Staying close to home: Why German travelers are embracing the EU this summer despite lingering pandemic hesitations.
Over two years into the global COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have lifted travel and testing restrictions, and most international borders are open. We have previously covered consumer travel sentiments in the US, Singapore, and Australia. But with German’s removal of its “3G” COVID travel requirements on June 1st, we wondered how German citizens felt about traveling outside their borders. Using the PureSpectrum Insights Platform, we polled Germans in their native language to learn more about what they currently think about COVID-19 policies and travel. This article is also available in German.
German Comfort Around Travel
About 30% of Germans claim they have not yet traveled in 2022. Of those Germans that haven’t, only 18% say that they have no travel plans this year. Of those that have traveled, 34% have been in planes, over 50% have traveled by car, and nearly 30% have traveled by train. Only 3% of Germans have taken a cruise in 2022.
When asked to rate their comfort levels of different modes of transportation, 35% of respondents said they still feel uncomfortable traveling in a plane, and 29% don’t feel comfortable on a train. However, nearly 70% of Germans feel comfortable staying in a hotel.
Do Germans Want to Travel Internationally?
Despite the high number of Germans traveling this year, it doesn’t seem like many are leaving the EU. Only 16% of travelers say they have traveled internationally this year, and about half the respondents (53%) said they had plans to do so in 2022. Of those planning to go abroad, only 45% have already purchased their tickets.
Perhaps some of the hesitance to leave the EU is due partly to masking mandates. 32% of Germans say they are uncomfortable wearing masks on planes. Conversely, 70% of those polled think people should be required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 to be able to travel internationally. When utilizing the PureSpectrum Insights Platform to filter respondents by gender, we learned that more German men agree with international vaccination requirements than women.
At the time of our study, 86% of German respondents over 18 said they were vaccinated, and 78% of those had received a booster shot. Interestingly, less than half of the Germans polled (48%) believe that their government is taking enough safety precautions to protect Germans from COVID-19, and just over 20% remain unsure.
What Does the Future Hold for German Travel
As we’ve learned in the last few years, it’s hard to know what the future holds. However, it seems that Germans are looking forward to summer travel this year. Though many may wait to travel internationally, 2022 will surely see many Germans vacationing across the EU.