Please note: the following information has been compiled from the most important German-speaking Trade Media.
Current major topics within the tourism industry in the DACH region
- UNWTO – World tourism at 65% of pre-Corona levels: An estimated 700 million tourists traveled abroad between January and September, more than double (+133%) the number in the same period in 2021, representing 63% of 2019 levels and putting tourism on track to reach 65% of pre-pandemic levels this year, according to UNWTO. The results were boosted by strong pent-up demand, better planning certainty and the lifting of restrictions in an increasing number of destinations. UNWTO’s latest World Tourism Barometer shows how quickly the industry has recovered from the worst crisis in its history: Monthly arrivals in January 2022 were 64% below 2019 levels, reaching -27% by September. The third quarter of 2022 alone saw an estimated 340 million international arrivals, nearly 50% of the nine-month total. Europe continues to lead the international tourism recovery. From January to September 2022, the region recorded 477 million international arrivals (68% of the global total), reaching 81% of pre-pandemic levels. At the same time, international arrivals in the Middle East more than tripled (+225%) year-over-year from January to September 2022, reaching 77% of pre-pandemic levels. Africa (+166%) and the Americas (+106%) also saw strong growth compared to 2021, reaching 63% and 66% of 2019 levels, respectively. In Asia and the Pacific (+230%), arrivals more than tripled in the first nine months of 2022, driven by the opening of numerous destinations, including Japan in late September. However, arrivals in Asia and the Pacific remained 83% below 2019 levels, with China, a key source market for the region, closed. Read more
- Rising optimism for the next travel year: Expedia Lodging, in partnership with Wakefield Research, conducted a July 2022 survey (Travel Value Index Study 2023) of 11,000 consumers and 1100 industry professionals from 11 key markets (Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States). The results offer a multi-layered picture of the views of consumers and experts in the diverse markets. Industry experts in Germany (57 percent) and Japan (62 percent) are less optimistic about the full return of leisure travel within two years compared to industry experts from other countries, while 59 percent and 52 percent, respectively, have a similar view of demand for business travel. By comparison, Brazilians expect travel demand to return the fastest, with most (87 percent) predicting a full return of leisure travel and 80 percent predicting a full return of business travel within two years. Differences can also be seen when it comes to memberships in incentive programs. Here, Germany and Japan again perform the weakest. Membership in bonus programs is 29 percent in Germany and 28 percent in Japan, while the USA, for example, is at 52 percent and Canada at 66 percent. Particularly striking: at 43 percent, Germans are more concerned than the average (26 percent) about political instability. When it comes to car rentals, Germans place more value on contactless experiences (40 percent) than the average (35 percent). When it comes to tours and activities, Germans are slightly above average (31 percent) in placing a value on environmentally friendly measures (35 percent). When it comes to destinations, Germans are basically „beach-ready.“ Almost a third (32 percent) rate access to beaches higher than the average (23 percent). Read more
- Schauinsland increases sales by 34 percent: Schauinsland-Reisen generated sales of almost 1.9 billion euros in fiscal year 2021/22. Revenues are thus 34 percent higher than in the 2018/19 tourism year – the last full financial year before the outbreak of the Corona pandemic. The family-owned company increased the number of guests by 7.5 percent compared to the pre-Corona season. The tour operator said the clear trend toward package tours, which led to the disproportionately strong increase in sales, was noteworthy. Read more
- Travel Behavior of Austrians vs. Germans: Julia Schilke, Content Manager at Go City knows: „People and their travel plans are always individual. That’s why we asked ourselves how the travel habits of German and Austrian vacationers differ and whether there are any similarities.“ To find out, the provider of sightseeing passes, Go City, surveyed a total of 2,000 Austrian and German travelers. The results show that the two nations are not as different as some Austrians or Germans might think, at least when it comes to travel behavior. „The vacation starts at home“ – This is the motto of the majority of German travelers, for whom good organization is crucial: in line with the cliché, Germans start planning, packing earlier, are more likely to exchange money and often book activities at the vacation destination weeks before their trip. Just under 40% of Austrian travelers take a more relaxed view: They usually don’t start packing until the evening before the trip and take an average of 1.5 hours less to do so than their German neighbors. The German-speaking neighbors also differ in terms of travel time and destination: Germans, for example, attach more importance to spending their vacation during a favorable season than their southern neighbors. And despite the alpine landscape, which (at least for Germans) offers quite a bit of vacation potential, more Austrians than Germans prefer to spend their vacations abroad. Read more
- Trade fairs are travel drivers in business travel: Demand for business travel is picking up significantly: Compared to the previous year, bookings at Eurowings rose by 60 percent in November. In relation to the summer months, current bookings are even twice as high, writes the airline. The current top routes at Eurowings include typical business travel routes. These include, for example, the European connections from Düsseldorf to Milan and Vienna, from Hamburg to London and from Stuttgart to Budapest. Among the domestic routes, connections from Berlin to Cologne, from Düsseldorf to Berlin, from Stuttgart to Berlin and from Hamburg to Stuttgart are far ahead. This shows a turnaround in the trend. For the first time since the start of the Corona pandemic, Eurowings is no longer recording a drop in demand toward the winter half-year, but on the contrary a revival in booking figures in the business travel segment. „We are seeing increasing momentum in business travel across all sectors,“ says Eurowings CEO Jens Bischof. Read more
Current topics within the transportation industry in Germany & Europe
- Zurich Airport is becoming increasingly important: Zurich Airport generates CHF 7 billion in value added and creates jobs for 27,400 employees at over 300 companies. The latest study by Infras thus confirms the high economic importance of Zurich Airport, the company writes in a statement. Every five years, Flughafen Zürich AG has the most important economic key figures surveyed externally. The latest study was conducted by Infras, an independent research and consulting firm, with 2021 as the reference year. Two scenarios were calculated: the value added without Covid-19 (based on the growth of the years 2017-2019) and the effective loss due to the pandemic compared to the last survey five years ago. The Circle, which opened in 2020, was included in the survey for the first time. The 2021 survey year was accompanied by the corona pandemic. In 2021, the number of full-time equivalents (FTEs) at Zurich Airport would therefore have fallen by 14% compared to 2016, resulting in a 43% loss of value added, had the Circle not opened in 2020. The commissioning of the new quarter at the airport compensated for part of this loss: Total value added fell by 16%, while FTEs actually increased by a total of 4% to 22,800 thanks to the many new companies in the Circle.
- Lufthansa plans 20,000 new hires: In February, Lufthansa had already halted the job cuts that were supposed to „slim down“ the Group from almost 140,000 to 100,000 workers. At the time, the target was 107,000 full-time positions. Now, according to HR Director Michael Niggemann, there are job openings in more than 45 professions. Technicians, IT specialists, lawyers, pilots and flight attendants in particular are being sought, according to a statement. Read more
- Singapore Airlines expands route network: Singapore Airlines (SIA) is stocking up because the demand for flights is increasing noticeably again: From June 2, 2023, there will be flights between Singapore and Busan (South Korea) again. In addition, the Airbus 380 will be reactivated not only at Lufthansa but also at SIA and will be used again. In the summer flight schedule between the end of March and the end of October 2023, the world’s largest passenger aircraft will once again fly to Australia in greater numbers. SIA then plans to connect Melbourne daily with the A-380. The service will start on May 16, 2023 – after a break of almost four years. Sydney will receive a second daily A-380 flight from May 17, 2023. SIA will also offer more flights in the summer to Bangkok, as well as to Seoul, to Japan with Fukuoka, Nagoya and Osaka, to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, as well as to Siem Reap in Cambodia and to Taipei in Taiwan. Read more
- Air traffic in Europe continues to fall short of 2019 levels: According to the latest figures from Eurocontrol, the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation, air traffic for the months up to September is 13 percent below 2019 levels, which is 4,500 fewer flights per day than three years ago. This means European air traffic still hasn’t fully recovered from last summer. Eurocontrol is now examining in a data snapshot where exactly aircraft movements are missing. The loss of connections to Germany accounts for a not insignificant proportion of the shortfall. Read more
Destination news
- Beijing: China’s zero-covid policy is not slowing down the virus; more than 28,000 new domestically transmitted cases were recorded at the beginning of the week. Numerous cities have resumed mass testing; Beijing is closing parks, shopping malls and museums. Anyone wishing to enter public buildings must now show a negative test that is no more than 48 hours old.
- Indonesia: After an earthquake on the Indonesian island of Java on Monday afternoon, the number of dead has increased to at least 56. In Jakarta, high-rise buildings swayed. This was announced by the head of the municipality of the hardest-hit city of Cianjur, Herman Suherman. About 700 people were injured, according to the report.
- Mexico: In view of the growing crime rate in the country, the U.S. has issued the most stringent travel warning for parts of Mexico, as reported. The German Foreign Office does not endorse this, but makes the dangers clear in its advice. The German Foreign Ministry urgently advises against tourist travel to certain Mexican regions. The „urgent advice“ is considered a danger level before the formal „warning“.
- Qatar: World Cup soccer has been rolling in Qatar since the weekend. Just in time for the sporting spectacle, which is being critically eyed in Germany and Europe in particular, Qatar Tourism has now launched a new global brand platform and an international advertising campaign. At the heart of the campaign under the slogan „Feel More in Qatar,“ which is being rolled out in key tourism source markets, is a new television commercial. It is designed to show all the things a family can experience during their stay in Qatar. The ad will be seen in 16 countries, according to Qatar Tourism, and also includes extensive outdoor and online advertising on social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, as well as digital platforms such as YouTube.
- Senegal: As reported by the crisis information service A3M with reference to local media, Senegal has lifted the corona-related entry restrictions. Visitors can therefore once again visit the country without proof of testing, recovery or vaccination.
- Spain: 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. The Spanish tourism board Tourspain is planning a comprehensive international communication campaign. According to Horacio Dìaz del Barco, the strategic goal is to strengthen Spain’s positioning as a leading cultural tourism destination and increase the number of visitors to exhibitions and commemorative events. „Spain inspired Picasso. Come, find your inspiration“.
- Taiwan: It could be a gateway drug – in a positive sense, of course. Anyone planning a vacation in Japan, South Korea, Australia, Bali or any other Asia-Pacific destination can now combine this with a short stay in Taiwan. Even before Corona, the interest of German holidaymakers in the Far Eastern island state rose significantly: tourist numbers increased by almost ten percent in some years. In 2019, for example, almost 75,000 Germans came to the country – 32 percent more than in 2015. Tour operators and travel agencies assume that demand will not only recover quickly, but will exceed the old figures. „Taiwan is a destination with great potential“: this statement was heard again and again at the Taiwan Info Evening in Frankfurt.
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