German travel trends in 2025: Price beats sustainability

Travel Daily News

06-06-2025

German travel demand surges for summer 2025 despite economic pressures, with affordability outweighing sustainability concerns and Mediterranean destinations remaining top choices.
The German travel market is in great shape for the 2025 summer season, with demand for holiday travel bigger than ever. However, under the impact of a weak economy and rising prices, the consequences of climate change are increasingly being ignored. ITB Berlin puts the latest developments into perspective and focuses on the latest challenges and opportunities in the travel market.
Trade wars, tariffs, sluggish growth: uncertainty and stagnation are the dominant themes of the 2025 global economy. By contrast, German consumer confidence is proving to be surprisingly robust, at least where travel and relaxation are concerned. Despite the difficult economic climate in Germany, summer holidays remain a priority for its citizens.
According to estimates by the German Travel Association (DRV), Germans plan to spend around 85 billion euros on pre-holiday travel services in 2025 – a significant six per cent increase over the previous year. The organised travel market with package and tailormade tours is growing particularly strongly. The industry expects that over the course of the year spending on tour company products will reach 40 billion euros, about seven per cent more than last year. Thus, organised tours are almost on a par with custom holiday services. An important growth driver in the German travel market is the demand for cruises. In 2024 it reached a new record, with 3.8 million people taking river and ocean cruise trips, a figure which this year is expected to rise again.
Targets, prices and new dynamics
When it comes to the holiday destinations that Germans are choosing for summer 2025 there are few surprises. Popular warm-weather destinations on the Mediterranean are experiencing high demand again, and early booking numbers are continuing to rise. Families in particular are ensuring that Turkey with its wide-ranging all-inclusive tours is doing even better business again. It remains this year's top-selling package holiday destination, followed by Spain, with Greece in third place. 'Travelling tops consumers' wish lists again this year – despite all the economic and geopolitical challenges. It seems travelling and holidays are the last thing Germans can do without', says DRV president Norbert Fiebig.
The optimism within the German travel market is at odds with international trends, which compared with last year have deteriorated in many areas of the tourism value chain. 'The significant rise globally in flight and accommodation costs as well as a weak economy in many countries are increasingly impacting the market', says Zoritsa Urosevic, Executive Director of UN Tourism.
Nonetheless, the German market's high booking volumes cannot hide the fact that the consequences of inflation are also being felt among a nation previously described as the 'world's travel champions'. Despite around a quarter of Germans planning to spend more money on their holidays this year, they are becoming increasingly sensitive to the cost when choosing their destinations. Countries traditionally offering cheaper holidays such as Bulgaria and Tunisia are gaining in popularity. Egypt, where price increases have so far been moderate, is also witnessing higher demand. Less established and comparatively inexpensive destinations in the Balkans such as Montenegro and Albania are also reporting slight increases in bookings.
According to a survey by the ADAC Travel Monitor, for one in three Germans saving money has become a necessity for planning their summer holiday. At the same time, the proportion of consumers keen on taking a holiday but barely able to finance it is growing. In 2025 around 32 per cent of Germans will not be going on a major holiday trip. In 2022 this figure was only 17 per cent. 'Price rises are damping consumer confidence and putting a strain on the disposable income of private households. Nevertheless, we see the travel industry's figures pointing upwards. Should the negative economic trends continue however, this will also impact travel behaviour', cautions DRV president Fiebig.
Sustainability versus reality
In a situation where prices are increasingly determining consumers' holiday choices, quality aspects are becoming less important. Sustainability criteria, such as considering a trip's carbon footprint or the transport options at one's destination, continue to be a low booking priority. According to the ADAC Travel Monitor, only around 20 per cent of people are willing to pay a premium for extra sustainability options such as local products. At the same time and more than ever, people want a perfect local environment. 18 per cent of all respondents said they take the risk of possible natural disasters such as forest fires, floods or other weather extremes into account when planning their holidays. In 2022 this figure was only 14 per cent.
Such concerns are likely to grow in future under the impact of climate change. 'In addition to current geopolitical tensions, it is the increase in weather extremes that is above all significantly impacting the development of global tourism', says Executive Director of UN Tourism Zoritsa Urosevic.
However, climate-related flooding events such as in the Valencia region, or unusual heatwaves in parts of the Mediterranean in the summer of last year have so far only had a marginal impact on booking behaviour. There is little evidence of travellers avoiding the Mediterranean due to the growing risk of extreme weather and switching to northern Europe for example, although this is probably also due to the considerable difference in prices at Scandinavian and southern European holiday destinations.
The industry has a responsibility
Current booking behaviour confirms a trend that is likely to increase in the face of economic crises and stagnating purchasing power. A growing number of holidaymakers are torn between their conscience and reality. Despite many being increasingly aware of the need for sustainable action, this is barely reflected in real terms. For travellers, what is much more important than climate action is how attractive a destination is as well as the cost – a phenomenon that has been scientifically termed the 'attitude behaviour gap'.
Against this backdrop, it is unlikely that pricing alone can persuade holidaymakers to choose more sustainable travel behaviour. Heinz-Dieter Quack, Professor of Tourism Management at Ostfalia Hochschule, is among the scientists who believe the responsibility for solving this problem lies with tourism industry. 'Sustainability is not driven by demand. Instead of holidaymakers, it is tour operators who must lead the way', says Quack. According to him, it is not just about creating sustainable concepts and incorporating them into tourism products, but also about making them visible as part of a corporate marketing strategy. In his view, tour operators must also address problems such as overtourism. Here, digital solutions for regulating tourist flows and in extreme cases banning undesirable tourist activities could help to protect the environment and the quality of people's stays at destinations.