The city voucher, initiated by Erlangen's city management, remains a powerful tool for strengthening the local economy: In 2025, city vouchers with a total value of over €378.000 were sold – more than ever before since its introduction in November 2018. This marks a new record for the project and underlines its growing importance for Erlangen as a business location.
Since its introduction, the City Voucher has generated over €2,6 million in sales. This figure includes city gift vouchers issued as subsidized City Vouchers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The voucher can currently be redeemed at over 200 participating businesses in Erlangen – including retailers, restaurants, service providers, and cultural institutions. The City Voucher is available in denominations of €5, €10, €20, and €50, both at the Tourist Information Center and ten other local sales outlets, as well as online at [website address missing]. www.visit-erlangen.de/shop/.
Project manager Viola Raabe assesses the development very positively: "The fact that we achieved the highest sales value since the introduction of the city voucher in 2025 shows how well the product is received in the area. The city voucher has become a common gift for many people – both privately and professionally. However, there is always room for improvement, especially in the area of its use as an employer voucher."
The City Voucher program is a project of the Erlangen City Management, which is responsible for project management. The main supporters are the Erlangen Höchstadt Herzogenaurach City and District Savings Bank and the Erlangen Municipal Utilities, who have supported the project since its inception.
For Christian Frank, Managing Director of City Management Erlangen, the product's strength lies primarily in its regional impact: "The city voucher keeps purchasing power specifically within Erlangen. The money stays in the city and directly benefits local businesses. Furthermore, experience shows that a voucher is generally not redeemed at its full value – the actual added value for retail, restaurants, and services is significantly higher."
The city voucher is deliberately positioned as an alternative to traditional retail or online vouchers. It can only be redeemed at participating businesses in Erlangen, thus preventing purchasing power from leaving the city. Additionally, the voucher is gaining increasing importance as an employer voucher: many companies in Erlangen already use it as a tax-advantaged benefit for their employees.
Johannes von Hebel, CEO of the Erlangen Höchstadt Herzogenaurach City and District Savings Bank, also reflects on the development since its introduction: “The new record value for the City Voucher sends a clear signal: Regional responsibility is a lived reality in Erlangen. As the initiator of the City Voucher and its long-standing main sponsor, we feel particularly committed to this approach. In addition to our financial and organizational support, we actively use the vouchers, for example, as a token of appreciation for employees, as a reward in our referral program, or as a gesture of goodwill for our customers. This keeps purchasing power local and directly benefits local businesses.”
More information about the city voucher can be found at www.visit-erlangen.de/gutschein/