The German tourism Market
...And the world’s most attractive tourists (in terms of money)
With a real GDP of 2 trillion US$ (2.5 trillion Euros)* and 82.3 million inhabitants, Germany is not only one of the wealthiest but also Europe's most populous country. If you add Austria and Switzerland, the German speaking region counts almost 100 million inhabitants.
Naturally the German travel market is huge too. But did you know that the Germans are even known as the "world's travel champions"? Not only does Germany have the largest outbound travel market in Europe (with a travel intensity of 74.8 %, e.g. 48.5 million Germans and a leisure market estimated at an amazing 55.3 million pax), they also have the biggest spendings on travel, which obviously is very attractive for destinations.
Germans love travelling so much, they even do without other purchases or dig into their (usually enormous) savings before giving up their holiday. That's what makes the German travel market so stable and robust, even facing economical difficulties.
As travelling is so deeply rooted in the German culture, German workers get lots of annual leave and time to go on vacation. And they have one of the shortest work weeks in Europe. Enviable? Why not see what that can do for you.
It's quite evident that the tremendous size of the German travel market allows for a wide variety of tourist preferences. There are sun and beach lovers as well as hikers, sportsmen and adventurers, ecotourists, best agers with lots of different preferences, culture fans, city hoppers, luxury fanatics as well as low budget travellers and somewhere within a group of tourists that is looking just for your amenities.
Why not help them find you? But first, let’s meet a typical German foreign traveller: Hans.
*all data based on recent available figures in 2009, obtained from the German Federal Statistical Office and various market studies and surveys, individual sources will be named upon request