Perhaps the best measure of the state of the tour and travel industry in German is to review the latest data on sales/revenues. And the most recent numbers for the month of June are, at first glance, disheartening, but—following the absolute shock of a shutdown of travel that lasted four months of the lockdown of virtually all travel business activity in the wake of initial spread of the COVID-19—the industry is hopeful that it might see some upward direction of the figures.
This hopeful outlook is driven by the lifting of land border checks between European countries. And then there was the beginning this month of a lifting of the EU travel ban inbound ban allowing many non-Europeans to visit Germany. But, yes, the numbers are still weak, very weak.
According to data from Frankfurt-based TATS (Travel Agency Technologies & Services), which provides automation, accounting, and data services for travel companies, leisure travel sales (including cruises) actually worsened last month. There was a year-on-year decline of 83 percent. Cruise bookings were down by nearly 78 percent in June, compared at a slightly better figure of -65 percent in May.
German Travel Agent Sales
June 2020 vs. June 2019
| Sector | Performance vs. June 2019 |
| Tourism (including cruises) | -83.2% |
| Cruises | -77.6% |
| Flights | -91.2% |
| Rail, Cars & Others | -76% |
| Overall | -85.89% |
Source: TATS (Travel Agency Technologies & Services),
The Outlook: According to the TATs figures, the outlook for the near-term future is not encouraging. Advance leisure travel bookings were 156 percent lower in June compared to the same month last year, leaving a cumulative 164 percent decline in bookings with departures up to October.
