Travel prices have risen significantly this year and, according to tour operators and booking portals, this development will not change in the coming months. Holidays in Germany are also hardly affordable for many – the price level is comparable to a long-distance trip.
No matter whether on Sylt or in the Bavarian Forest: According to a BAT representative survey of 3000 travelers, you have to pay an average of 112 euros per person per day in this country.
Cheaper alternatives are, for example, Spain, Turkey or Egypt.
Holiday trips are currently more expensive than they have been for a long time – many Germans have to give up traveling this year and spend their holidays on the balcony. The gap between high earners who spend a luxury holiday in the Maldives or Dubai and those who stay at home for financial reasons is wide. Unfortunately, there are no advantages to taking a holiday in Germany. On the contrary: Hotels and guesthouses in this country have increased their prices significantly. Thus, the price level is comparable to a long-distance trip, such as the Handelsblatt learned from tour operators, among others.
According to the German Travel Association (DRV), long-distance travel and cruises are currently particularly popular. But many cannot afford this trend, according to figures from the TATS travel agency mirror, which records the sales trends in German agencies every month. For the booking month of January, he recorded a minus of only 15.2 percent in sales compared to 2019. The relatively small deviation is due to the sharp increase in holiday prices. Because the number of bookings was still down by 46.2 percent.
The price increase is particularly evident in the airline business. Although 26.1 percent fewer customers booked a single flight through a travel agency than before the pandemic, the airlines were able to cope well with the slump – because the remaining customers were all the more willing to pay. In the end, the drop in sales due to the price increases was only 2.3 percent.
Online bookings are also becoming increasingly expensive. This also applies to providers of low-cost airlines, which advertised particularly cheap flights in recent years and had triggered a travel boom.
Many Germans will not be able to afford a vacation trip in 2023
A current survey by the Research Association for Holidays and Travel (FUR) showed that only every second consumer (54 percent) has enough money for a holiday trip this year. According to their own statements, a quarter (23 percent) therefore want to spend their holidays at home.
But the gap between high and low earners is widening. According to the BAT Foundation’s “Tourism Analysis 2023”, Germans who could afford it spent an average of 1,350 euros on their main holiday last year – 250 euros more than in the previous year. The holidays were almost two days longer on average, and the daily budget increased from 98 to 106 euros.
Those who can afford it tend towards luxury. The number of long-distance trips has doubled compared to the sluggish previous year. According to the tourism analysis of the Hamburg Foundation for Future Studies by British American Tobacco (BAT), the USA occupied a top position for long-haul travel destinations in 2022.
Hotels and guesthouses and Germany are becoming more expensive – these alternatives are cheaper
However, if you want to switch to vacation in Germany, you should not count on cost savings. Hotels and guesthouses made losses, especially during the lockdowns in the corona pandemic – they are now raising prices accordingly.
According to a BAT representative survey of 3,000 travelers, an overnight stay costs an average of 112 euros per person – so holidays in Germany are now on the same level as long-distance travel. Except for Scandinavia and Greece, vacations all over Europe were cheaper than in Germany.
These holiday destinations were the winners last year, based on daily costs: Spain with a market share of 8.2 percent, followed by Italy (6.5 percent) and Turkey (5.3 percent). After the earthquake, however, demand for vacations on the Turkish Aegean and Riviera is likely to be lower. According to booking portals, comparatively cheap alternatives are “Travel Report” Egypt, Gran Canaria and Tenerife. Mallorca, the most popular holiday island for Germans, is also one of them, but here, too, prices can be expected to rise sharply in 2023.