Hamburg foundation for future issues
Tourism analysis 2022: The great longing for vacation from the pandemic
Summer evening at the beach on Mykonos, a Greek island in the Aegean Sea
© Imago Images
After two years of Corona, the desire to travel is increasing among people in Germany. Hoteliers, tour operators and airports hope for better business. However, the uncertainties of the pandemic could put the brakes on some travel dreams.
The desire to travel of people tired of corona in Germany increased significantly in the third year of the pandemic. “More than every second German (57 percent) is already certain that they will go on vacation this year. This corresponds to 27 percent more than 12 months ago,” reported the Hamburg Foundation for Future Issues of British American Tobacco (BAT) on Tuesday. “After two years now, many Germans seem to have gotten used to this situation and feel a little security in uncertain times thanks to measures taken by tour operators.” The tourism industry’s hopes for better business after tough years are growing.
According to its own statements, the foundation had more than 3,000 people over the age of 18 asked about their travels last year and their holiday plans for this year for their latest tourism analysis in December and January. According to this, at least 49 percent said that they would have packed their bags at least once in 2021, after it was only a good one in three in 2020 in the first Corona year. “This means that the value is still the second lowest since reunification, but at the same time it also shows how important vacation and travel are (again) for German citizens,” is the conclusion of the foundation.
“Citizens are tired of corona and no longer want to be confronted with the pandemic around the clock. They long for sun, beach and sea, want to be on the road again and leave the uncertainty at home if possible,” said the scientific director of the foundation, Ulrich Reinhardt . “The chances of this are good and with a high vaccination rate and fewer infections, travel warnings and restrictions will also decrease.”
Bookings not at pre-corona level
According to a survey by the Research Association for Holidays and Travel (FUR), people’s desire to travel is greater than it has been for a long time. However, according to the FUR, the imponderables of the pandemic are slowing down the implementation of some travel dreams. According to the analysis published in mid-January, demand is likely to be lower this year than in the pre-corona period. It is assumed that around 60 million holiday trips are taken by people in this country. That would be an estimated 10 million more than in the previous tourism year.
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Industry leader Tui recently reported increasing booking numbers. “We see increasing demand, more and more governments are lifting restrictions,” said Tui boss Fritz Joussen. For Germany, far-reaching relief may already be expected before Easter.
The airports are also hoping for a revitalized business at Easter. “There is a large pent-up demand for vacation trips. The relaxation of the corona requirements decided in many countries makes us hopeful,” said Ralph Beisel, Managing Director of the ADV airport association. There is currently little sign of a revival, because in the fifth calendar week (January 31 to February 6) only 1.26 million people used the larger airports in Germany. That was 33.9 percent of the volume from the pre-crisis year 2019.
Dream destinations around the Mediterranean
According to the BAT analysis, almost a third of those surveyed are going to destinations between Rügen and Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 2022 anyway. Within Europe, holidays around the Mediterranean are traditionally on the wish list, above all Spain and Italy, but also Greece, France and Turkey. Slight increases are expected for long-distance travel, which suffered particularly from travel restrictions.
Holidays in your own country have become more popular in Corona times. According to the BAT study, a good half of all vacation trips in 2021 took place in Germany. In the pre-Corona year 2019 it was only 34 percent. Nevertheless, tourism in Germany was only able to benefit to a limited extent from this last year. Because of the pandemic, some federal states had bans on overnight stays for private travelers until June 2021. In addition, there were no guests from abroad because trade fairs and events were cancelled. This hits city tourism hard.
Vacation rentals are very popular
“We expect the number of bookings to increase significantly again when the regulations are relaxed and the infection situation improves,” said Ingrid, General Manager of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga), recently confident. However, a return in sales to the pre-crisis level of 2019 is not expected until 2023.
According to the FUR, camping holidays, which are considered low-contact, find new friends in Corona times. According to this, never before have so many people in Germany been interested in vacationing in a mobile home (15 percent) or in a caravan (12 percent).
The providers of holiday apartments and houses are also counting on good opportunities in the current year. The current booking figures gave reason for optimism. “The coasts are likely to be full again this year,” said Michelle Sulfur, the office manager of the German Holiday Home Association recently.