OBERBAYERN - Economy
The heart of Bavaria
However, Upper Bavaria is a highly attractive region, particularly as far as industry is concerned, and its positive aspects outweigh such disadvantages. A number of firms of international standing are based in Munich (BMW, Siemens and Allianz, Europe's largest insurance company). The Ingolstadt economic area is home to the Audi car works as well as a number of large oil refineries and the Triest pipeline.
Bavaria's capital Munich ranks alongside Frankfurt am Main as one of Germany's most important trade fair sites. Upper Bavaria recorded 18.9 million overnight stays in hotels in 2003, making it the most popular tourist destination in Bavaria (41%) and Germany as a whole (11%). The summer and winter seasons, particularly in the southerly regions of the Alps and the Alpine foothills, play a prominent role in tourism.
Emphasis on high tech in Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria in general and Munich in particular has developed rapidly in the high-tech sector. It is not just large firms that have given Upper Bavaria a leading role both within Bavaria itself and Germany as a whole.
Over the past 20 years, the comparative economic strengths of the various regions of Upper Bavaria have tended to converge. The league table was headed by the rural districts of Munich, Allotting, Traunstein and Pfaffenhofen an der llm with per capita gross value-added growth rates of over 200%. The highest growth in employment has been in the Munich area, mainly as a result of businesses moving out of the city centre to the surrounding rural districts. In the city itself, by contrast, the credit/insurance and other services sectors have grown in importance, recording a 26% increase in the number of employees.
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