The consequences of the pandemic are largely a thing of the past – at least when it comes to the desire to travel. The industry’s confidence is growing.
Despite the economic downturn, inflation, wars and crises, people in Germany are in the mood to travel. 63 percent have already planned a holiday trip of at least five days, as the BAT Foundation for Future Issues reports in its tourism analysis.
Last year it was three percentage points less – and before the pandemic it was only two points more with a view to 2020. The travel industry is benefiting from increasing booking sales. However, not everyone can or wants to afford a vacation trip.
In the tourism analysis, 18 percent of those surveyed (previous year: 20) stated that they did not want to travel this year. 19 percent were unsure. For the representative study, the GfK Institute surveyed 3,000 women and men aged 18 and over online in December and January.
“These numbers illustrate how willing German citizens are to turn their dreams into reality despite ongoing uncertainty,” said the foundation. “When it comes to travel destinations, the trend towards foreign holiday destinations will continue, although Germany will remain the most popular travel destination this year.” Despite all the challenges, “traveling will remain a central part of the lives of many citizens in 2024, for which they are prepared to spend a lot of money,” emphasized the foundation’s scientific director, Ulrich Reinhardt.
Foreign countries are in demand
According to the study, travel to other countries is increasingly becoming the focus of travel destinations. After Germany was the main travel destination last year with a market share of 37 percent, only 28 percent of those surveyed said Germany was their main vacation destination for 2024. 39 percent are aiming for European destinations.
16 percent are planning a long-distance trip. According to the study, such trips were “also in demand last year and almost reached pre-Corona levels again – despite increased flight costs.” Countries in the Far East that have been able to significantly increase their market share are particularly popular. But all other destinations outside Europe also saw growth year-on-year.
Travel agencies and organizers benefit from the desire to travel. According to data from the analysis company TDA, by the end of December, sun seekers had already booked package and modular trips from organizers worth around 3.6 billion euros for this year’s summer season in traditional travel agencies and on online portals. Incoming sales were therefore above the value of the previous year’s period of 2.4 billion euros and above the level of the pre-Corona period in 2019 of 3.3 billion euros.
“Booking early is very trendy,” reported Norbert Fiebig, President of the German Travel Association (DRV), recently. He was confident that the majority of Germans will travel again this year despite economic uncertainty. The early bird discounts usually apply to bookings made by the end of February or the end of March. According to TDA, new booking volumes in the first two weeks of January kept pace with last year’s exceptionally high levels. January and February are traditionally the main booking months for summer holidays.
Holiday travel resilient
However, the number of travelers is lagging behind pre-pandemic levels. According to TDA, as of the end of December, there was a 14 percent shortage for the current winter season and 15 percent for the important summer season.
“The lack of bookings across seasons is a clear indication that not every household can or wants to afford an organized holiday trip given the increased cost of living,” explained TDA expert Alexandra Weigand recently. Overall, the holiday travel business is surprisingly resilient compared to the general consumer climate.
According to the DRV, travel agencies and organizers had a normal travel year again in the 2022/23 tourism year for the first time since the pandemic. According to preliminary figures, sales from tour operators exceeded those of the record year 2019 thanks to a strong summer season. According to economists, people saved on everyday expenses in view of inflation. But many people don’t want to miss out on vacation trips.
Source: Stern
