Germany
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Germany is a key target market for the tourism sector in Azerbaijan and currently ATB is working on increasing the number of leisure and business travellers.
Significance for Azerbaijan
Germans were the second most frequent European visitors to Azerbaijan after the UK from 2017 to 2021. Germans appreciate Azerbaijan’s culture, wild nature, hospitality and cuisine. They can directly fly from Berlin twice a week and Frankfurt 5 times a week.
Main holiday periods:
April – Easter time
July – August – The summer period
Christmas – New Year – End of December
The German guest
In 2019, Germans spent around 1.7 billion days on excursions and longer journeys. This is a slight decrease of 0.5 percent compared to the previous year. Germans spent 82.7 billion euros abroad in 2019, which was 80.9 in 2018. The turnaround came in the Corona year 2020 - travel expenditure fell by 54 percent to 31.9 billion euros.
In 2019 55.2 million people were on vacation 5 days and more, which was 54.1 million people in 2018; there was 70.8 million long holiday trips of the Germans, thereof 73.6% was abroad. In 2020 there were 37.1 million total trips and 81% of them were domestic. In 2020, outbound tourism - travel for Germany was 38,752 million current US dollars. It is expected the country’s outbound travel to recover to 117.9 million tourists, surpassing 2019’s 116.1 million despite economic decline in Europe.
In 2019 Germans travelled mostly to Mediterranean regions (37.9%), Western Europe (13.3%), long distance travel (8.4%), long distance travel (8.4%), Eastern Europe (7.2%). Spain, Italy, Austria and Turkey were the most visited destinations both in 2019 and 2020. In 2020 most Germans travelled within Germany (45.2%) followed by Mediterranean region (26.3%) and Western Europe (12.6%).
GlobalData found that 55% of German respondents identified ‘affordability’ as a main factor in deciding where to go on holiday, so low-cost carriers (LCCs) such as RyanAir, EasyJet, Eurowings, Air Berlin, TUIfly and Condor might be their first port-of-call when it comes to international travel.
In 2021, around 41% of German travelers booked their vacation trip online, compared to 26% who used this same booking method in 2010. The trend is clear: online bookings are on the rise. The trend is clear: online bookings are on the rise, though roughly the same share of travelers booked their trip during a face-to-face conversation, for example with a travel agent.
There are 5.5 million High Value Travellers in Germany. High Value Travellers (HVTs) are empowered and increasingly knowledgeable about the world around them. They know what they want, when they want it and where they want to get it. As such, HVTs view knowledge about a destination as
fundamental to an enriching travel experience. That experience starts well before they board a ship or plane, but rather as they seek out and discover new travel content online. They represent 44% of travel market, stay average 16 nights and spend 2-3 times more than average traveller.
Of them:
98% Enjoy escaping day-to-day life when travelling
97% Travel to enrich their knowledge of the world
96% Like to get a taste for the local cuisine when travelling
94% Like to travel to places they haven’t been before
94% Like authentic holidays where they can experience local culture
In 2020 Tour operator and travel agency turnover sales decreased to 12.5 billion EUR which was 35.4 billion EUR in 2019.
Distribution system:
The travel distribution system in Germany features wholesalers as well as direct sellers. Bookings through traditional retail agencies remain strong for long haul travellers aged over 40 years. However, there has been an increase in long haul online bookings for airfares and accommodation, particularly those travelling for extended periods of time (e.g. Working Holiday Visa Makers).
There were 2300 Tour operators in Germany in 2019.
In Germany, there are approx. 10,000 travel agencies which are divided into three categories:
The number of online travel agencies (OTAs) is increasing, with online travel agencies (OTAs) in Germany including Opodo (Odigeo group), Expedia, booking.com, Tourlane, Lastminute.com, Getyourguide, and ebookers.com as well as OTA/consolidator with a huge online community.
Germany is also seeing the emergence of influential online community forums such as Urlaubsguru, Urlaubspiraten, Travelzoo, Evaneos, etc.
Evaluations by the Forschungsgemeinschaft Urlaub und Reisen (FUR) clearly show that in the past 20 years the share of organised travel via travel agencies and tour operators has increased significantly. Whereas in the pre-Internet age (1995) 41% of all holiday trips were booked via tour operators and travel agencies, in 2018 a total of 49% of all trips were purchased as professional tour operator trips both from stationary travel agencies and online
According to Statista Research Department, in 2022, 30.6% of Germans planned to travel within Germany. 7% planned a trip to Spain and 5.6% were thinking of Italy. The figures reflect the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the travel industry and consumer plans.
Planning and purchasing:
Travel duration: Average travel duration were 11.6 days in 2020, which were 13 days both in 2019 and 2018.
Information sources: Social Media – Instagram and Facebook for Millennials and Gen Z, friends’ recommendations – WOM, social networks.
High internet usage: Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp are the most-used social media accounts. 35% of Germans are active social media users, spending on average 63 minutes online daily.
Travel decision-making: Germans usually book their vacations 6 months before the holiday and booking holidays via travel agencies is still the preferred method for this nation. Some bookings are made directly via accommodation providers. The situation in summer 2023 was somewhat different. Many bookings were made short-term, often only 14 days in advance. He feels it is partly due to rising prices in Europe. Guests want to wait to see how they develop and only then "decide if they go on vacation at all."
Means of transport: In 2019 most German holiday trips were made by car (43%) and by plane (42%). In 2020 it was 61% and 26% respectively.
Main holiday interests: Nature holidays: sun and beach, tours and extended stays in one place; round trips: beach vacations, food and wine, city, sport and adventure, history and culture, natural beauty and wildlife.
Special interest:
Activities: Sightseeing, culture, hiking, spending time at the beach, food and wine tasting.
The future of Germans’ tourism demand:
Most Germans travel with a partner or friends.
Preferences for destination choice: Safety and security, value for money, world-class nature and landscapes, and climate are the main concerns for German travellers.
Most visited places in Azerbaijan Baku, the Absheron Peninsula, Sheki.
Top tips for German market:
Below arrival statistics are shown from Germany to Azerbaijan for the last 5 years.
|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
16231 |
17164 |
20494 |
3529 |
5905 |
14426 |
Contact person:
Head of EMEA Region
Khadija Nasirova