Travelling year 1996:
Saving constraints curb Germans' desire to travel

„Austerity package“, the word of the year in 1996, also left its mark on Germans' holiday budgets for the first time last season. Is the booming tourism industry, which has been spoilt by success, on the verge of a trend reversal? The Germans clearly have to save money. Even the holiday budget is becoming a savings package: last year, only 52 per cent of Germans took a holiday lasting more than five days. In 1995, the travel intensity was still 55 per cent, a year earlier it was even 56 per cent. This means that travelling activity has reached its first all-German low since 1990. This is the result of the seventh All-German Tourism Analysis conducted by the Leisure Research Institute of British-American Tobacco, in which 5,000 German citizens aged 14 and over were asked about their holiday behaviour in 1996 and their travel intentions for 1997.
Growing unemployment, stagnating real incomes and rising social costs mean that currently only around one in four holidaymakers can afford a three-week trip (1995: 30% - 1996: 27%). „The most beautiful weeks of the year are becoming the most beautiful days of the year,“ says Prof Dr Horst W. Opaschowski, Director of the B-A-T Leisure Research Institute. „The average duration of trips is falling.“ Saving instead of travelling is the order of the day. Many German citizens therefore prefer to travel for a shorter period of time rather than forgoing their holiday entirely. The average length of holiday for Germans last year was 15.4 days, compared to 15.8 days the year before.
There are still clear differences in the travel behaviour of East and West Germans. The average duration of travel in East Germany in 1996 was 12.4 days, well below the West German standard (16.1 days): One in two East Germans (50%) took a holiday trip lasting more than five days in 1996; in West Germany this figure was 53 per cent of the population. However, there are signs that the travel behaviour of East and West Germans is converging. For the first time since German reunification, East and West Germans have the same proportion of non-travellers (41% each). Two out of five Germans had to stay at home last year and did not even take a short trip of two, three or four days.

Domestic destinations 1996:
North Sea and Bavaria as season winners

The development of income did not remain without influence on the choice of travel destinations: in 1996 there were more non-travellers (41%, 1995: 39%) among the German population than foreign travellers, whose share fell from 38 percent in the previous year to 35 percent. The proportion of domestic travellers remained more or less constant at 24 percent. Is the „world champion in travelling“ showing the first signs of weakness? The cut-throat competition between the domestic and international travel markets is becoming increasingly fierce. Prof Opaschowski: „Anyone who overtightens the price screw must reckon with noticeable losses. Torn between the desire to travel and economic frustration, German citizens are scrutinising travel prices more closely.“ Nevertheless, in 1996 there were still almost three foreign travellers for every two domestic travellers. There were 22 million international travellers for every 15 million domestic travellers.
In the past holiday season, the North Sea was the most popular domestic destination for West Germans, alongside the region of Eastern Bavaria/Upper Bavaria/Allgäu. Compared to 1990, the holiday regions on the North Sea have been able to consolidate and expand their regular customer potential (1990: 5% - 1996: 8%). The Bavarian holiday regions have been on a clear downward trend in recent years. They are now catching up again and maintaining their leading position in domestic tourism (8%).
Eastern Bavaria, Upper Bavaria and the Allgäu are also becoming increasingly attractive for East Germans (1990: 7% - 1996: 11%) and interest in a Baltic Sea holiday on the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania remains stable (9%). Whether Warnemünde, Rügen or Usedom: the scenic beauty combined with the improved infrastructure and an apparently acceptable price-performance ratio are rewarded accordingly by holidaymakers. The situation is different for the other holiday regions in the new federal states. For fewer and fewer East Germans, these destinations are worth travelling to (1992: 11% - 1994: 9% - 1996: 6%). Holidays in one's own country are only of interest to a few.

Destinations abroad 1996:
West Germans to Spain, East Germans to Austria

Spain remains the top holiday destination for German holidaymakers. One in nine holidaymakers (11%) travelled to Spain last year. And Italy was chosen as a holiday destination by eight per cent of German holidaymakers. Austria was only just able to hold its own against the strong competition from the south - with a downward trend (1994: 8% - 1995: 7% - 1996: 6%). Greece and Turkey are moving ever closer to the top group.
From an overall German perspective, it is striking that West Germans have continued to favour Spain, Italy and Austria as their top travel destinations for a quarter of a century, while for East Germans there is only one foreign travel destination that has occupied a top position since 1990: Austria (8%). By contrast, Scandinavia (4%) is just as attractive to East Germans as Italy (4%), while Hungary (3%) is just as popular as Greece (3%). And there are even more East Germans in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic (3%) than in Turkey (2%). 

Travelling intentions 1997:
Between travel fever and restraint. Farewell to the „always more“

The BAT Representative Survey on Travelling Intentions shows: Compared to the previous year, the desire to travel remains relatively stable in 1997. Every second person wants to go away or already has their suitcases packed. In 1996, 52 per cent of German citizens were determined to travel; this year the figure is 50 per cent, i.e. around one million fewer German citizens. Travel intentions and actual travel behaviour can (but do not have to) coincide. Last year, for example, 52 per cent of the population wanted to travel; by the end of 1996, 52 per cent of Germans had actually taken a holiday trip lasting at least five days.
Against the current backdrop of the political debate about austerity measures and rising social costs, it is not surprising that 28 per cent of Germans are still unsure whether they want to or can go on holiday this year. Prof Opaschowski: „Holiday trips are as important to Germans today as the basic necessities of housing and clothing. If the general standard of living stagnates, holiday spending cannot explode either.“ The travel industry, spoilt by success, must say goodbye to „more and more“. Holidays remain important, but so does the need to save.
And where would you like to go on holiday in 1997? One in four (26%) Germans with definite travel plans want to go on holiday in their own country. Almost three quarters, however, definitely want to travel abroad. As in previous years, Spain remains the undisputed leader. One in eight Germans planning to travel this year will choose this destination (13%). Austria (8%) and Italy (8%) remain undisputed leaders in the favour of German holidaymakers. After that, however, the big competition begins - particularly between Greece (6%), Turkey (5%), Scandinavia and France (4% each).

Compared to the previous year, it is noticeable that Germans' wanderlust is slowly reaching its financial limits: If Germans realise their travel intentions, there will at least be no more dream trips to the USA and the Caribbean in 1997. Three per cent of Germans want to go to the USA (1996: 4%) and three per cent are dreaming of their next trip to the Caribbean (1996: 3%). The mark is no longer so loose. Reluctant and price-conscious holidaymakers will ensure that the previous year's level of long-distance tourism is only just reached or just undercut. In any case, a boom in long-distance tourism is not to be expected.

Causes for the decline in visitors to Germany as a holiday destination:
Cold, expensive and a poor experience

In 1954, the proportion of domestic travellers was 85 percent; last year it was only 38 percent among West Germans. Is Germany no longer an attractive holiday destination? For the first time, the B-A-T Institute systematically investigated the reasons for the loss of attractiveness and decline in the number of guests travelling to Germany. Only people who had travelled abroad in the past year were surveyed: „Why did you travel abroad and not take a domestic holiday?“ was the specific question asked. The results in a nutshell: domestic holidays are perceived as cold, expensive and lacking in experiences.
The answers and reasons are varied: Every second holidaymaker abroad (49%) is travelling for the sun and is not satisfied with bad weather. They are looking for a guarantee of sunshine. Price (32% of responses) is becoming increasingly important as a decision criterion for travelling. The logical consequence: low-cost offers on the classic mass tourism circuits (Spain, especially the Balearic and Canary Islands, Tunisia, Turkey, etc.) are currently more popular than most quality offers in Germany.
One of the main driving forces behind holiday trips is the contrasting experience. On holiday, everything should be completely different to at home. The everyday and familiar is perceived as a barrier to travelling. A holiday must always be a contrast and counter-world to everyday life. And the more experienced holidaymakers become, the greater the demands they place on the contrasting backdrop of the destination. This travel motive explains to a large extent the loss of attractiveness of domestic holidays. Because holidays in their own country „lack the contrast to everyday life“, 29% of foreign travellers opt for a destination outside their own country's borders.
Germans also criticise the „boring offer“ of domestic holiday destinations, which „offer too few attractions“. More than the poor service (5%), the lack of child-friendliness (6%) and the lack of hospitality (9%), Germans feel disturbed by the boring offer (18%) on domestic holidays. Cosiness is no longer sufficient as an incentive for an experience.
The BAT Leisure Research Institute derives two marketing-specific approaches for the future of Germany as a tourism location from the research results:
1. holiday areas in Germany must take on more of a contrasting character than before, i.e. their architecture and ambience must radiate a counter-world to everyday life. Holiday landscapes must be more clearly differentiated from everyday residential, office and industrial landscapes. Holidaymakers want to perceive holiday landscapes as a positive alternative to everyday life. Holidaymakers are looking for a contrasting backdrop.
2. the future marketing strategies of German tourism must resemble experience philosophies: The travel market must become an experience market, gastronomy must become gastrosophy. The end result is a new product: Germany as a holiday destination. On the threshold of the new millennium, experience tourism is the order of the day. German tourism can no longer do without „events“ in tourism if the lack of quality in German tourism is to become a seal of quality „holidays - made in Germany“.

Events as opportunities for sports and cultural tourism:
„Where is the busiest place?“

„E-v-e-n-t“: five letters could change German tourism in the future. Oversaturated consumers demand something new and unprecedented. Extraordinary events are staged and become the reason and incentive for millions to travel. Today, one in five Germans is also an event tourist, i.e. 22 per cent of the population aged 14 and over cite attending cultural, sporting and entertainment events as a reason for private travel in recent years.
The typical event tourist tends to be male, belongs to the younger generation and is one of the higher earners: Men use events as an occasion for travelling more (26%) than women (20%). The greatest mobility is demonstrated by 20 to 29-year-olds (35%), for whom obviously no distance is too far to experience something extraordinary. And, as expected, as incomes rise, so do event tourism activities, i.e. the proportion of visitors with a net household income of DM 5,000 or more is twice as high among event tourists (32%) as among those earning less than DM 2,000 (16%).
Cultural tourism between musicals and festivals: this is how the new travel movement of recent years can be described. Musical events between pop and classical music lead the hit list of event tourism endeavours. At the top of the list are musicals (28%) and open-air concerts (20%). In contrast, sporting events (14%) and popular major events such as folk and city festivals (12%) or carnivals (5%) are surprisingly less popular. Although they attract large numbers of residents to the streets, they are obviously hardly worth a short trip of two to four days. Cultural events are particularly favoured by women as an occasion to travel. They travel significantly more than men to musicals (36% - men: 22%), music festivals (21% - men: 15%), art exhibitions (17% - men: 11%) or theatre festivals (12% - men: 6%).
Professor Opaschowski: „In event tourism, sport stages its games, culture its festivals. Dream and wonder worlds are quickly stylised into the event of the century. Stars, promoters and sponsors turn many an open-air event into a mass experience with a guaranteed sense of community. Because togetherness is always part of it.“ The „Night of the Three Tenors“, for example, has set an example of how cultural events are currently being invented. What was once just opera music is now a classical entertainment show with superstars. Concerts are sold as social events that must be experienced because people talk about them.
Whether it's the Olympic closing ceremony in Atlanta or the wrapping of the Reichstag in Berlin, the Dürer or Luther Year, the Opera Ball in Vienna or the ATP tournament in Hanover: event tourism is becoming an expansive growth area. Hotels and restaurants, rail, coach and air tourism as well as travel agencies and tour operators are benefiting the most from this. But cities and regions are also becoming more attractive thanks to special events.

City tourism on the upswing:
Paris and Berlin - the tourist highlights for Germans

City tourism is flourishing. While many domestic short-break destinations, for example, are experiencing painful losses, metropolises are reporting astonishing growth. In addition to an outstanding range of museums, they also offer theatre festivals, opera premieres and art exhibitions.
The majority of city breaks are short holidays lasting no more than four days. This means that the trend towards short holidays is also increasing the importance of city breaks. For city tourists, an entire city becomes an experience. Germans' favourite destinations for two to four-day city breaks in Germany are Berlin (17%), Munich (12%), Hamburg (10%) and Dresden (6%).
It is striking that Germans almost only choose large cities or cultural metropolises as the destination for their city trips. Dresden, the German "Florence on the Elbe", has now overtaken many western German metropolises such as Cologne (3%), Nuremberg (2%), Hanover (1%) and Frankfurt (1%). Even classic destinations such as Heidelberg, Trier and Lübeck (only 1% each) are no longer among the tourist highlights for short-break travellers.
Paris is the undisputed leader when it comes to city trips abroad. Of all respondents who have taken a two- to four-day city break in recent years, more have visited Paris (19%) than Rome (6%), Venice (4%), Budapest (2%) and Florence (2%) combined. Alongside Paris, Vienna and London (10% each), Prague (8%), Rome (6%) and Amsterdam (5%) are the most popular short break destinations for Germans.
The world and life have always been full of surprises. That's why event tourism is more about offering surprising highlights that can't yet be found in any travel brochure - in any case a constant tourism challenge, perhaps even an almost impossible task for the future.

Technical data
7th All-German Tourism Analysis

Number and representation of respondents:
5,000 people aged 14 and over (4,000 West - 1,000 East)

Period of the survey:
9 to 24 January 1997

Survey institute:
INRA Deutschland, Gesellschaft für Markt- und Sozialforschung mbH, Mölln

The study Events in Tourism, Sports, Culture and City Trips (Tourism Analysis 96/97) can be obtained for a nominal charge of DM 58 from the Leisure Research Institute of British-American Tobacco (Germany) GmbH, Alsterufer 4, 20354 Hamburg from the end of March. The volume contains the most important overview tables and a detailed interpretation of the data in text and graphics. We will provide journalists and editorial offices with a review copy free of charge on request.
In addition, a detailed data volume on the 7th All-German Tourism Analysis (travel duration/destinations 1996 and travel intentions 1997 of Germans) can be obtained under the title Travel Behaviour 1996 at a price of DM 498.