Dresden Tourism and Hospitality Sector Sees Surge in Apprenticeship Interest

Dresden’s tourism and hospitality sector is seeing a substantial increase in interest among young applicants seeking professional training, according to the Dresden Tourism Association. Hotels, restaurants, museums, event organizers, and other regional tourism operators report receiving more applications and higher overall applicant quality than in prior years. Data from the Dresden Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK Dresden) shows that 526 new training contracts were signed in gastronomy, hotel management, and tourism by the end of July. That figure aligns closely with the 558 contracts recorded in 2025, while remaining well above the totals from previous years, which saw 413 contracts in 2023 and 478 contracts in 2024.

Renewed Appeal for Culinary Careers

Among specific professions, training as a chef has experienced a surge in popularity. A total of 186 young people began apprenticeships as cooks this summer.

The profession historically ranked among the hardest to staff within the sector. Industry observers attribute the renewed interest partly to the high visibility of cooking shows and streaming formats across social media platforms.

Martin Raich, general manager of the Hilton Dresden, noted that jobs in hotels and restaurants are increasingly viewed as dynamic career paths offering international prospects and varied opportunities.

We are currently experiencing that professions in hotel management and gastronomy are once again being perceived more strongly for what they are—varied professions with a lot of contact with people, international perspectives, very different career paths, and also not in danger of being replaced by AI in the short term.