tourism
Sunny prospects for travel industry – more vacationers than ever
An analysis shows that the desire to travel the Germans is huge. But how well is the industry doing? The tourism association warns.
Despite the economic concerns of a survey, the people in Germany are in a travel mood and have the industry cheered for record values. Although 26 percent of the respondents fear a deterioration in the personal economic situation, around three quarters (75 percent) plan a vacation this year. That is more than a year ago and more than before Corona pandemic, as can be seen from the travel analysis of the research community vacation and travel (for). These are positive prerequisites for a successful tourism year 2025.
During the travel destinations, abroad continued to dominate with a market share of 76 percent. The domestic domestic market share was easy to increase from 22 to 24 percent. In the most popular destinations abroad, the information in Spain was clearly in front of Italy, Turkey, Greece and Austria. In Germany, Schleswig-Holstein first took first place in the Federal State Ranking-ahead of Bavaria, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony and Baden-Württemberg.
There have never been more travelers
Last year, according to the analysis, more than 56 million travelers were counted who went on vacation at least five days – more than ever before. The total editions for vacation trips also achieved a record of more than 90 billion euros. The total number of vacation trips rose to 68.2 million; More than in previous years, but around 2.5 million fewer than in 2019.
Nevertheless: the travel market is booming. At the international tourism exchange (ITB) in Berlin, the world’s largest travel trade fair, which begins in a few days, the mood should be good accordingly.
Despite good numbers: Tourism association warns
At the same time, the President of the German Tourism Association (DTV), Reinhard Meyer: “Politics sees the numbers and thinks that tourism in Germany is doing well, we don’t have to do much.” But you have to look at the margins. Due to the increased food and energy prices, the profit spans are not at the level of the pre-corona years, especially in the hotel industry and the catering trade. “In many tourist companies, there is not as much left than before,” says Meyer.
The former tourism minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is optimistic about 2025, but the consumer behavior of German vacationers is difficult to assess. Many people in Germany would have died during pandemic. “This distorts the picture a bit, because the trend is now going towards the Mediterranean again,” said Meyer. Therefore, Germany’s tourism location must become more attractive, for example through cultural highlights such as concerts and museums.
According to fur, several surveys-both personally and online-are carried out with more than 12,000 participants for the travel analysis, which are representative of the population. The current survey focused on 7,013 participants in January/February.
dpa
Source: Stern
