Germans are travelling more often

Berlin, 18 June 2013 – Almost 50 per cent of Germans have already made up their minds to take an extra break in addition to their main annual holiday.

According to the findings of a representative survey carried out by ADAC Reisemonitor and presented at ITB Berlin, around 45.1 per cent of the respondents said that in 2013 they were planning to go on an extra break taking five days or longer. As people age they travel a lot more often. 52.7 per cent of the over-60s said they planned to go on more holidays, in contrast to only 40.9 per cent of under-29s and 43.6 per cent of 30 to 39 year-olds.

Germany’s was very popular among the interviewees. For 37.1 per cent it was their main holiday destination and for 41.3 per cent the place where they took a second break. For their annual holidays 13 per cent said they went to Spain, while 11.9 per cent went to Italy and 7.9 per cent to Austria. For extra breaks the rankings were exactly the opposite, with the ADAC survey listing Italy and Austria (10.3 per cent) ahead of Spain (7.2 per cent). 9.1 per cent of the respondents were also willing to take a long-haul trip for their second break.

Among destinations, the USA (2.2 per cent) ranked ahead of Egypt (2 per cent) and the Far East, including countries such as China and Thailand (1.3 per cent). Two-thirds of all other trips were stated as taking a maximum of seven days. The interviewees said their main annual holiday averaged 14 days, whereas other trips took about eight days less. The peak months for taking second and third trips were April/May and September/October.

Dr. Martin Buck, Director of Travel & Logistics, Messe Berlin: “Short breaks are gaining in popularity. Instead of taking a single annual holiday people are increasingly going on a several trips. How often people take short breaks is dictated by fluctuations in the economy. Despite this, the prospects for a stable market for short breaks are good.“

The ADAC Reisemonitor carries out an annual survey in Germany and provides information on trends and travel patterns. The TNS Infratest Institute was commissioned by ADAC to poll 4,000 of its members, asking where they travelled to, how long they went, how much they spent, what transport they used and the type of trip they undertook.

Full details of the survey are available for downloading at http://media.adac.de/nc/mediaservice/studien.html