This year’s ITB International Tourism Fair in Berlin, the largest of its kind in the world, may only be held online due to the pandemic, but the tourism industry is seeing the light of day at the end of the tunnel. As more and more countries are easing travel restrictions, even Germany will lift almost all restrictions by mid-March. Tour operators, travel agencies and hoteliers are hoping for a strong tourist summer. In fact, the demand for organized travel is rising. The only shadow is the war in Ukraine. The president of the Association of DRV Tourist Offices, Norbert Fiebich, calls it a “shadow of concern”.
“Good omens”
To what extent the war will affect the tourist mood and bookings after two years of pandemic is impossible to predict according to Fibich. Basically, however, people seem to have a great desire to travel. Reservations for the important summer season are increasing at travel agencies and travel portals and are from the beginning of February 2019 above the level of the weeks preceding February 2019. However, the DRV expects a return to pre-crisis levels only during the tourist season of 2023, because travel restrictions for distant destinations affect winter tourist traffic. “The omens are good, we will see the summer movement approach the level before the pandemic,” said Stefan Boomert, CEO of German TUI. “Since the end of January, mobility is above the levels of 2019.” But other major tour operators are also seeing an increase in bookings.
“The bookings are being made shortly in response to the lifting of the pandemic, but also on a longer-term basis,” said Ralph Schiller, head of the FTI group. According to a poll, in the third year of the pandemic, more than 50% of the population of Germany is planning a longer vacation trip. “From now on, it is certain that 57%, ie more than one in two, will take a vacation,” says the Hamburg Foundation for Future Issues of Britisch American Tobacco (BAT). Last year the same percentage was around 25% of the population. Like the last two years of the pandemic, polls show that holidays between the Baltic island of Rügen and the ski resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria are very popular. “And we can assume that demand for Easter and spring will increase as soon as the measures relax in March,” said Norbert Kounds, chief executive of the German Tourism Association (DTV). “The spring of 2021 has shown that bookings have grown rapidly, when people have been able to plan again.”
“People want to travel again”
Koons estimates that destinations in the North and Baltic Seas, along with the Alps, will once again be one of the most popular destinations for Germans in their home country, as evidenced by high demand. “But the areas with lakes and low mountains are also attracting tourist interest,” he added. Greater hopes are also associated for tourism in cities, which was particularly affected by the absence of visitors from abroad and the cancellation of trade fairs and other events in the last 2 years of the pandemic. Overall, however, Koons does not expect tourism demand in Germany to reach pre-pandemic levels this year. “From today’s point of view this year will undoubtedly be better, but it is unlikely that we will achieve performance before the pandemic.” But it does not apply to all sectors of tourism.
For example, camping tourism in terms of number of nights is at pre-coronavirus levels. It is also the industry that during the restrictive measures benefited from the increased demand, because it was considered safer with fewer contacts, and despite the reductions, it did not do badly in the first two years. When it comes to holidays abroad, Germans are currently attracted to the classic Mediterranean destinations, such as Greece, Spain, Turkey. Egypt and Italy. Now in distant destinations the top position is occupied by, among others, the USA and the Caribbean. “So it is clear that people want to travel abroad and far away again,” said Sven Sikarski, DER’s tourism manager. Until now, the second largest German travel group after TUI was waiting for a strong summer season. Until the “shadow of concern” came from the war in Ukraine.
Frederick Mark / dpa
Edited by: Irini Anastassopoulou
Source: Deutsche Welle
Source: Capital
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