BAT Leisure Research Institute presents first all-German holiday report 1990/91

The outbreak of the Gulf War barely affected Germans' travel plans for 1991, but led to a significant change in planned holiday destinations. This is the key finding of the first all-German BAT tourism survey, now available. A representative sample of 4,000 West German and 900 East German citizens were surveyed in January of this year regarding their travel behavior in 1990 and their travel plans for 1991.

The survey revealed that even after the start of the Gulf War, 41 percent of West Germans and 39 percent of East Germans still intend to take an extended vacation this year. Compared to travel plans in previous years (1989: 42 percent, 1990: 40 percent), no significant change is apparent. However, the tourism industry will have to prepare for rebookings regarding destination, mode of transport, and vacation dates.

Domestic travel destinations, as well as Austria and Switzerland, are benefiting most from the uncertain global political situation. Of the 20 million West Germans with firm travel plans, 44 percent now intend to spend their 1991 vacation in these countries – compared to only 36 percent before the war began. This means that approximately 1.6 million more vacationers are now looking for new destinations within German-speaking countries.

This shift in focus is clearly detrimental to holiday destinations in the eastern Mediterranean, which were mentioned as travel destinations by 18 percent of respondents before the outbreak of the Gulf War, but only by 12 percent afterward. Furthermore, a growing uncertainty is generally evident for all foreign destinations. Thus, countries in the western Mediterranean and even in northern and western Europe must also expect losses due to changed travel intentions. This problem is far less pronounced among holidaymakers from eastern Germany. As in the previous year, the vast majority of respondents intend to spend their holidays in German-speaking countries in 1991. This represents 75 percent of the 5.3 million eastern Germans who already have firm travel plans. Sixty-five percent will remain within Germany, but unlike the previous year, they intend to vacation almost exclusively in the western German states in 1991.

Flash survey on the impact of the Gulf War

This more positive picture, compared to recent reports from the travel industry, is also confirmed by a flash survey conducted by the BAT Institute on February 2nd and 3rd, comprising 500 representative interviews. According to the survey, 82 percent of respondents have not changed their 1991 vacation plans due to the Gulf War. Only four percent have abandoned their travel plans, and at twelve percent, the proportion of respondents reacting to the Gulf conflict with altered vacation behavior is relatively low: seven percent have already chosen a new destination, three percent intend to use a different mode of transportation, and two percent will postpone the start of their vacation.

Travel season 1990 in East-West comparison

The first year of unified German travel activity reveals a fundamental similarity between West and East German citizens: In both the old and new federal states, the proportion of mobile and immobile population groups is almost identical. 42 percent of non-travelers in the West contrast with 41 percent in the East. However, a closer look reveals that East German citizens travel just as much, but not for the same duration. The East-West comparison shows differences not so much in travel intensity, but in trip length.

• In 1990, 53 percent of the West German and 49 percent of the East German population took holiday trips lasting five days or longer.
• Last year, 46 percent of the West German population took a vacation lasting at least two weeks. The proportion of East Germans taking two-week vacations was significantly lower (37 percent).
• In 1990, more than one in four West Germans (27 %) could afford a holiday trip of at least three weeks, compared to only one in ten citizens (10 %) in the new federal states.

Travel destinations '90

Every second East German vacationed as before: 57 percent of the approximately five million East Germans who took a longer trip in 1990 spent their holidays on the Baltic coast in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (23 percent) or in other holiday regions of the new federal states (29 percent). Among West German holiday regions, the low mountain ranges (9 percent), the North German hinterland (8 percent), and East Bavaria and the Allgäu (7 percent) were particularly popular.

East German tourists, however, were only just beginning to explore foreign travel destinations. In 1990, Austria was the most popular western destination for East Germans. Over 350,000 East Germans spent their holidays in Austria that year, representing seven percent of all tourists. Spain (3) and Italy (2) were, by contrast, almost unattainable – both geographically and financially.

For West Germans, Germany remains the most popular holiday destination. In 1990, twice as many spent their holidays there (32 million) as in Spain, and almost three times as many as in Italy. The most popular domestic destinations for West Germans were Eastern Bavaria, Upper Bavaria, the Allgäu region (8 million), and the North Sea coast (5 million). In contrast, the anticipated surge in tourism to East German holiday regions almost entirely failed to materialize. Just three percent of West Germans who took a longer trip in 1990 chose the new federal states as their holiday destinations. Their inadequate infrastructure was likely a major contributing factor. Of the more than 22 million West German holidaymakers in 1990, only 700,000 embarked on the adventure of curiosity and discovery tourism in East Germany.

The top destinations for West German travelers abroad in 1990 were once again Spain (16), Italy (11), and Austria (9). Greece and France were among the winners of the previous year's travel season, each accounting for seven percent of the total.

The travel desires of the new German citizens

The specific vacation profile of East Germans can be described in three words: nature – culture – social interaction. Every second East German vacationer (51% compared to West Germans: 38%) dreams of "idyllic landscapes" and "untouched, pristine nature." The ecological problems in their own surroundings make it understandable why they seek a green contrast to their gray everyday lives. They want to be "surrounded by nature" (45% compared to West Germans: 35%) or even "live in the countryside" and have "nature right on their doorstep" (38% compared to West Germans: 26%). The focus is on the intact natural environment and landscape, rather than their own environmentally conscious or nature-friendly vacation behavior.

In contrast to the West German population, the cultural aspect of their holidays plays a particularly important role. For decades, the population of the former GDR was denied the opportunity to travel abroad. Therefore, their thirst for information about cultural attractions is exceptionally high. Citizens in the new federal states now finally want to visit "famous buildings" (46% – West: 29%) and experience "other cultures" (31% – West: 24%). They perceive this as a more lasting holiday experience than simply relaxing and doing nothing.

Contact is the third motive that clearly distinguishes East German vacationers from their West German counterparts. It becomes clear that "being together with family" holds significance for them (53 % – West: 32 %), just as it characterized the vacation behavior of West Germans in the 1960s, when vacation time was still a scarce commodity. Back then, vacation time was primarily a time for relaxation with family. However, for East German vacationers, vacation is also linked to the hope of "getting together with other people" (53 % – West: 32 %). The need to leave behind the familiar faces of everyday life (colleagues and neighbors) is particularly pronounced among East German vacationers. They primarily seek the new, the completely different, on vacation. And they are curious about other people, other landscapes, and other cultures.

Prices and cleanliness are the main annoyances.
A sharp decline in tourism to East German holiday destinations is expected in 1991.

The biggest problem for holidaymakers from both East and West Germany is the high prices at their holiday destinations. Complaints from one in four holidaymakers in both East and West Germany about excessively high prices primarily relate to the price-performance ratio and are not dependent on income level. Those with higher incomes criticize the high prices at their holiday destinations just as much as those with lower incomes.

Vacationers have high expectations regarding cleanliness at their holiday destinations. East German vacationers report significantly more criticism in this regard (22 – West: 14). One in two of them vacationed within their own country – in areas with many unresolved problems related to vacations. Over a third of East Germans (35) who vacationed on the Baltic Sea/Mecklenburg-Western Pomeranian coast in 1990 criticized the lack of cleanliness in their holiday region. No other holiday region has achieved such a high level of dissatisfaction. The dissatisfaction of East Germans regarding prices and cleanliness in their local holiday destinations will have consequences. While 2.7 million vacationed in the eastern German states last year, only 900,000 planned to do so in 1991. Such a decline will have serious repercussions for the newly developing tourism infrastructure in these regions.