The results are in! Tourism is on the upswing in Germany

The first results of the Reiseanalyse 2013 on the present and future tourism demand of the German holiday market were published at the ITB Berlin, the world’s largest travel trade show.

The annual Reiseanaylse, which is considered to be the most detailed study of the German holiday market, questions participants on travel-related motivations, attitudes, and interests, indicated that 2012 was another good year for travelling.

This analysis was carried out by the FUR (Forschungsgemeinschaft Urlaub und Reisen e.V.), an independent association of domestic and international users of tourism research in Germany and a non-profit organization commissioning tourism research projects.

The Institute for Tourism Research in Northern Europe (NIT), a research institution for tourism issues and related subject areas, is in charge of the conceptional, organizational and scientific aspects of the survey. NIT’s owner and Managing Director, Prof. Dr. Martin Lohmann, is a lecturer in MODUL University’s MBA program.

In 2012, travel expenditure reached new record highs: spending on holiday trips (5 days and longer) increased by 5% compared to 2011, rising to more than €63 billion euros, and over €20 billion was laid out for short holidays (2-4 days). 76% of German-speaking households surveyed undertook at least one holiday trip of 5 or more days last year, and while the volume of these longer trips remained about stable, the number of short holiday trips saw a slight increase.

The outlook for 2013 is looking rosy early in the year - 55% of the population already has concrete travel plans, while only 12% are certain that they will not go on holiday in 2013.

As personal economic situation and its future development is a key factor in holiday planning, participants are also questioned on how their current and foreseeable finances will affect travel plans. As compared to the beginning of 2012, January 2013 saw an increase in stability of incomes and willingness to spend.

Germans were also found to be predictable travelers – only 40% went to their holiday destination for the first time, and the majority of trips were domestic at 31% inside of Germany (with Bavaria as the top region). Spain, Italy, Turkey, and Austria follow in popularity, with 2/3 of all vacations take to these five destinations. However, many of those surveyed also expressed interest in future travels further afield, indicating increased flexibility of both the customers and destinations themselves to satisfy specific holiday needs.

2012 also saw a record level in holiday expenditure per person, reaching €914 per trip. Car travel dominated the transport category followed by air travel, and hotels led the pack in accommodation.

A growing tendency has been observed to book holiday elements separately rather than in package travel, largely due to the Internet facilitating the booking process for individual services. However, package holidays and travel agencies still dominate the market. The Internet is also becoming increasingly important for travel planning, with 55% percent reporting using it to inform themselves prior to their travels.

Another observed trend is towards sun & beach and family travels rather than those simply to relax or adventure travel. Turkey and Spain excelled in this frame, however ‘crisis’ countries with their own share of sun & beach such as Greece, Tunisia, and Egypt lost out in 2012 due to economic and political uncertainty.

Good news for the earth-conscious and green travelers – sustainable holidays are on the rise. 40% of those surveyed prefer ecologically sustainable holidays (up 9% from 2012), and an even greater 46% consider the social sustainability of holidays to be important.

 Images courtesy of Forschungsgemeinschaft Urlaub und Reisen e.V. (FUR)