable figures from Karlsruhe’s rich history, such as inventor Karl Drais, Baron von Sauerbronn; entrepreneur Carl Benz; and chemist Karl Weltzien. “Karl” embodies the Enlightenment DNA of the fan-shaped city and its current self-image as a city of law, science, culture, and shaping the future. “Karl” connects history and the future, identity and innovation.
“Karl” is at the heart of the joint tourism strategy as a unifying concept that brings all tourism stakeholders together. It creates a common point of reference and makes clear what the tourism sector stands for. As an overarching guiding principle, “Karl” provides direction and gives the strategy a clear stance and identity.
Strong tourism. Strong city.
Tourism as a driver of the economy, culture, and quality of life
Tourism in Karlsruhe is growing. With around 21 million day visitors and more than 1.3 million overnight stays per year—plus stays not captured in official statistics, such as visits to relatives, friends, or acquaintances—tourism plays a significant economic role for the city. Visitors from Germany and abroad are driving increasing demand in the hotel and restaurant industry, cultural sector, retail, and tourist attractions. The impact is clear: through their spending, they generate approximately one billion euros in annual revenue and add value of about 477 million euros. In other words: tourism supports the livelihoods of around 13,800 people.
Tourism has a wide-ranging impact
Tourism is much more than just an economic factor: it enhances the city’s image as a business hub and a destination for experiences, revitalizes public spaces, and helps make cultural offerings, events, and infrastructure equally attractive to residents, visitors, and local businesses alike.
Vision. Mission. Goals.
for tourism in Karlsruhe
Our vision:
Where Karlsruhe should be heading as a destination
Our vision for tourism goes far beyond mere overnight stays and visitor numbers. It describes what sets Karlsruhe apart as a destination, the experiences it offers, and how residents benefit from a modern, sustainable tourism offering.
The focus is on the city’s strengths: its vibrant cultural scene, high quality of life, and a forward-looking economy and academic community. Like the radial roads leading from the castle tower in all directions, our vision offers a clear point of reference for everyone actively shaping local tourism.
Our vision is both a promise of an experience and a guiding vision for guests, the city’s residents, and all tourism stakeholders. It combines the demands of modern tourism with the founding principles of Margrave Karl Wilhelm and embodies Karlsruhe’s brand essence: media art, smart development, and law and democracy.
Our goals:
The impact we want to achieve
Five strategic objectives serve as a shared compass for KTG, policymakers, tourism partners, the local community, and the business sector. We measure our success against these objectives. The objectives are backed by specific metrics and pave the way for the future development of tourism in our city.
Our Mission:
How we are developing tourism together
At KTG, we see ourselves as a central hub within the tourism ecosystem. We actively bring together stakeholders from the cultural, business, administrative, and social sectors. Together with
our partners both within and outside the destination, we shape Karlsruhe’s tourism development. Four core principles guide all our actions to achieve our strategic goals.
Experience Profiles and Highlights
What visitors can experience in Karlsruhe
In its tourism marketing, Karlsruhe focuses on three key experience promises. These highlight the city’s unique characteristics and make them tangible and experiential for different target groups. The three experience profiles connect history, the present, and the future, thereby creating a distinctive tourism “showcase.” Let’s work together to bring these promises to life, further refine them, and expand them in a targeted manner!
Target audiences
Who we help experience Karlsruhe
Whether they are adventure-seeking cultural tourists, urban explorers, or business travelers, Karlsruhe’s visitors are as diverse as the city itself. To further develop Karlsruhe as a forward-looking destination, we deliberately target clearly defined groups. These groups are a perfect fit for our city’s strengths and offer significant potential for added value.
Leisure-seeking guests
In the area of leisure tourism, Karlsruhe focuses on couples in their prime, individual travelers of various age groups, families, and groups. Four sample profiles bring these target groups to life. These so-called personas help in developing customized offerings and tailoring them to guests’ needs.
Group travelers
The reasons for group trips vary—from school trips and club outings to field trips. A flexible, modular system brings together suitable group packages in different categories. This makes it quick and easy to put together attractive itineraries tailored to a wide range of needs.
Business travelers
Business travelers and MICE guests (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions) are a key economic driver for Karlsruhe. Targeted outreach is conducted through companies, associations, agencies, and professional conference organizers. The Convention Bureau Karlsruhe & Region plays a key role in this effort as the central hub for conferences, conventions, and events.
International guests and partnerships
Karlsruhe works closely with strong partners such as the Tourismus Marketing GmbH Baden-Württemberg (TMBW) and Schwarzwald Tourismus GmbH (STG) . These partnerships enable a tailored approach to international markets and target groups.
Join us in shaping the future!
Our vision—“Vibrant culture. Authentic life. A bright future”—becomes a reality when many people contribute their ideas, experiences, and perspectives. Together, we can highlight Karlsruhe’s strengths
and further promote the city as an inspiring destination. There are many ways to get involved:
Further information
Read up on it and stay on top of things
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In our magazine, you’ll find all the key information about the tourism strategy for the Karlsruhe destination—presented concisely, clearly, and in an easy-to-read format across approximately 20 pages.
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Our strategy poster presents our vision, mission, and key objectives, as well as experience profiles, target audiences, and stakeholders, all in an illustrated format.
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Would you like to learn more about the four personas in the "Leisure-oriented guests" section? In the presentation, you’ll find general characteristics of each persona, tips on how to target them in your marketing, information on their travel behavior, and details about their customer journey.
The four personas are:
- Couples in Their Prime – Esra & Jonathan
- Younger solo travelers – Tamara
- Senior solo travelers from Karlsruhe and the surrounding area – Christina
- Families from Karlsruhe and the surrounding area – Lena & Steffen with Ella & Ben
Stay in touch.
Stay in touch with us and play an active role in shaping the future of Karlsruhe. Every idea counts, because successful destination development
happens where perspectives converge and collaborative action begins.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the tourism strategy, please contact:
KTG Karlsruhe Tourismus GmbH
Tourism Development | Sustainability
Tel: +49 (0) 721 602997-560
strategie@karlsruhe-tourismus.de