Summer vacation 2022: to which destinations do Germans travel? – Travel

Nothing is certain in uncertain times like these. But the spring of 2022 could go down in the history of the pandemic as the time when the freedom to travel and the irrepressible desire to travel among Germans returned. After two long years, which were characterized by border closures, testing and quarantine requirements and filling out long entry forms, spring air, almost a summer wind, is blowing through the heads of the Germans, who are always thinking about their next vacation.

“Never before have so many respondents stated that they have enough time, money and desire to travel,” says Martin Lohmann, who has been involved with the annual Travel Analysis of the Research Association for Holidays and Travel (FUR) researched the holiday behavior of Germans. While the number of vacation trips fell from 71 million in the record year 2019 to 51 million (2020) and 55 million (2021) due to the pandemic, Lohmann expects a number of between 60 and 70 million trips again this year. The elimination of most corona-related travel restrictions is crucial here. The war in Ukraine only leads to regional shifts in goals, not to people staying at home.

Where are the Germans going now? If you ask classic package tour operators like Tui, the guests remain pretty much true to their habits. Spain comes first with the Canary and Balearic Islands, followed by Greece and Turkey, which have strengthened during the pandemic. And of course Germany with the North and Baltic Seas, the Mecklenburg Lake District and Bavaria is almost fully booked in the summer months, says Tui spokesman Aage Dünhaupt.

In Western Europe and the US, demand is almost back to where it was before the pandemic

“We have already sold 80 percent of our entire range for the summer,” says Dünhaupt. For Greece alone, the group is aiming for three million guests, for Turkey 1.5 million. The trips booked so far suggest that Germans are more willing to spend: On average, 20 percent more was spent per trip than in the previous year. You treat yourself.

Bathing destinations around the Mediterranean Sea are of course all the rage in summer, but tour and study tour operators are also reporting sharp increases in bookings. “The world has suddenly become big again,” says Frano Ilic, spokesman for the provider Studiosus. Round trips through Western European countries, Iceland, Canada and the USA are currently already above the level of 2019. Eastern Europe, such as the Baltic States, Romania and Bulgaria, is not going well at the moment, which has to do with the proximity to the war zone in Ukraine . Asian countries such as India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, which were previously heavily booked, are currently still in weak demand.

Long-distance travel is coming back, but people are still cautious

Long-distance trips, which have hardly been booked in the past two years, are coming back, albeit more slowly and selectively than trips to Europe. Manfred Häupl, Managing Director of Hauser Excursions, a tour operator specializing in worldwide hiking trips, has experienced this too. “There is a great need to get out to more distant countries,” says Häupl. “But people are still cautious.” Nepal, previously the number one trekking tour operator, has been relegated to second place by Italy. But Tanzania, Greenland, Portugal and Jordan are also well booked. Southeast Asia and South America are still in low demand, while African destinations are developing well. Häupl expects 60 to 70 percent of the travel volume this year compared to before the pandemic – that’s more than expected.

The favorite long-distance travel destination of Germans is traditionally the USA, followed by Canada. One also expects a “reasonable approach to 2019”, as Tui spokesman Dünhaupt says. California, Florida and camper trips through the national parks are in particularly high demand. If you haven’t booked here for the summer yet, you will probably hardly get anything, especially since the flight capacities are not as big as usual.

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