FT.com / World - Germany’s tourists holiday at home

FT.com / World - Germany’s tourists holiday at home

Germany’s tourists holiday at home
By Hugh Williamson

Published: July 28 2007 06:33 | Last updated: July 28 2007 06:33

Wilfried Adolph, a pensioner from Dresden, is posing in the sun outside Sanssouci, a golden 18th century palace in Potsdam, near Berlin. “Germany is such a varied country, you don't need to go further away for a holiday” he says.

As the peak holiday season begins in Germany this weekend, many will share his view, and head not to airports but to the beaches, mountains and resorts their own country has to offer.

In a trend that is injecting new life into a €59bn domestic travel industry long seen as unadventurous and expensive, increasing numbers of Germans are choosing to holiday at home, attracted by offers, new hotels and restaurants, and better service.

Germany's economic recovery is also playing a role, says Birgit Freitag, spokeswoman for the tourism authority in Brandenburg, the region around Berlin where Sanssouci is located.

Over 90 per cent of Brandenburg's visitors are Germans, many of whom are keen on short holidays and long weekends, “especially now that people have a little more money in their pockets”.

The trend marks both continuity and change compared, for instance, with 20 years ago, according to the DZT, Germany’s tourism marketing agency. “Back then, many Germans took a fairly standard annual 3-to-4- week summer holiday at the seaside or in the Alps [in Germany], with few breaks in between,” a spokeswoman says.

Germans still take more holidays in Germany than in other individual destinations such as Spain and Italy. And the number of vacations taken within the country, as a percentage of all trips of four days or more, rose to 32 per cent last year from 29 per cent in 1999.

The increased enthusiasm for German holidays has been spurred by tour operators offering a growing variety of tailor-made holidays ranging from city breaks to “wellness” packages.

Environmental awareness about damaging carbon emissions from long-haul flights, and worries over terror attacks abroad, has also played a role in discouraging foreign trips.

And travel within the country has also increased since German reunification in 1990, which opened up new frontiers for Germans from both east and west.

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a relatively poor coastal region in the former communist east, is now the country’s second most popular destination after Bavaria, offering sandy beaches, cycling and water sports.

Brandenburg, also in the former east, has been successful in attracting more German holiday-makers, by, for instance, combining city and countryside attractions, says Ms Freitag.

“We have 3,000 lakes and many rivers, and many western Germans like to hire boats to sail our waterways, and along the way stop in Berlin to see the sights,” she says.

Visitors to Brandenburg made about 8.8m overnight stays last year – up by 1.5m on 1996 – and the region is confident of breaking the 9m mark this year, she adds.

Detlef Naujokat, director of Ring Hotel am See, a 150-bed hotel in the Brandenburg countryside north of Berlin, says his hotel has expanded its spa and wellness area, which attracts both weekend guests and health enthusiasts.

“The improved economy is making a difference. People have more [financial] security, so are willing to spend more money on pampering themselves,” he says, noting that he has recently boosted his staff by four people to a total of 65.

Germany's appeal to its own population was helped by last year’s soccer world cup, when, to quote the DZT, “many Germans took a second, more positive look at their own country”.

Yet foreign trips, especially with budget airlines, remain popular too, so German operators need to keep on their toes, stresses Ms Freitag.

“Some parts of Brandenburg still do not have the best services for tourists,” she admits, acknowledging teething problems in eastern Germany’s embrace of the service culture.

Back at Sanssouci, it is the turn of Christina Müller, a 24-year-old woman from Hamburg, to pose in front of the palace.

She says she used to go on German holidays with her parents, but is now rediscovering the country – travelling this time with a friend from Austria.

“I also travel abroad, but having visits at home, especially these sorts of short trips to new places, can be fun too,” she says.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007

FTD.de - Industrie - Nachrichten - Danone kauft niederländischen Konkurrenten

FTD.de - Industrie - Nachrichten - Danone kauft niederländischen Konkurrenten

Danone expandiert erneut: Der französische Lebensmittelkonzern will den niederländischen Milchkonzern Numico für 55 Euro je Aktie in bar übernehmen - das bedeutet einen Kaufpreis in zweistelliger Milliardenhöhe.

FTD.de - Handel + Dienstleister - Nachrichten - Bahn bietet weniger als vier Prozent

FTD.de - Handel + Dienstleister - Nachrichten - Bahn bietet weniger als vier Prozent

Die Deutsche Bahn will ihren Beschäftigten im Tarifstreit eine Erhöhung der Entgelte deutlich unter vier Prozent anbieten. Auch bei den Verhandlungen mit den Lokführern bleibt das Unternehmen hart: 31 Prozent mehr Lohn seien eine "völlig inakzeptable Forderung".

FTD.de - Autoindustrie - Nachrichten - Chinesen sind heiß auf Volkswagen

FTD.de - Autoindustrie - Nachrichten - Chinesen sind heiß auf Volkswagen

Der Volkswagen-Konzern hat in China im ersten Halbjahr so viele Autos verkauft wie noch nie zuvor. Die Marken Volkswagen, Skoda und Audi verzeichneten ein deutliches Plus. Neue Modelle sollen den Erfolg steigern.