More people from Germany and abroad visited the German city of Stuttgart in the first half of this year than ever before, due to its popularity as a trade fair and congress destination.

What’s more, the Stuttgart region saw a 10% increase in the number of overnight stays in its hotels.

"For us, this positive result is excellent feedback. It shows that our specially targeted offers for tourists, congress participants and trade fair visitors are in line with the market," commented Klaus Lindemann, managing director of the Stuttgart-Marketing and Regio Stuttgart Marketing-und Tourismus.

Drawing corporate meetings and events planners to Stuttgart are a number of excellent venues, such as  the ICS, with an exhibition area of some 100,000 square metres and the capacity to accommodate up to 10,000 delegates.

Meanwhile, the SI-Erlebnis-Centrum Stuttgart, too, offers a unique range of possibilities, from hotel, conference and congress amenities, to outstanding restaurants, the Stuttgart Casino and other entertainment programmes.

There are also the Liederhalle Culture and Congress Centre, the Mercedes-Benz Arena, the Hanns-Martin Schleyer Hall, the Cannstatter Wasen, the Porsche Arena, the Carl Benz Center, the Mercedes-Benz World and Sport Stuttgart, and the city hopes to build further on its good start to 2008.