As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, record inflation and the ongoing war in Ukraine don’t seem to be having any particular affect the desire of Germans to finally book their Croatian holidays, reports Deutsche Welle. Multiple tour operators are happily reporting a large influx of summer arrangements, and the number of Croatian holidays sold to German tourists already exceeds the figures that prevailed before the coronavirus crisis broke out in Europe at the beginning of 2020.
Another trend is noticeable among German tourists in 2022, it seems the people looking for a holiday this year are no longer looking at the price as much as they did before, and are also buying arrangements from the more expensive sector.
“People are looking for longer holidays in better hotels,” said the largest German provider of travel arrangements, TUI.
“After a long period of giving up travel and tourism, Croatia is at the top of the German wish list. Even strong inflation and rising prices aren’t negatively affecting this trend,” said Norbert Fiebig, president of the German Tour Operators Association (DRV). It seems, according to Fiebig, that Germans are no longer looking at every euro they might spend this year when planning a holiday. Despite the general increase in prices, trips this year aren’t significantly more expensive than they were last year.
Stable prices – for now
Many tourist companies leased hotel and transport contingents at the prices stated last year, which explains the stable prices. But the closer the summer season gets, the more expensive the arrangements get.
“This year, those looking for bargains could end up surprised,” believes TUI director Fritz Joussen.
According to a survey commissioned by the Bavarian Tourist Board (BZT), 69 percent of those surveyed this year intend to go somewhere on holiday regardless of the situations which might play out, so they won’t be spending their time off at home as was mostly the case during the coronavirus pandemic. One third of the respondents who haven’t yet decided where to go on holiday, still state the price as the basic criteria when choosing an arrangement or destination.
Croatia remains one of the favourite destinations of German travellers
Those who decide on a spontaneous flight to their destination must in any case count on higher fuel prices this summer, which have risen significantly since the start of the war in Ukraine. Price increases have already been announced by companies such as Lufthansa and KLM.
The FTI Group says that after the start of the war in Ukraine, there was a delay in the purchase of tickets, but in the meantime the market has very much recovered.
“Reservations for the entire period from Easter to autumn for people’s usual favourite tourist destinations exceed the figures from pre-pandemic times,” said FTI Director Ralph Schiller. This, in particular, applies, he said, to destinations such as Croatia, Greece, Turkey and Egypt.
“Over the summer, we expect a big rush to these destinations so not everyone will get to their desired place on the plane,” Schiller says. Alltours reports similarly. They are talking about an “enormous increase in demand” that could exceed the demand from pre-pandemic 2019 by 40 to 80 percent.
Packages containing luxury hotels and offers are especially sought after. All companies emphasise that the increase in kerosene prices will not affect the prices of purchased arrangements. But despite huge demand, the turnover of travel companies overall still lies below the level of the last year before the pandemic (2019).
“Despite a very good summer, we still aren’t expecting to achieve the total annual turnover from the period before the pandemic,” said the umbrella organisation DRV. As for 2023, the industry is cautiously optimistic, despite the unpredictable development of the situation around the war in Ukraine, as well as ongoing inflation.
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