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Germans eager to travel again

This year, G+J has run several surveys for the travel sector, both before and during the crisis - providing a detailed picture of German holiday habits in 2020.

From G+J’s “The Corona Pandemic and its Influence on Everyday Life” survey we know

  • 41% of respondents will definitely travel when Covid restrictions are lifted
  • 40% have yet to make up their mind
  • only 19% will not travel

Confidence in travel is so high, that 66% of respondents who had already booked or planned a trip, intend to make the trip as soon as possible, with 80% of those making exactly the same trip, 12% making minor changes and 8% booking something entirely new.

This is not surprising when according to G+J’s “Reise Analyse” (a survey that G+J’s has conducted annually since 2007) German holidays in 2020 will be dominated by longer holidays (5+ days), with 78% of travellers planning this length of trip, versus just 39% planning a short-break (up to 4-days).

Where are people travelling

While staycations are incredibly popular with German holidaymakers (49%), there is significant interest in travelling outside Germany, both within (69%) and outside Europe (26%).

  • Within Europe, top destinations include Spain, Italy, Austria, France, Greece, Croatia, Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, UK, Portugal and Hungary.
  • Beyond Europe, top destinations are Turkey, Egypt, USA, Caribbean, South-East Asia, Canada, UAE/Dubai, South Asia, South Africa and Australia/New Zealand.
  • The distance to a destination has a significant influence on the consideration period for planning and booking holidays - the further away a destination is, the longer the consideration period is.
  • 43.8% of staycations are planned within 3 months prior to departure, this drops 29.0% for holidays within Europe and only 22.6% for holidays outside of Europe.

What do Germans do on holiday

One major change is the type of holiday Germans are seeking. Over the last 5 years, the proportion of Germans wanting rest and relaxation has increased from 45.8% to 63.3%.

This makes sense when you consider that what Germans want from their holiday is sunny warm weather (66.4%), a break from routine (64.4%), recharging their energy (59.2%), and to have fun (47.3%).

Germans visiting Great Britain

For travel to Great Britain, the number of Germans planning and considering visiting in the next 3-years has increased.  

  • At the start of 2020, an enormous 6.4 million Germans had visited the UK in the past 3 years – by 2023, 3.1 million are planning to visit, and a further 1.8 million are thinking about visiting Great Britain
  • Great Britain is appealing to German holidaymakers as we offer a wide range of activities: 52% are planning city trips, 35% a family holiday and 34% adventure or discovery trips.
  • As well as different types of holidays, appetites for certain activities are also highly varied, with exploring the local area, trying local specialities, and shopping being among the most popular.

German travellers to the UK present exciting opportunities for the travel sector; 61% of those planning to visit the UK have a net income of over 3000€ / month; higher than the German average.

To influence German travellers planning to visit the UK, G+J’s most influential titles are GEO, STERN and NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, with 18.3% of STERN, 10.5% of GEO and 6.4% of NAT GEO readers either actively planning to, or considering visiting Great Britain.

This article only scratches the surface of what data is available, so if you want more insight by destination, by booking type, by expenditure or anything else, please call your UK primary contact or click here to get in touch with us.