The summer holiday calendar ends at the moment in the year 2024. Anyone who wants to plan beyond that has to be patient. There is still a dispute about the distribution of vacation dates in the federal states from 2025.
The best time of the year is almost traditionally one of the biggest controversial topics in education policy. When can which federal state go into the summer vacation – every time the new long-term planning for the whole of Germany has to be tied down, things get hairy between the states.
The decision on the summer vacation plan from 2025 to 2030 will soon be made.
Subject postponed again and again
The summer holidays in Germany are set until 2024. In the current long-term plan from 2018 to 2024, they each extend on average over a period of 82 days. Depending on the year and federal state, the start is on June 20th at the earliest and the holiday ends on September 13th at the latest. For two years now, the federal states have been discussing the follow-up vacation plan from 2025 to 2030, but have not yet been able to come to an agreement. A unanimous decision in the Standing Conference (KMK) is necessary. The subject was postponed several times. In December, the dates are now to be set, said a KMK spokesman on request. The KMK meets on December 9th.
Warning of crowded beaches
In previous drafts for the new vacation planning, which are available to the German Press Agency, the summer vacation extends over an average of 79 days. The tourism industry criticizes this: “The victims of a corridor that is too narrow are families with school-age children. During the summer holidays, there is a concentration of outward and return traffic on individual days – the result is overcrowded airports and rising prices, ”said the President of the German Travel Association (DRV), Norbert Fiebig, of the dpa. He called for the possible period between June 20 and September 15 to be used to the full.
The German Tourism Association (DTV) also warned of a too narrow corridor: “If the summer holidays are shortened to even fewer days, full streets and railways as well as overcrowded vacation spots and beaches in some places are inevitable,” said managing director Norbert Kunz. According to DTV estimates, every unused vacation day would result in sales losses of up to 120 million euros – with correspondingly lower tax revenues. The tourism industry and the German Hotel and Restaurant Association have written to the KMK in a joint letter calling for an “equalization”.
The big summer vacation puzzle
The summer vacation plan is a big puzzle: According to the so-called Hamburg Agreement of 1964 and follow-up agreements between the countries, the summer vacation should be staggered regionally, for example to avoid traffic jams or scarce accommodation. The countries are divided into five groups. The groups “roll around”: each of them starts their vacation sometimes earlier and sometimes later. According to a country agreement from last year, a period between June 20 and September 15 can generally be used.
But «pedagogical aspects» have to be taken into account: The period after Easter and Pentecost for exams and preparations has to be long enough. If possible, there should be six-week consecutive teaching phases between the holidays and, if possible, school half-years of the same length as well as projects, school trips, sports competitions well distributed over the year. All of this now has to be brought together with the different interests of the federal states and the rest of the holiday planning that they have in their own hands.
Stumbling block 1: two countries do not «roll»
There are always disputes about the special role of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The two southerners do not take part in the “rolling system”, are basically the last to go on vacation and do not want to change anything. The reason was originally that the students were needed for the harvest. In addition, the southerners are the only ones to have long Whitsun holidays, which sometimes don’t end until mid-June. It makes no sense to start the summer vacation right away, so the argument goes.
«We’re sticking to our vacation dates. It has worked so well, and it is firmly anchored in Bavarian culture, ”said Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) in 2019 when the debate boiled up for the last time. The other countries can only grudgingly accept the whole thing. DRV President Fiebig accused the southerners of a “blockade attitude”. Nationwide holiday agreements are not “make a wish” events.
Stumbling block 2: coast and big city
According to dpa information, there is a problem with the preparation of the new summer vacation plan, especially between the countries in the north: Berlin and Hamburg have long been in favor of the vacation no longer starting before July 1st, so that the annual shifts are less large and enough It’s time for the exams. The coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are against narrowing the holiday corridor too much because they fear a collapse in tourism. In this group of countries there is still a need for coordination, it was said last.
Source From: Stern
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