Germans want to travel more this year and are more interested than ever in discovering new destinations or undertaking new types of holidays, according to the annual Reiseanalyse consumer survey, fvw reports.
The conditions for the German travel market are stronger than before, Martin Lohmann, advisor to the FUR market research organisation, which conducts the annual Reiseanalyse survey of some 2,500 people, said at the CMT travel trade fair in Stuttgart on Friday. “After a good year in 2014, the outlook for tourism in 2015 looks even better,” he said.
Germans’ ‘desire to travel’ has increased to 57% from 53% last year, and more people feel both sufficiently financially secure (64% compared to 59% last year) and have the available time (57% vs. 53%) to take a holiday. Germans generally feel better off than one year ago and only 19% (compared to 21% last year) fear their finances will worsen.
Stable or higher demand
All these factors indicate stable or higher demand, and a rise in the number of trips and spending levels, Lohmann said. An unchanged 25% of Germans plan to travel more than last year while only 14% plan to travel less, compared to 17% last year.
Among the key trends are stronger interest in new destinations and forms of travel, Lohmann said. Up to 42% of holidaymakers plan to visit a destination where they have never been before, suggesting greater flexibility in the choice of destination. Destinations are becoming “ever more identical, even when they are objectively different,” he commented. Lohmann pointed to long-haul destinations and Scandinavia as possible winners this year together with niche segments such as wellness, cycling holidays or cruises.
Nevertheless, the main destinations will remain the same this year, according to the Reiseanalyse. Holidays within Germany will stay number one with about 30% of all trips, followed by Spain, Italy, Turkey and Austria. About two thirds of all holidays take place within one of these five countries every year. In 2014, the number of holiday trips undertaken by Germans increased by 2% to about 72 million while spending grew to about €66 billion, according to the survey. These figures exclude short trips, business travel and other trips.
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