The travel industry in Germany is working its way out of the Corona low thanks to strong demand in the summer. According to estimates by the DRV industry association, travel agencies and tour operators should almost reach the sales level of the pre-Corona period in 2019 in the summer season that is coming to an end (May to October).
“The significant increase in demand in recent months shows that the travel industry is on the road to recovery, but is far from over the mountain,” explained DRV President Norbert Fiebig on Wednesday in Berlin. However, the winter season, which was still characterized by Corona travel restrictions, spoiled the balance for the entire tourism year 2021/22.
It also looks better for the winter
For bookings up to and including the end of August, there is still a 14 percent drop in sales compared to the full year 2018/19. Despite record inflation, the industry has hope due to the demand for the autumn holidays, which are still part of the summer season. Particularly popular destinations in autumn are Spain, especially the Canary and Balearic Islands, followed by Turkey, Greece and Egypt.
“The forthcoming travel winter will in all likelihood be significantly better than the winter season a year ago,” Fiebig also expects. According to data from the analysis company TDA, sales are currently 74 percent higher than a year ago. Most travel countries, especially on long-haul routes, have no entry restrictions or only low corona requirements.
Fiebig did not make a forecast for the new tourism year 2022/2023, which begins at the beginning of November. “It remains to be seen how Germans’ propensity to consume will develop over the next few weeks against the background of rising inflation and how high disposable household income will be.”
