Study: germans dig deep into their pockets for travel
That is three percent more than in 2010, and a further increase of two percent is expected in the coming year, as commerzbank economist jutta kayser-tilosen said at the CMT vacation trade fair in stuttgart.
Although a new record of just under 62 billion euros was then set, "against the backdrop of the continuing strong growth of the chinese economy, it is to be expected that the title of "travelworldchampion "will be lost will go to china," said kayser-tilosen. It could be as early as two years from now.
"The debt problems in the euro zone haven’t stopped the germans from traveling so far," said kayser-tilosen. Growing employment and higher wages had contributed to the desire to travel. Overall, private travel spending abroad grew by 1.4 percent. Business spending increased by as much as 12 percent to around nine billion euros. While companies cut their budgets for foreign travel during the economic crisis of 2008/2009, they have become more generous again in the past two years.
Travelers from abroad spent 5.4 percent more in germany in 2011, at 27.4 billion euros. A large proportion of them came from neighboring countries. Even though the economy is going downhill there, spending is expected to exceed 28 billion euros in 2012, kayser-tilosen predicted. Germany ranks 8th in most popular travel destinations – behind great britain and ahead of malaysia. Top of the league is france.
According to the expert, in 2012 the travel behavior of germans will be dominated by discussions about the sovereign debt crisis as well as by concerns about new burdens for taxpayers and higher inflation in the long run. As a result, they avoided more expensive trips, book later or take shorter vacations. At two percent, travel spending therefore increased at a slower pace. Targets in germany could also come into sharper focus.
According to the study, germany is already the most popular travel destination for germans. 119 million bundesburgers traveled within the country in 2011, five percent more than the previous year. Favorite foreign destinations are spain and austria. Switzerland is falling by the wayside due to the expensive franc. The number of german guests fell by 11 percent in the summer season. "I also suspect that german travelers will continue to avoid agypt as a travel destination for quite some time," said kayser-tilosen.
