Photo: ITB Berlin 2022.

At the ITB Berlin Convention (8 to 10 March), ITB Berlin and Statista Q will together be taking a look at travel in 2022 and the future of the tourism industry. A significant improvement was already noticeable in 2021: a 36 per cent rise in growth compared with 2020. According to Statista’s Mobility Market Outlook (MMO), last year the industry achieved a global turnover of around 260 bn euros. This year, the figure will probably exceed 353 bn euros, at 46 per cent the highest growth rate in recent years. According to the MMO experts, a full recovery will not be achieved until 2024.

The coronavirus pandemic has significantly impacted travel behaviour over the last two years and will continue to do so in the near future. But which developments and trends will endure? Statista’s February 2022 Global Consumer Survey (GCS) of more than 2,000 interviewees reveals the market’s trends and what to make of them.

Travellers want greater flexibility

Since the pandemic began, flexibility has become an absolute ’must’ in the tourism industry. Whereas in 2019 a majority of travellers in Germany took over three months to decide on an international trip, now 28 per cent of tourists take one to three months, and less than 25 per cent need less than four weeks even. Compared with pre-pandemic levels, trip cancellation insurances have increased by almost 10 per cent, while termination insurances have even risen by 20 per cent. The fact that customers want to be flexible is reflected in the use of online booking apps, which compared with 2019 has grown by more than 40 per cent. This desire for flexibility was already evident in domestic tourism before the pandemic. According to GCS, more than half of German travellers decided on domestic trips a maximum of three months before travelling.

German tourism destinations are attracting more and more young people

As a result of Covid there has been a sharp rise in domestic tourism . According to DESTATIS, in June 2019 German visitors accounted for 84 per cent of overnights, while in June of both 2020 and 2021 the figure was 94 per cent. While foreign tourists returning will lower this figure, the under-thirties are making a significant impact. The GCS shows that domestic tourism is more popular than ever. Next year, more than 38 per cent of travellers aged under 30 aim to travel in Germany, an increase of almost 25 per cent. Overall, 72 per cent of German travellers are planning a domestic trip over the next 12 months. In 2019 the figure was 39 per cent. 12 per cent mention sustainability as the reason for a domestic trip, while 37 per cent say that holidaying in Germany is just as exciting as going abroad.

Smart accommodation, AI and recognition technology

More than half of all travellers claim to be interested in new technology on future trips. 21 per cent of tourists from Germany, the USA and UK say they are interested in smart home devices. Slightly fewer are interested in recognition technology, VR and AI-based personalised travel recommendations. The success of the startup The Hotels Network shows how important personalisation is. According to the business information platform Crunchbase, the company has already received more than 15 million dollars in financing and says it is working with over 12,000 hotels worldwide. With the help of predictive personalisation through its own online channel, The Hotels Network wants to improve services and increase sales.

Workations are the new trend

For certain city dwellers in particular, a new reason to take holidays has emerged besides the usual reason for travelling like family visits and sightseeing, and that is work. This means working from anywhere, or taking a workation. Last summer Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, popularised the concept with a much-publicised email, stating that every employee was entitled to up to four weeks of workations. Since then the global volume of online searches has doubled. As a result a new type of customer has emerged, who with entirely new needs and a behaviour unlike that of business travellers is potentially creating a new market.

What does the war in Ukraine mean for international tourism?

According to UNWTO, in 2019 Ukraine and Russia’s combined expenditure on outbound tourism amounted to around 3.2 per cent of the volume worldwide. The neighbouring eastern European countries accounted for around 1.8 per cent of the global total. In 2019 spending worldwide totalled around 1.5 trillion dollars. In 2019, Ukraine and Russia accounted for a combined 2.6 per cent of a total of 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals, with their neighbouring eastern European countries at around 5.3 per cent. Note: not all the latest developments are contained in this press release, which was written in advance.