BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Business with the best weeks of the year is booming again. People in Germany are in a travel mood despite the economic slump, inflation and waves of strikes at Deutsche Bahn and Lufthansa. "People's appetite for travel in Germany is stronger than ever and continues to grow," said the President of the German Travel Association (DRV), Norbert Fiebig, on Monday at the start of the world's largest travel trade fair, ITB Berlin (March 5 to 7). Booking turnover for the important summer season is currently well above the pre-corona record set in 2019.

According to surveys, more people want to travel this year than last year. According to the DRV, 79% (up 2 percentage points) said they were planning a vacation trip in a recent GfK survey. In addition, 25 percent want to spend more or significantly more than in 2023. According to the findings of the Forschungsgemeinschaft Urlaub und Reisen (FUR), people tend to save money in other areas. "The one long trip is part of life for most people," said Ulf Sonntag, head of the FUR travel analysis study, recently.

According to the DRV, as of the end of January, 24 percent more people in Germany had booked a tour operator trip for this summer than a year earlier. Sales of package tours or modular tours, where individual elements such as hotels and flights can be put together individually, were 30 percent up on the previous year. The record summer of 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic has so far been exceeded by 11% in terms of sales, partly due to higher prices. However, the number of guests is still 17% behind 2019.

With regard to the planned strikes at Deutsche Bahn and Lufthansa during the ITB week, Fiebig said: "This is not a good image that Germany is projecting to the world". The strikes were damaging the entire economy and confidence in Germany as a business location.

DRV President Fiebig expects "significant" sales growth for the year as a whole, even if it is unlikely to continue at the current pace. At the same time, the gap in the number of customers compared to the pre-corona year 2019 will narrow.

"The longing for sun and beach is also currently very high again," said Ingo Burmester, Head of DER Touristik Central Europe. According to his figures (as of mid-February), the number of guests from Germany for the summer has so far been 33 percent higher than in the same period last year. Booking turnover has risen by 47 percent. "We can therefore see that demand is continuing to increase; travel will remain a priority in 2024."

Industry leader Tui also recently reported an increase in demand despite the weakening economy in Germany. "Holiday travel remains a high priority for our customers. This is more stable than we would have thought," says Tui CFO Mathias Kiep. The tour operator FTI Group, which had to rely on government aid during the coronavirus crisis, is back on course for growth thanks to increased demand.

According to the travel association, the most popular destinations for the summer are currently Turkey, followed by Spain and Greece. However, overall travel is unlikely to become cheaper this year. The airport association ADV criticized the planned increase in the ticket tax for air travel. From 2019 to 2024 alone, the state-imposed burdens for Germany as an airport location have increased by more than 50 percent. "This is a fatal signal for travelers and tourism companies," said ADV Managing Director Ralph Beisel.

In the past travel year 2022/23, which ended on October 31, the industry recovered from the slump in the coronavirus pandemic. "Germans spent almost 10 billion euros more on travel than before the pandemic," reported the DRV President.

In 2022/23, Germans spent 79 billion euros on trips with at least one overnight stay that were booked before the start of the trip. Compared to the record figure of 69.5 billion euros in the pre-corona year 2018/19, spending increased by 14 percent, partly because prices rose.

According to the figures, sales of package tours and modular tours rose by 31% to 37.3 billion euros in 2022/23 compared to the previous travel year. International and long-haul travel as well as cruises were also in demand following the significant declines during the pandemic.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), international tourism is likely to return to pre-pandemic levels in the current year. Initial estimates point to growth of two percent above the 2019 level. Expectations for Europe are positive, partly because the 2024 Summer Olympics will be held in France in July and August.

Last year, global tourism reached 88% of the pre-corona level with an estimated 1.3 billion international guest arrivals. According to the figures, there was strong growth in Europe and the Middle East, for example in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The ITB (March 5 to 7) will officially open on Monday evening (6 p.m.). This year's guest country is Oman /mar/DP/nas