In an exclusive interview with ITB Berlin News, Norbert Fiebig, President of the German travel association, Deutscher Reiseverband (DRV), talks German market travel trends and affirms that his fellow nationals have maintained their wanderlust
Germans have gone back to their pre-pandemic early bird booking habits and remain faithful to their favourite summer destinations, but cruises and long haul travel are also seeing a comeback, according to Mr Fiebig.
In recent years, what shifts have you noticed in Germans’ booking behaviour?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Germans tended to book their holidays with short notice because of the uncertainty. This went against their usual booking behaviour. Last year, we clearly saw a return to pre-pandemic booking behaviour and the early birds are definitely back.
This year early bookings are even stronger than in 2023. Summer trips worth around EUR 3.6 billion were already booked in January, which represents 42% of all last year’s summer bookings.
Which destinations have emerged as favourites for the upcoming summer season?
Germans continue to have a strong desire to travel. This year they are again looking for sun and beaches. The favourite summer destinations are again the classics: Spain with the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and the Spanish mainland, Greece, and Turkey. Turkey is one of the destinations with the highest demand among Germans for package holidays. Egypt and Tunisia are also catching up fast.
How have interest levels in cruises and long-haul flights evolved?
In addition to popular Mediterranean destinations, we are also seeing a comeback in long-haul travel this year. Overall, we expect a positive trend in long-haul travel compared to last year, with an 11% increase in the number of travellers and an 18% increase in sales. Many long-haul destinations, such as the USA, Australia, Thailand, and Indonesia, have slowly recovered from the pandemic and are now back at the top of the popularity scale. Cruises have also returned to the market this year. The booking season is progressing well for both ocean and river cruises.
What role do you see for the tourism industry in combating climate change, particularly in popular destinations among German travellers?
We have to focus our attention and commitment to solve the challenges linked to climate change. The search for sustainable solutions will keep us busy for the upcoming decades. We are taking this challenge very seriously. We have to reduce the carbon footprint across the entire travel chain.
Furthermore we have to supply our customers with information on the ecological impact of specific travel offers. This provides transparency and in this way we can raise travellers’ awareness. I am confident that the carbon footprint will become a key competitive factor when it comes to travel.
