Some 3.3 million people packed the tents and beer gardens during the first half of the festival, which runs until October 4, Munich tourism chief Gabriele Weishäupl announced.
The flow of beer rose accordingly, despite any fears about a tighter flow of cash. In the first eight days, punters necked 200,000 more litre mugs of beer, know as a Maß in German, than last year. In most years, the 6 million or so visitors each drink an average of 1 litre of beer.
Lest health campaigners be alarmed, the sale of alcohol-free drinks also rose – by 15 percent.
However, it seems visitors subsidised their drinking by cutting back on other spending. The sale of souvenirs, hotel rooms and carnival ride tickets were all down on last year.
“Tourism is somewhat dampened,” Weishäupl said.
She attributed the booming business to the mild and sunny weather, making the beer gardens in front of the tents particularly pleasant.
Munich’s Mayor Christian Ude said he was delighted that Oktoberfest had got off to “a very relaxed and peaceful start.”
On Saturday, authorities announced a no-fly zone over Oktoberfest to prevent terrorists crashing planes into the crowd, after repeated threats from al-Qaida and the Taliban against Germany.
Member comments