Despite summer holidays and the relaxation of the Corona-related travel restrictions between numerous European countries, demand in international tourism remains significantly below the previous year’s comparative values. For German incoming tourism, the Federal Statistical Office reported in July 4.8 million overnight stays by foreigners in accommodation establishments with at least ten beds and on campsites, a decrease of 57 percent compared to July last year. The cumulative result from January to the end of July counted 20.4 million overnight stays, 59.9 percent below the previous year’s figures.
Petra Hedorfer, CEO of the Board of Directors of the Ban Du lịch Quốc gia Đức (GNTB), explains: “The slight increase in travel activity immediately after the reopening of the borders in Europe shall not obscure the volatile market situation in which we operate. The recovery of incoming tourism remains a lengthy process which is accompanied by disruptive developments. This is confirmed by the detailed analysis and compilation of various international studies, for example, by Tourism Economics and IPK International. However, our recovery program receives a tailwind from the latest results of the Ipsos-Anholt Nation Brands Index (NBI) for 2020, which confirms Germany’s excellent image in an international comparison.“
According to the Federal Statistical Office, the number of overnight stays by European travelers to Germany in July was 46.7 percent below the previous year’s figures of the same month, and the number of guests from overseas even fell by 90.8 percent in comparison with the same month last year.
Also, the analysis of flight booking data by Forward Keys confirms that the desire to travel has been stimulated immediately after the border has opened. In mid-June, the flight arrivals from the 13 most influential European source markets for Germany were at around 25 percent of the previous year’s volume in July, values briefly reached more than 30 percent. However, the latest data on flight arrivals show a decline below the 30 percent mark again.
In the medium and long term, German incoming tourism may benefit from the nations’ excellent international image, which has grown over a long period. According to the preliminary results of the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index (NBI) 2020, Germany is at the top of 20 countries to which international tourists would most likely travel in the next five years. Simultaneously, the survey confirms Germany’s leading position under the aspect of crisis management in the health system.
