Next week the ITB fair will take place in Berlin, which after three years in an online format, returns in person and 100% B2B (from English “business-to-business”; only for professional visitors). The custom that arose in the pandemic of presenting studies on German market trends in the days prior to the fair is also maintained. Hence, we have already started this series on the ITB 2023 with the ADAC study “This is how Germans want to travel after three years of crisis” presented today by the director of the Tourism area and the President of the ADAC.
The main conclusion of the study is that the travel behavior of Germans is becoming normal, but the pandemic has left its mark on Germans with some behavioral changes that we will see in this post. The results are based on a survey carried out in December 2022, after almost three years of crisis.
(1) German travel in 2022
Despite the still latent crisis, German travel activity is approaching its pre-pandemic behavior: in 2022, 68% of Germans made some trip (in 2020 it was 51% and in 2021 it was 61%; the pre-crisis value is 73%).
With regards to trip organizationDuring the pandemic, individual trips increased (78% in 2020) and in 2022 they decreased somewhat (71%), but they continue at a higher level than the pre-pandemic (65%). Organized packages, with 27%, have not yet recovered their 2019 share (33%). (Note: the values are global and are not comparable with those of destinations such as the Canary Islands, where the weight of the package is greater)
With reference to the visited destinations, Germany itself reinforces its position as a favorite destination for Germans after the pandemic. In 2022, Germany gains 10 percentage points compared to 2019 as the main holiday destination for Germans, reaching 45% (in 2020 it was 56%).
(2) 2023: travel intentions, safety and budget
63% of Germans are sure or see it as very likely to go on a trip in 2023. Compared to the same figure in the midst of the pandemic (45%), this has clearly increased travel intentions.
There is an issue highlighted by the ADAC directors: the pandemic would have increased the vacation value appreciation. 65% of Germans say that “if I can travel, this is something special for me” (in 2020 it was 56%) and even 32% say that their need for vacations in 2023 is “greater”.
La security, It is an important element when making the reservation. Of the safety factors, the reason “security of a round trip without complications” clearly stands out with 71%, which is surely attributable to the chaos at the airports (collapses due to lack of personnel,...) experienced in the summer of 2022. Note that hygiene standards are already in third position (with 56%).
As soon as travel budget, the ADAC concludes that the “social scissors in tourism are opening”, that is, inflation and the energy crisis affect Germans in a very different way: while 14% claim to have less budget in 2022 than in 2021, 27% % would have a larger budget and 58% would have approximately the same. However, in the projections for 2023, it is notable that 24% expect to have a smaller budget, which is a considerable increase.
For these cases of budget reduction, the ADAC asked about the repercussions that this would have on the trip with the following most notable responses: traveling more economically and reducing comfort (31%), reducing the length of stay or the frequency of trips ( 20%), not traveling anywhere in 2023 (17%), taking “staycations”, for example with excursions (14%) and traveling in Germany instead of abroad (11%). In this sense, perhaps the cheapest hotel categories, vacation rentals and the all-inclusive regime could have a boom in 2023?
(3) Sustainability: nature is important, the C02 footprint not so much
The unspoiled nature of the destination is, according to the study, the second most important factor for Germans when making a reservation (60% of those surveyed). However, issues such as reducing the carbon footprint (20%), social sustainability (23%) or offering sustainable food in accommodation (24%) occupy the last positions. Likewise, the willingness to pay more for sustainability aspects is low.
Therefore, although sustainability is something desired and valued by Germans, according to the study is not a decisive factor in the behavior of the reservation. Hence, according to the ADAC, the sustainable development of the tourist offer is not expected to be influenced by the push of demand, which coincides with previous studies from past years published in this blog. In other words, the sustainability ball is in the court of the tourism industry actors (tour operators, airlines, hoteliers, etc.).
The 10 synthesized conclusions
1) German travel activity has almost reached 2019 levels.
2) The quotas for the types of travel organization (package vs. individual) are very similar to 2019.
3) The car still maintains its increasing share as the main means of vacation transportation.
4) Germany as a tourist destination remains the winner of the post-pandemic, even when travel restrictions due to Covid have already disappeared.
5) The restrictions of recent years increase the need to travel in 2023.
6) A hassle-free round trip becomes a major deciding factor.
7) Compared to 2020, the perception of the value of traveling has increased.
8) Inflation and energy costs partially limit the travel budget for 2023.
9) Untouched nature is important for the German tourist. Other sustainability issues are much less so.
10) The willingness to pay more for sustainable options is rather low and is only prevalent in approx. 5-10% of those surveyed.
On Friday we will continue with the conclusions of Reiseanalyse 2023, the “classic” ITB analysis of the German market, which always provides some interesting data.
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