STUTTGART (dpa-AFX) - A good three quarters of people in Germany want to travel this year despite the uncertain economic situation. 76 percent of the population is planning one or more vacations, said tourism researcher Martin Lohmann of the Forschungsgemeinschaft Urlaub und Reisen (FUR). Compared to the previous year, significantly more respondents had such plans (plus nine percentage points). Only eight percent of people had no intention of traveling.
Study author Lohmann presented the results of the analysis before the start of the CMT (Caravan - Motor - Touristik) trade fair in Stuttgart. Around 2,560 people took part in the survey in November. It is therefore representative of the German-speaking population aged between 14 and 75.
Lohmann: Travel is a high priority
The overall outlook in the travel world is positive, said Lohmann. In view of the economic developments, the Germans are far from being optimistic, but they are a little less pessimistic than a year ago. In any case, general concerns about the future are not a fundamental obstacle to vacations. According to Lohmann, people's expectations regarding their own economic situation are much more important. These are better. According to consumer priorities, travel is consistently in second place after food.
Holidays have become a habit, said Lohmann. People are reluctant to give them up. However, the budget could become a problem for many: one-fifth of those surveyed said that a trip in 2025 would probably not be financially possible. This is slightly worse than before the coronavirus pandemic.
FUR researchers expect the German-speaking population to take around 72 million vacation trips of at least five days' duration in 2025. This would exceed the pre-pandemic level for the first time: in 2019, the figure was around 71 million trips. In 2020, travel activity plummeted by almost 30 percent and then slowly recovered. According to preliminary figures, in 2024 the figure was back to roughly the same level as before the coronavirus. However, at around 81 million, the number of short vacation trips (lasting two to four days) remained around twelve percent below the 2019 figure.
CMT travel fair begins on Saturday
The CMT travel fair opens its doors on Saturday. The show lasts until January 26 and, according to its own information, is the world's largest public trade fair for tourism and leisure. Last year, more than 234,000 people visited the CMT. Around 1,570 exhibitors are presenting themselves at the exhibition center in the capital of Baden-Württemberg./jwe/DP/stw