Exceptional year 1992: German travel enthusiasm at its peak
Europeans' travel intentions in 1993: great uncertainty among Germans and Austrians
Trend reversal in European travel: switching from car to plane?
Quality tourism in the New Europe: High expectations, low environmental awareness?

The Germans more than lived up to their reputation of being world champions in travelling during the last travel season: 1992 was an exceptional year for the tourism industry. According to the results of the new tourism analysis by the BAT Leisure Research Institute, which surveyed 5,000 Germans aged 14 and over about their holiday behaviour, 57 percent of West Germans (1991: 53 %) and 58 percent of East Germans (1991: 53 %) travelled for more than four days last year.
The average length of German holidays also increased slightly last year. West Germans spent an average of 16.7 days on holiday (1991: 15.3), East Germans 12.5 days (1991: 11.9). East Germans travelled slightly more often, but also for shorter periods. The effects of the slowing economy were clearly not yet felt by consumers in the ’92 travel season. The tourism industry benefited from this time lag.
According to the BAT survey, 47 per cent of all Germans took longer holidays of at least two weeks. The gap between the old and new federal states for trips of more than 14 days widened in 1992. 49 per cent of respondents in the west took such a trip (+ 4 percentage points compared to 1991), while in the east the figure was only 40 per cent (+ 1). In particular, residents of Brandenburg (33 %) or Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (31 %) were less likely to take such trips.
On the other hand, shorter holiday trips (5 to 13 days) increased by 4 percentage points to 18 per cent in eastern Germany, while they remained constant in western Germany at 8 per cent.

Domestic destinations: Leader Bavaria loses visitors

Germany is the Germans„ favourite holiday destination - albeit with a stagnating and in some cases declining trend. The Bavarian holiday regions of Eastern Bavaria/Upper Bavaria/Allgäu in particular, which have been “the" domestic holiday destination for years, lost importance in the last travel season. 9 percent of West German holidaymakers (1991: 11 %) and 12 percent of East German holidaymakers (1991: 16 %) chose this region as their holiday destination. Curiosity tourism among East Germans in particular appears to be slowly ebbing away. 
For East German holidaymakers, the West German low mountain ranges in particular became more attractive last year. And one in five German citizens from the new federal states continues to holiday in the East German holiday regions (20 % - 1991: 21 %).
West Germans, on the other hand, are only hesitantly discovering the appeal of the new federal states. In 1991, one in a hundred West Germans went on holiday to the Mecklenburg Baltic coast (1 %) - last season the proportion was 2 per cent. The response of West German visitors to the offers of the other East German holiday regions does not indicate any major growth rates for the time being (1991: 3 % - 1992: 2 %). Prof. Dr Horst W. Opaschowski, Director of the BAT Institute, comments: „The development of a modern holiday infrastructure, from transport links to accommodation comfort and services, takes time, especially as the other holiday regions are not standing still in their development. As in previous years, the Black Forest (5 %), North Sea (8 %) and Schleswig-Holstein Baltic Sea (4 %) remained the most popular domestic holiday destinations for West Germans in 1992, alongside Bavaria.

Destinations abroad in 1992: seasonal winners USA and Turkey in the West, CSFR and Scandinavia in the East

From an overall German perspective, there was - once again - only one winner in 1992: Spain. Around one in eight German holidaymakers (12 % - 1991: 11 %) spent their holiday in Spain. Attracted by everything from the Expo to the Olympics, guaranteed warmth and sunshine, it was mainly city dwellers (13 %) and young people aged 14 to 25 (15 %) who chose Spain as their holiday destination.
By contrast, the holiday destinations that Germans are used to - Italy (8 %) and Austria (9 %) - have to recapture the traditional growth market of tourism: there are signs of stagnation among East Germans and a downward trend among West Germans. Professor Opaschowski: „The increase in quality in Austria has its price. Those who advertise ‚class instead of mass‘ cannot expect limitless growth at the same time. And the Italian tourism industry also had to learn to live with the equation ‚high prices = fewer tourists‘.“
In the last travel season, West Germans rediscovered Turkey after the uncertainty caused by the Gulf War in 1991. The proportion of people travelling to Turkey doubled from 2 to 4 percent in 1991/92. And the number one long-haul destination, the USA, is also on the rise (1991: 2 % - 1992: 3 %).
In 1992, East German holidaymakers named the USA as their destination for the first time (2 %). In addition, the CSFR was particularly popular with them (1991: 4 % - 1992: 6 %), which was obviously at the expense of traditional trips to Hungary (1991: 5 % - 1992: 3 %). At the same time, the north of Europe is becoming increasingly attractive. The proportion of East German holidaymakers choosing Scandinavia as a destination increased significantly from 1 per cent (1991) to 4 per cent (1992). This was the first time it was higher than in West Germany (3 %).

Europeans' travel intentions in 1993: great uncertainty among Germans and Austrians

5,000 Germans and a further 5,000 people from five European countries were surveyed by the BAT Leisure Research Institute about their travel intentions in 1993. The following countries were taken into account according to their high intensity of travelling to date: Austria, Germany, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and Denmark.
Most Europeans also want to go on holiday in 1993. However, the propensity to travel varies from one European country to another. For example, Danes (82 %) are almost twice as keen to travel as Austrians (47 %) or Germans (49 %). The economic situation and economic sentiment obviously have the greatest impact on both. The „exceptional year for tourism in 1992“ is unlikely to be repeated in the current year. In this attitude, the Germans - together with the Austrians - differ significantly from the other Europeans, the majority of whom are determined to travel (Dutch: 61 %, English: 62 %, French: 62 %, Danes: 82 %).

Destinations of Europeans in 1993: Germany more a transit than a holiday destination

Around 30 per cent of Europeans surveyed want to go on holiday in their own country in 1993. The French are the most favoured (47 %). However, one in three English holidaymakers (31 %) also opted for the UK in 1993. The proportion of domestic holidaymakers in the other European countries is significantly lower: Netherlands (28 %), Germany (27 %), Austria (26 %) and Denmark (17 %).
As a foreign holiday destination, Germany ranks second in the popularity scale of the Europeans surveyed. Only 7 percent of Dutch travellers want to spend their holidays in Germany in 1993. For all other travellers, Germany is hardly in demand as a holiday destination (British: 2 % - Danes: 2 % - Austrians: 2 % - French: 1 %). Germany as a holiday destination is in danger of becoming more of a transit country for Europeans travelling through.
Against the backdrop of growing competition in the New Europe, the guiding principle for repositioning Germany as a holiday destination in the 1990s should therefore be „comfort, safety and high environmental quality“. In the future, it will no longer be enough to point to scenic diversity, good cuisine or cultural sights.

Trend reversal in European travel: switching from car to plane?

The BAT representative survey on modes of transport shows surprising results: In addition to overcrowding on the roads, airspace is also becoming congested. As recently as 1985, more than two thirds of European holidaymakers chose the car as their main mode of transport. In the meantime, the proportion of car travellers has fallen by around a third on average. However, as the intensity of travel has increased in the same period, the roads remain overcrowded during the holiday season - and the crowds are also at the airports. In Denmark and Great Britain, there may already be more air travellers than car travellers in the ’93 holiday season.
In future, the cut-throat competition between transport systems will take place more between road and air than between road and rail. Rail will be able to maintain its share, but not increase it significantly. And European holidaymakers will benefit above all from the price war between charter and scheduled airlines.

Quality tourism in the New Europe: High expectations, low environmental awareness?

Ten thousand Europeans from six countries were presented with a catalogue of twenty different quality characteristics for selecting a holiday region. On average across the six countries surveyed, ten main characteristics stand out as decisive for quality tourism:

• The landscape must be beautiful (46 %)
• The atmosphere must be cosy (46 %)
• Cleanliness is a matter of course (39 %)
• The sun must shine (38 %)
• The climate must be healthy (32 %)
• Good cuisine is part of it (30 %)
• Lots of peace and quiet and little traffic (29 %)
• The environment must be typical of the country (28 %)
• You must be able to swim in the sea or lake (28 %)
• There must be attractive places to go out (26 %).

These wishes will characterise quality tourism in the New Europe: A mixture of the atmospheric and the aesthetic, warmth and space, attractiveness and culinary delights. 
The survey revealed three surprising results:
Firstly: Europeans hardly experience any language problems on holiday. For 83 per cent of holidaymakers surveyed, it is not important whether their own language is understood in the holiday destination.
Secondly, Europeans are hardly aware of environmental problems when on holiday. Around 80 per cent of all Europeans surveyed do not consider the environmental friendliness of a holiday destination to be important. Only for one in three Germans (33 %) are environmentally friendly conditions personally decisive when choosing a holiday destination. The Dutch (14 %) and Danes (4 %) are significantly less environmentally aware. With regard to the environmental debate, this result could mean a step backwards if German holiday providers adapt to the European „mediocrity“. The economic competitive situation would then push environmental issues into the background.
Thirdly: Europeans hardly have any money problems on holiday. Over three quarters of Europeans surveyed do not attach any particular importance to inexpensive accommodation. Even in times of recession, it seems that the last thing people save on is their holidays. Only the Germans and Austrians are currently deviating from this: 43 per cent of Austrians and 47 per cent of Germans want to go on holiday cheaply and consider „inexpensive accommodation“ to be essential. The economic downturn and falling real incomes are forcing them to tighten their belts on holiday for the first time.

Technical data of the survey

Number and representation of respondents:

Germany, 5,000 people aged 14 and over
Austria, Denmark, France, Great Britain and the Netherlands 1,000 people aged 15 and over each

Survey period: 5 October 1992 to 20 January 1993

Survey institutes:
Sample Institute, Mölln/Germany
Spectra market research company, Linz/Austria
Vilstrup Research AS, Copenhagen/Denmark
BVA Brule Ville Associes/ lnstitut d'études de marchés et d'opinion - Grande Consommation, Viroflay/France
NOP. Consumer Market Research, London/Great Britain
NIPO/Het Nederlandes Instituut voor de Publiche Opinie en het Markt onderzoek B.V., Amsterdam/Netherlands