Oktoberfest 2026 draws more foreigners but fewer visitors
Phone data put the Munich festival's opening weekend at 1.04 million people, slightly down on 2025, while one in three Saturday visitors came from abroad.
Oktoberfest 2026 drew about 1.04 million people to Munich's Theresienwiese over its opening weekend, slightly fewer than a year earlier, but a larger share of them came from abroad. The figures come from an analysis of mobile-phone data by Telefónica Deutschland and Invenium Data Insights, reported by the dpa news agency on 24 September.
On the opening Saturday, 19 September, about 33% of visitors were international, against 29% in 2025. On Sunday the share was about 29%, up from 25%. The United States sent the most foreign guests, followed by Italy; France moved into third place, a spot the United Kingdom held last year.
Oktoberfest 2026 in numbers
Fewer but longer-staying and more international guests is not a bad trade for the tents.
Those who came stayed longer: the average visit ran about a quarter of an hour more than in 2025. Men made up roughly 53% of the crowd, and the grounds were busiest between 5pm and 6pm. Jörg Kablitz of Telefónica said the international mix shows the festival's enormous appeal and its importance for Munich as a tourist destination.
The beer costs more again. According to the city of Munich, a one-litre Maß costs between €14.80 and €15.90 in 2026. IamExpat, working from the official price list, put the 2025 range at €14.50 to €15.80. The festival runs for 16 days, from 19 September to 4 October.
Fewer visitors, bigger bills
The weekend count fits a longer trend. The city puts the record at around 7.2 million visitors in 2023, followed by about 6.7 million in 2024 and around 6.5 million in 2025. Tent operators estimated they poured about 6.5 million Maß last year.
For the tents and the city's hotels, fewer but longer-staying and more international guests is not a bad trade: they tend to spend more per head. For Germany's wider restaurant sector, the price story is familiar. A VAT cut on restaurant food did not bring menu prices down, and the Maß follows the same one-way direction.
The city publishes its own final tally after the last day, on 4 October, when the 2026 edition will show whether the decline continued or stopped.
