German travel industry sees 2023 rebound to pre-pandemic highs

THE war in Ukraine and a cost-of-living crisis are not spoiling German consumers’ appetite for a holiday, the DRV industry body said on Monday (Mar 6), forecasting a return in 2023 to the record sales seen before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The year got off to a strong start, with revenue for travel agents and online booking platforms doubling year-on-year in January and up 12 per cent compared with the same month in 2019, the DRV said.

“Overall, vacationing has a high priority for people. This gives us optimism despite the known uncertainties of geopolitical and economic developments,” DRV president Norbert Fiebig said in comments to mark the opening of the ITB travel fair in Berlin.

Fiebig said he expects revenue this year to return to the record level seen in 2019, when consumers spent 98 billion euros (S$140.3 billion) on vacations – 69.5 billion euros of which on booked trips and the rest on excursions and other items at their destination.

The German travel industry already came close to that level in 2021, when sales amounted to 84 billion euros, almost double that of 2020, according to the DRV. REUTERS