Where are you travelling to next? One in four (28 %) of Germans with definite travel plans want to go on holiday in their own country. But almost three quarters intend to travel abroad in 1989. This is the result of a representative survey conducted by the BAT Leisure Research Institute.

Spain (13 %) remains the absolute frontrunner among foreign holiday destinations. One in eight Germans planning to spend at least two weeks travelling this year has already decided in favour of Spain. Italy and Austria (9 % each), France and Yugoslavia (6 % each) are once again the most popular holiday destinations this season. But the north has nothing to hide either. Every twentieth holidaymaker has chosen Scandinavia as their destination.

Environmental problems influence travel destination decisions

If German citizens stick to their travel intentions, there will be some notable changes in travel behaviour compared to the previous holiday season. The domestic destinations of the Black Forest, Lake Constance and inland northern Germany can expect at least as many holidaymakers in the 89 holiday season as in the previous year. However, a significant decline could be expected in the North Sea holiday regions. Of all two-week holidaymakers, around 1.7 million chose the North Sea as their holiday destination last year. So far, however, only 1 million German citizens have chosen this holiday destination.

"Holidaymakers react with a time lag," says Prof. Dr Horst W. Opaschowski, Director of the BAT Institute. "The environmental problems of the previous season are only having a full impact in the holiday destinations surveyed this year". They are not satisfied with environmentally friendly offers. They expect controlled and guaranteed environmental quality - or travel elsewhere. As early as 1988, one in 25 domestic holidaymakers had decided in favour of another destination due to environmental problems.

"In" destinations 89

Compared to the previous year, German citizens' interest in current foreign holiday destinations such as France and Turkey remains high in 1989. If travellers realise their plans, three destinations in particular will be in greater demand this year than last season: Greece (5 %), Scandinavia (4 %) and the USA (3 %) are already ahead of last year's actual travel behaviour in terms of travel intentions. The new holiday season has not yet really started. And since every second holidaymaker only makes their final decision one to three months before the start of their trip, a lot is still open...

Technical data of the survey

Number of respondents: 4,000 people, including 1,661 people who want to take a longer holiday trip

Representation: Federal territory and West Berlin, population aged 14 and over

Survey period: 10 - 27 January 1989