As Germany has reopened its borders, German travelers want to travel again. Despite the coronavirus pandemic and no vaccine being available, Germans want to travel abroad.
Interest among the world’s keenest travelers on trips abroad is much higher than in most other countries. According to a global survey on travel in times of corona conducted by IPK International, 70 percent of German outbound travelers said they would continue to travel abroad. This puts Germany visibly above the European average and in particular above the global average.
Close to 20 percent of the interviewees said, they could only imagine traveling within Germany.
10 percent said they did not want to travel at all in these times of the coronavirus; nearly 90 percent gave coronavirus-related health risks for their decision.
Where German’s Wanted to Travel Abroad?
As in the past years, Spain was their preferred destination (with the Canaries at the top of the list), followed by Italy, France, and Austria. Compared with pre-coronavirus levels the interest among Germans in visiting Switzerland, Greece, and Denmark is also above average. By contrast, interest in destinations outside Europe is still below average.
Safest Holidays
German outbound travelers ranked car journeys as safest (only four percent saw a higher risk of infection here). Holidays close to nature, apartments, and camping were considered to be equally safe and the majority also regard sun and beach holidays as rather safe.
By contrast, most interviewees saw air travel, cruises, and large events in particular as presenting a high risk.
Improving perceived safety has top priority
Despite their keen interest in travel abroad even in these times of the coronavirus, a majority of Germans (85 percent) are anxious, as are people in other countries, and see travel as posing an additional risk of infection (80 percent). Thus any measures capable of improving perceived safety are very important for winning over those interested in travel as customers. Germans attach particular importance to keep minimum distance, in restaurants and on transport such as trains and flights. 90 percent of German outbound travelers saw these measures as important. Wearing face masks and generally observing hygiene rules were also considered essential.
Destination rankings in terms of infection risk
How do German outbound travelers rate individual destinations in terms of the risk of coronavirus infection? Germans rated their home country as the safest destination by far, followed by the country’s neighbors Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Austria. South Korea, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates led the ranking among long-haul destinations.
Is a recovery to be expected? Will the general mood change?
These are the issues that IPK International will investigate in a second survey in September. As part of its representative survey of the population in 18 markets, the institute will again pose a range of questions on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on international travel behavior and deduce its findings and trends accordingly.
