But the days of double-digit growth rates are over.

What is merely a dream for other industries has been a reality in the leisure market for 20 years now: Between 1965 and 1985, total leisure spending (including vacations) almost quintupled – and no end to this growth is in sight for 1986. According to a representative survey by the BAT Leisure Research Institute, 5.9 percent of respondents, or around 3 million German citizens aged 14 and over, intend to spend "more money" on leisure activities, sports, hobbies, and vacations in 1986 compared to the previous year.

Germans traditionally allocate the largest portion of their leisure budget to vacations: one in five Germans (21%) intends to spend more on their vacation this year. In 1985, only 16 percent expressed this intention.

„Wanting to spend more money and actually traveling more are not the same thing,“ warns Prof. Dr. Horst W. Opaschowski, the scientific director of the BAT Leisure Research Institute, cautioning against a possible overestimation of the desire to travel. Those who are short on cash will not be able to travel this year either. This will primarily affect pensioners and the unemployed. On the other hand, those who have always traveled a lot will want to spend even more money on vacations in 1986.

Nevertheless, the leisure market will not be immune to general income trends in the coming years. Although our understanding of leisure will continue to focus on activity, mobility, and enjoyment of life, the era of two-pronged growth rates is likely over. With real incomes stagnating, most Germans will have to cut back on the little things in their leisure and vacation lives.

The long-standing German motto, "You don't save on vacation, you save during it," is further supported by the fact that in 1986, German citizens planned to significantly reduce their spending on restaurants, cinemas, and amusement parks. Five percent of those surveyed intended to spend "more money" on restaurants, while 18 percent planned to spend less. Similar reductions were expected for cinema visits (14 percent less) and amusement park visits (17 percent less).

Despite slower growth rates, the BAT Institute expects that the following pattern will continue: "Every sixth mark is spent on leisure, and half of the leisure budget on vacation." Vacation, the highlight of the year, remains the largest item in the leisure budget for Germans.