Coronavirus dampens Germans' travel enthusiasm
June 12, 2020
In the last three months Heike Werner and Stefan Burkhart had plenty to do at their travel agency in Berlin's city center, as they dealt with cancellations and organized repatriations for customers who had become stranded abroad. The only thing they could not generate was any income.
The two have been running their travel agency Phileas Reisen for 15 years. Named after the eccentric and adventurous Englishman Phileas Fogg, the hero of the Jules Verne novel Around the World in 80 Days, the travel agency specializes in cruises and wealthy customers.
During the coronavirus crisis they had to lay off one employee and place another one on reduced working hours. Although the running costs of the offices in a prime city location have been reduced by almost half, they now need support from the bank. It must approve a loan so that the travel agency can survive the coming weeks and months.
After the travel restrictions for Germany, and now Europe have been lifted, they continue to observe great reluctance among their regular customers. They don't have any walk-in business as they are only open to customers who have made a prior appointment by phone.
And yet they consider themselves lucky because they were able to use the lockdown to cultivate customer loyalty. Many of those clients who value their service and don't want to be without their travel agency have entrusted them with travel requests that they would otherwise have organized without the help of the travel agency.
Majorca rather than the Maldives
Heike Werner tells the story of a customer who wanted to go to the North Sea island of Sylt for a few days, to a hotel she had already visited last year. Normally, this customer would have booked the trip herself since anyone can call a hotel. But because she knows that the travel agency is short of commissions these days, she wanted to book the holiday through them to show her support. And a European trip was also handled by the travel agency for the same customer, which will take her to a luxury hotel on Majorca.
However, overall booking behavior is still very restrained, Stefan Burkhart explains. According to the latest survey on consumer behavior by GfK, Germany's largest market research institute, 26% of the people surveyed said they would be skipping their planned vacation. The outlook is also poor for the major tour operators. They are trying to salvage what can be saved.
"The desire to travel to Europe's beaches has increased steadily in recent days. Now we're going to put on the turbo boost, so that everyone has the chance to make up for lost time and book a summer holiday," says Herbert Kluge, managing director of TUI, the world's largest travel company. Almost 11,000 Germans are to be flown to the Balearic Islands from June 15, even before travel restrictions in Spain are officially lifted.
Its competitor, DER Touristik, has also negotiated an exemption agreement with the Spanish government to test "how the new provisions for the protection of guests will be implemented." DER is convinced "that both the German airports, as well as Mallorca Airport, the bus companies, the hoteliers, the gastronomy and the tour guides will master these challenges on site. As soon as all criteria have been met, the 2020 summer season can begin," says Ingo Burmester, head of DER Touristik Central Europe.
Bravi Tedeschi! Brave Germans, come to Venice!
"We are open again," Venice's mayor Luigi Brugnaro announced, after the Italians were first to be allowed to travel again within their own country. This was a "reassuring message" to the world. After the European borders have been opened, international tourism, which is especially important for Venice, can start again. After all, most visitors come from the US, China, the UK, and Germany.
Last year, the World Heritage city recorded around 13 million overnight stays. Numbers like these will not be matched again so quickly. The city had actually planned to demand a controversial "entrance tax" as of July 1, because of the crowds in recent years. Then COVID-19 struck. The tax will be postponed until next year. And politicians are suddenly pleading for tourists to come.
Mayor Luigi Brugnaro was already aware of some German tourists on May 31, even before the Italian borders were officially opened. "Together with a bunch of other people, incredibly, 200 Germans arrived. Don't ask me how they managed that, but they came. There is no stopping the Germans. Bravi Tedeschi! Come here, we love you!" he told the Italian TV station RAI.
Holiday on reduced working hours allowance? Not likely!
The managing directors of Phileas Reisen in Berlin doubt whether the normally travel-happy Germans will soon be on the road again to the same degree. Eccentrics and people who can afford it will not give up traveling. "We also have a customer who is convinced that, despite the travel warning, he now absolutely must fly to the US and is asking us whether we can somehow make this possible," says Stefan Burkhart. At least he has already talked the customer out of his original dream destination, North Korea.
But many will have to give up going on holiday for the foreseeable future. "Families, for example, in which one person has become unemployed due to the crisis or has to manage on reduced working hours pay, will not be able to afford to travel," adds Heike Werner.
The two travel professionals' next destinations are also still subject to restrictions that impede the freedom to travel that was once taken for granted. Stefan Burkhart will not be going to Florida as planned but will instead be flying to Barcelona for three days. And Heike Werner will indefinitely postpone her next cruise, but will instead be going to Tuscany by car.