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Hospitality Net
9 hours ago
- Business
- Hospitality Net
German Summer 2025 Travel Boom: Record Bookings Eclipse Climate Concerns
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, the World's Leading Travel Trade Show, 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 Urosevic. Click here for the video interview with Executive Director of UN Tourism Zoritsa Urosevic on the Risks and Opportunities in the International Travel Market. 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.
Local Germany
3 days ago
- Local Germany
'The country I know no longer exists': Are German tourists shunning the US?
The German Travel Association (DRV) recently revealed that the number of Germans going to the United States dropped by 28 percent in March, but then bounced back by 14 percent in April. Torsten Schaefer, a spokesperson for the association, said that the figures might have been affected by Easter falling later this year than in 2024. 'We've had practically no requests in recent months to change or cancel reservations,' observed Schaefer, although he added that there has been 'a rise in queries about entry requirements into the United States'. At the end of March, Germany was one of several European countries which urged their citizens to review their travel documents for the United States, following several widely publicised cases of Europeans being held on arrival and then deported. Anecdotally, there are signs of Germans choosing not to visit Trump's America. 'The country I knew no longer exists,' said Raphael Gruber, a 60-year-old German doctor who has been taking his family to Cape Cod in Massachusetts every summer since 2018. 'Before, when you told the immigration officer you were there for whale-watching, that was a good reason to come. But now, they are afraid of everything that comes from outside,' he told AFP. Advertisement Referring to invasive electronic checks at the US borders, he added: 'I don't want to buy a 'burner' phone just to keep my privacy'. Muriel Wagner – currently planning a trip to visit a friend at Harvard – takes a different view. 'I've been asked if the political situation and trade war with the US has affected our trip,' said the 34-year-old PhD student said in Frankfurt. 'You can't let yourself be intimidated", she said, adding that she was keen to discuss the tensions with Americans on their home turf. Similar conversations are taking place in other countries around Europe. Advertisement In Britain, Matt Reay, a 35-year-old history teacher from Northamptonshire, said he had scratched the United States off his list, preferring to go to South America, where his "money would probably be better spent". Reay said he felt "insulted" by both Trump's tariffs on British exports to the United States and comments by Trump's vice president, JD Vance, about Britain as "a random country". Trump's public belittling of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a White House visit in February was also "outrageous", he said. According to the US tourism office, however, the number of British visitors to the United States in April rose 15 percent year-on-year, after a 14 percent drop in March. A body representing much of the French travel sector, Entreprises du Voyage, said the number of French visitors to America dropped eight percent in March, and a further 12 percent in April. It estimated that summer departures to the United States would drop by 11 percent. Didier Arino, head of the French travel consultancy Protourisme, estimated that the "Trump effect" would cut the number of French tourists going to the United States this year by a quarter. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, covering major tourism operators, the US tourism sector – already reeling from Canadians and Mexicans staying away – could lose $12.5 billion in spending by foreign visitors this year.
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Is Trump deterring European tourists to US? Not so fast
The number of visitors to the United States from Western Europe in March fell by 17 percent from the same month a year earlier, but then picked up 12 percent in April, according to the US tourism office. The German Travel Association (DRV) said the number of Germans going to the United States dropped 28 percent in March, but then bounced back by 14 percent in April. The association's spokesperson, Torsten Schaefer, said that Easter holidays fell later this year than in 2024, which might have impacted the figures. "There're practically no requests in recent months to change or cancel reservations," Schaefer said. However, he noted "a rise in queries about entry requirements into the United States". At the end of March, several European countries urged their nationals to review their travel documents for the United States, following several mediatised cases of Europeans being held on arrival then deported. Anecdotally, there are signs of Europeans opting not to visit Trump's America. "The country I knew no longer exists," said Raphael Gruber, a 60-year-old German doctor who has been taking his family to Cape Cod in Massachusetts every summer since 2018. "Before, when you told the immigration officer you were there for whale-watching, that was a good reason to come. But now, they are afraid of everything that comes from outside," he told AFP. Referring to invasive electronic checks at the US borders, he added: "I don't want to buy a 'burner' phone just to keep my privacy". In Britain, Matt Reay, a 35-year-old history teacher from Northamptonshire, said he had scratched the United States off his list, preferring to go to South America, where his "money would probably be better spent". "It feels like, to be honest, that there's a culture that's built in the US in the last kind of 12 months, where as a foreign visitor, I don't really feel like I'm that welcome anyway," he said. Reay said he felt "insulted" by both Trump's tariffs on British exports to the United States and comments by Trump's vice president, JD Vance, about Britain as "a random country". Trump's public belittling of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a White House visit in February was also "outrageous", he said. According to the US tourism office, however, the number of British visitors to the United States in April rose 15 percent year-on-year, after a 14 percent drop in March. Oxford Economics, an economics monitoring firm, attributed the March decline partly to the Easter dates this year, along with a stronger US dollar at the time that made the United States a more costly destination. But it mainly pointed to "polarising rhetoric and policy actions by the Trump administration, as well as concerns around tighter border and immigration policies". Cheaper flights Didier Arino, head of the French travel consultancy Protourisme, said April traffic to the United States might have picked up because European airlines were offering discounted flights. "You can find flights, especially for New York, at 600 euros ($680)," he said. In Germany, Muriel Wagner, 34, said she was not putting off a summer trip to Boston to see a friend at Harvard -- a US university in a legal and ideological struggle with Trump's administration. "I've been asked if the political situation and trade war with the US has affected our trip," the PhD student said in Frankfurt. But "you can't let yourself be intimidated", she said, adding that she was keen to discuss the tensions with Americans on their home turf. Protourisme's Arino said that, as "the mood has sunk" regarding the United States, potential tourists were rethinking a visit. On top of the "the financial outlay, being insulted by the US administration for being European, that really robs you of the desire" to go there, he said. He estimated that the "Trump effect" would cut the number of French tourists going to the United States this year by a quarter. A body representing much of the French travel sector, Entreprises du Voyage, said the number of French visitors to America dropped eight percent in March, and a further 12 percent in April. It estimated that summer departures to the United States would drop by 11 percent. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, covering major tourism operators, the US tourism sector -- already reeling from Canadians and Mexicans staying away -- could lose $12.5 billion in spending by foreign visitors this year. kap-lep-ajb-zap/jbo/rmb/js © 2025 AFP
The Sun
3 days ago
- The Sun
Is Trump deterring European tourists to US? Not so fast
PARIS: President Donald Trump's hardline immigration tactics, sweeping tariffs and nationalist policies may be a turn-off for many would-be European tourists to the United States, but the data paints a more nuanced bigger picture. The number of visitors to the United States from Western Europe in March fell by 17 percent from the same month a year earlier, but then picked up 12 percent in April, according to the US tourism office. The German Travel Association (DRV) said the number of Germans going to the United States dropped 28 percent in March, but then bounced back by 14 percent in April. The association's spokesperson, Torsten Schaefer, said that Easter holidays fell later this year than in 2024, which might have impacted the figures. 'There're practically no requests in recent months to change or cancel reservations,' Schaefer said. However, he noted 'a rise in queries about entry requirements into the United States'. At the end of March, several European countries urged their nationals to review their travel documents for the United States, following several mediatised cases of Europeans being held on arrival then deported. Anecdotally, there are signs of Europeans opting not to visit Trump's America. 'The country I knew no longer exists,' said Raphael Gruber, a 60-year-old German doctor who has been taking his family to Cape Cod in Massachusetts every summer since 2018. 'Before, when you told the immigration officer you were there for whale-watching, that was a good reason to come. But now, they are afraid of everything that comes from outside,' he told AFP. Referring to invasive electronic checks at the US borders, he added: 'I don't want to buy a 'burner' phone just to keep my privacy'. In Britain, Matt Reay, a 35-year-old history teacher from Northamptonshire, said he had scratched the United States off his list, preferring to go to South America, where his 'money would probably be better spent'. 'It feels like, to be honest, that there's a culture that's built in the US in the last kind of 12 months, where as a foreign visitor, I don't really feel like I'm that welcome anyway,' he said. Reay said he felt 'insulted' by both Trump's tariffs on British exports to the United States and comments by Trump's vice president, JD Vance, about Britain as 'a random country'. Trump's public belittling of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a White House visit in February was also 'outrageous', he said. According to the US tourism office, however, the number of British visitors to the United States in April rose 15 percent year-on-year, after a 14 percent drop in March. Oxford Economics, an economics monitoring firm, attributed the March decline partly to the Easter dates this year, along with a stronger US dollar at the time that made the United States a more costly destination. But it mainly pointed to 'polarising rhetoric and policy actions by the Trump administration, as well as concerns around tighter border and immigration policies'. - Cheaper flights - Didier Arino, head of the French travel consultancy Protourisme, said April traffic to the United States might have picked up because European airlines were offering discounted flights. 'You can find flights, especially for New York, at 600 euros ($680),' he said. In Germany, Muriel Wagner, 34, said she was not putting off a summer trip to Boston to see a friend at Harvard -- a US university in a legal and ideological struggle with Trump's administration. 'I've been asked if the political situation and trade war with the US has affected our trip,' the PhD student said in Frankfurt. But 'you can't let yourself be intimidated', she said, adding that she was keen to discuss the tensions with Americans on their home turf. Protourisme's Arino said that, as 'the mood has sunk' regarding the United States, potential tourists were rethinking a visit. On top of the 'the financial outlay, being insulted by the US administration for being European, that really robs you of the desire' to go there, he said. He estimated that the 'Trump effect' would cut the number of French tourists going to the United States this year by a quarter. A body representing much of the French travel sector, Entreprises du Voyage, said the number of French visitors to America dropped eight percent in March, and a further 12 percent in April. It estimated that summer departures to the United States would drop by 11 percent. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, covering major tourism operators, the US tourism sector -- already reeling from Canadians and Mexicans staying away -- could lose $12.5 billion in spending by foreign visitors this year.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Synthetix Considers Purchase of Options Platform Derive in $27M Token-Swap Deal
Ethereum-based derivatives powerhouse Synthetix is considering buying options trading platform Derive in an token-for-token deal valued at $27 million that would see the project absorbed back into the protocol that gave it birth. The proposal, SIP-415 on Synthetix and DIP on Derive, needs to be approved by both communities and would see Derive's treasury, codebase and operational stack incorporated into Synthetix. The deal marks a rare instance of a token swap-based acquisition in decentralized finance (DeFi), and is being pitched as part of Synthetix's growing ecosystem. Derive (DRV) token holders would receive 27 newly issued SNX tokens for each DRV they own. The tokens are subject to a three-month lockup and nine-month linear vesting schedule. Synthetix would mint up to 29.3 million SNX, amounting to roughly 8.6% inflation of its current token supply. Derive, originally Lyra, went live in 2021 and was spun out from Synthetix. It has previously moved away from the protocol, ending support for Synthetix's sUSD stablecoin, switching to GMX for liquidity, and launching its own perpetual futures product. Early responses from the Derive community showed dissatisfaction with the idea. 'I don´t see any benefit for Derive on it,' one commenter said. 'In the other hand (sic), it all looks great and advantageous for Synthetix.' Another user took aim at the proposed valuations. 'That exchange rate is a poor reflection of the value of derive as a platform,' commenter 'Ramjo' said. 'And then have the nerve to put a long vesting period on it AS WELL.' DRV prices are down 20% in the past 24 hours, data on CoinGecko shows, while SNX is up 7%.
