The summer holidays are starting across Germany in the coming weeks. More than half of Germans will be travelling between the Baltic Sea and Bavaria, Spain and Italy or to completely different regions to spend the summer away from home. The BAT-Stiftung für Zukunftsfragen (BAT Foundation for Future Studies) conducted a survey of more than 4,000 German citizens aged 14 and over in face-to-face interviews to find out what kind of travel they particularly appreciate and what they expect to be future holiday trends.

Safety when travelling is the decisive criterion when it comes to holidays. "For holidaymakers, safety is a basic prerequisite for travelling," says the Foundation's Scientific Director, Professor Dr Ulrich Reinhardt. "Especially in uncertain times, travellers want the certainty - even if they only feel it - that they can move around safely at any time. The old formula for happiness - summer, sun, beach - is therefore being expanded to include a fourth aspect: safety."
Family holidays also remain on trend, albeit with decreasing importance. While more than three quarters of Germans agreed with this statement ten years ago, the figure is currently just over two thirds. This shows that the holiday industry is also increasingly affected by the trend towards singleness and childlessness. However, many people still want to make up for the things on holiday that are often neglected in everyday life: doing and experiencing things together as a family and simply having time for each other.
Sustainable tourism is the third most popular holiday trend. A high level of environmental awareness has already been evident for years in numerous areas of everyday life (e.g. conscious eating, saving energy, recycling). 63 per cent are therefore certain that in future many Germans will also pay attention to controlled environmental quality and intact nature during the best weeks of the year. 
Relaxation is also very important when travelling. Whether at home or abroad, on a beach or mountain holiday, in a club or on board a cruise ship - holidaymakers want to enjoy the local service, not have to worry about anything and simply be pampered. Almost half of holidaymakers also expect more luxury and comfort services - and the trend is clearly rising.
Reinhardt: "50 weeks of work, 50 weeks of anticipation and then two weeks of holiday. These should be as perfect and carefree as possible for the holidaymaker. True to the motto: I've earned it."
Saving holidays are somewhat less of a trend than in the past. Instead of doing the maths in advance and always keeping an eye on the budget when on holiday, some people prefer to forego a holiday altogether so that they don't have to compromise on the next one. However, one in two people will still want to travel at any price, regardless of their budget.
The types of holidays expected in the future also show the importance of the contrast to home. Whether globetrotters want to see the whole world, explorers want to discover a new destination every year, holiday shoppers want to stay in one place for just a short time or backpackers want to drift - being on the move is important to everyone. 
To summarise: Summer, sun, beach and safety are the new four-letter words for travelling. In addition, the range on offer will become even more diverse so that everyone can find their own personal holiday happiness. For holiday destinations, tour operators and local providers, this means constant further development and even greater consideration of individual holiday interests. Not an easy task, but certainly a worthwhile one.

Further results on future travel behaviour and the complete evaluation of the 33rd German Tourism Analysis 2017 can be found online at www.tourismusanalyse.de.
A free PDF download of the complete study is also available there.