Germans are booking more short breaks. This is shown in a recent study by the Internet Travel Sales Association (VIR) in collaboration with the Research Community for Vacation and Travel (FUR).
Last year, the citizens undertook a total of 80.5 million “Kurztrips” (“Shortcuts”) from two to four days; in 2016 it was about 77.1 million. Per person, the average number of bookings was for 2.4 short trips, according to VIR and FUR, with 78 per cent of them online.
Three-quarters of the trips were undertaken within Germany, mostly in destinations outside metropolitan centers.
The most popular urban destination was Berlin, followed by Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Dresden. Abroad, the top five are (1) London; (2) Vienna; (3) Paris (4) Prague; and (5) Amsterdam. London and Vienna have been the biggest gainers.
The most visited countries, short-haul, are: (1) Austria; (2) the Netherlands; (3) Italy; (4) Great Britain; and (5) France.
Despite a projected flat increase/small decrease in overseas visitors to the USA (The U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office has projected a total of 2.226 million visitors from Germany to the U.S. in 2017—a one percent year-on-year increase), the United States remains the top long-haul destination for German holidaymakers. “USA is the undefeated number one among Germans,” says Torsten Schäfer, spokesman of the German Travel Association (DRV) in a just-posted article on tourism-review.com.
