Carmen Schweres senses how the mood has changed. The expectations of their Hamburg customers for the best weeks of the year have always been high, and even more so after the Corona forced break. But when vacationers and sun-seekers contact her at the Derpart travel agency in Hamburg’s Eimsbüttel district, they often have another topic in mind: “This year the price is clearly playing a big role, more than before,” reports Heavy. “Somehow everyone sets a budget and then you have to see what you get for it.”
Vacations have long been dear and dear to Germans – especially after the pandemic. This was even true when flights and hotels became significantly more expensive last year: the main thing is to get out! But after two years of inflation, which is only slowly falling, many are still looking at money. Germans still love vacations, but they are now often too expensive.
On average, vacationers in this country spend around 1,500 euros per person on the most important trip of the year, says Anja Brittner-Widmann, who teaches vacation and destination management at the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW) in Ravensburg. There are ten to twelve days of relaxation or adventure, depending on your mood. “A family of four is prepared to spend around 6,000 euros on vacation,” says the expert. But she also notices that many people are now paying more attention to money again.
In this so far cool spring, stern set out to find out: Where can you find bargains in 2024, where can travelers still get the most for their money? A first general tip is: get out of the euro area! Because many currencies have depreciated against the euro. The journey may still not be cheap, but at least living there is affordable.
A second tip: Contrary to the old hope of finding a bargain shortly before departure, it’s worth booking early. And: Maybe take a look outside of Germany’s all-time favorite destinations – there are also those in Europe: for example in Bulgaria or Albania, which is currently on the rise as a travel destination. Whatever you decide, the star wishes you a nice trip and a good rest.
Turkey has overtaken Spain, at least when it comes to Germans’ most popular package holiday destinations this summer. Compared to the previous year, the country on the eastern Mediterranean is already recording a 39 percent increase in sales, according to the travel association DRV. Families in particular have always enjoyed traveling here because the hotels have a lot to offer for children and everything is often included in the price – unlike in Spain, for example. The costs can then be planned precisely in advance, and Turkey impresses with a good price-performance ratio.
According to the comparison portals Holidaycheck and Check24, Turkey is currently the cheapest holiday destination for package holidays – despite the high inflation rate there, which was recently almost 70 percent. According to calculations by Holidaycheck, a family summer vacation on the Turkish Riviera is on average 300 euros cheaper this year than in 2023. One reason: the tour operators are likely to have purchased their hotel capacity months ago and therefore before the recent general increase in prices.
If you want to look for a restaurant on your own in the evening, you have to be prepared for significantly higher prices. Price-conscious holidaymakers therefore choose an all-inclusive hotel, then they no longer have to pay much on site. And if you do come across a souvenir: the local currency, the lira, has lost significantly in value against the euro, which largely offsets the inflation. Currently you get a good 34 lira for one euro – a year ago it was 21.
Similar to Turkey, there are always geopolitical tensions around the North African holiday destinations. The war in the Gaza Strip led to a short-term dip in bookings in Egypt, but now demand is stable again – not least because travelers here are currently getting a relatively large amount of vacation for their money.
With more than two million jobs and a share of up to 15 percent of the gross domestic product, tourism is of great importance for the country – all the more so since Egypt is currently in a deep economic crisis. There is a lack of foreign currencies to service creditors. Inflation is now more than 35 percent.
Egypt is a very cheap travel destination for tourists from Europe. This is especially true in summer, which is more of a low season here – but holidaymakers should like the heat and tolerate it well. According to calculations by Holidaycheck, families can save up to eleven percent this year compared to comparable offers from last year. The exchange rate of the euro to the Egyptian pound is currently approximately 1 to 50.
If you don’t want to travel as far or don’t like it as hot as the Mediterranean and North Africa, you should look into Eastern Europe. Many countries there have culture and beautiful landscapes to offer, but are not very well developed for tourism. So far, only Bulgaria has established itself as a summer travel destination for package holidaymakers. With its still relatively low price level, it attracts young people in particular to party and swim at the Black Sea. Food, drinks and taxis are pretty cheap here.
Albania is just starting to develop tourist offerings such as restaurants, nightclubs and beach hotels, but they are on the rise. Stefan Baumert, Germany head of the largest German tour operator Tui, reported triple-digit growth rates at the beginning of the year, albeit at a very low level.
“In Bulgaria, where the tourism infrastructure has been expanded more strongly in recent years, we see that this is attracting holidaymakers,” says industry expert Brittner-Widmann. “In Albania there are only a few offers that cannot yet be compared with Spain.”
The fact that word is getting around the country also shows the interest of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner: He wants to develop an entire island off the coast of Albania into a luxurious travel destination and build several hotels and hundreds of villas on the Zvërnec peninsula. Nothing has been signed yet – so let’s go!
Long-distance travel is making a comeback after the corona pandemic: bookings for distant travel destinations are already a quarter higher than last year – Asia is particularly popular. “Thailand and Indonesia are among the countries that offer incredibly good tourism infrastructure and are very service-oriented,” says Anja Brittner-Widmann. And at affordable prices, especially in Indonesia. How fitting that the best time to travel there in terms of climate is the German summer.
Of course, holidaymakers have to dig deep into their pockets to travel to Asia by plane. An increased aviation tax has also been in effect since May: the ticket tax has risen by around 20 percent. Nevertheless, flights to Thailand over Pentecost are five percent cheaper than in 2023, the booking portal Skyscanner has calculated. And once you’re there, you don’t have to spend much.
The accommodation as well as restaurants and activities outside the hotel are comparatively cheap. And that applies at every level: Luxury hotels in Indonesia are of course significantly more expensive than simple hotels, but they cost a fraction of what they would cost in the Caribbean or Hawaii, for example.
If you would rather experience something on vacation instead of lying on the beach, you should look for study trips. There are also cheap offers for such organized tours with German-speaking tour guides.
Peru, for example, is a rather expensive travel destination, but is only slowly being booked again after the pandemic. Locals have recently made headlines even in Germany because they blocked the railway line and access to the world-famous Inca city of Machu Picchu in the Andes. They demonstrated against the privatization of ticket sales and against even more visitors, who would make it more difficult to preserve the ruined city. In the future, a trip to Peru will be more expensive, says Michael Knapp, head of the study trip organizer Gebeco. The provider, which is established in German-speaking countries, is currently advertising attractive conditions.
Another long-distance travel destination that is not only cheap but also little known is Uzbekistan. The country in Central Asia lies on the ancient Silk Road, the former trade route between China and the Mediterranean. The price level is extremely low, the euro has high purchasing power because the Som currency is worth almost nothing. And the country’s first McDonald’s is soon to open in the capital Tashkent.
