Germany’s tourism industry is showing signs of shaking off the legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic, bolstered by a strong revival in domestic travel.

Overnight stays surged by 12.4% in April compared with the same month a year earlier, according to official data published Tuesday. Stays by domestic guests were 2.6% higher than in April 2019 at 34 million, while those by foreign tourists remained 13.2% lower at 6.3 million, meaning overall stays were just 0.2% below the pre-pandemic level.

Tourism is a key component of Europe’s biggest economy and the sector directly employs around 3 million workers. Domestic and foreign visitors spent about 330 billion euros ($357 billion) on goods and services in 2019, before the Covid outbreak brought global travel to a standstill, according to the country’s BTW tourism lobby.

With the pandemic subsiding, travel restrictions have been dropped and there are signs the industry is continuing its gradual recovery despite high inflation, expensive energy and regular airline and train disruptions.