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TRAVEL

This is where (and how) Germans plan to holiday in 2021

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, travel is still on the minds of many Germans. A comprehensive survey looks at where they're eager to go in the coming year.

Published: 16 November 2020 13:09 CET
Updated: 16 November 2020 15:37 CET
This is where (and how) Germans plan to holiday in 2021
People walk along a promanade on the island of Sylt. Photo: DPA

Hometogo, the search engine for holiday homes and flats, matched 16 million search queries with an externally commissioned survey to find out where Germans will be headed in 2021. 

The result: on the whole, many German are planning to stay home, but as usual many are brimming with Wanderlust as they plan out their next holidays.

A total of 44.4 percent of search queries from the search period January 1st to October 27th 2020 were for destinations in Germany. The most popular holiday searches were for the Baltic Sea, North Sea and Sylt.

READ ALSO: North Sea or Baltic Sea? How to choose between Germany's two coasts

Destinations abroad will lose out in 2021: Croatia came in second place with only 11.05 per cent of search queries – last year it stood at 14.69 percent. 

Italy is in third place with 7.79 per cent compared to 11.58 per cent in the previous year.

As the survey commissioned by Hometogo shows, the Germans' desire to travel still remains: 70 percent of those surveyed intend to travel in the next 12 months. Moreover, 61 percent would rather book a holiday home in 2021, while 31 percent would prefer a hotel. 

According to the survey results, only three percent of those questioned would consider spending the night in a camper van – somewhat surprising after the camping boom in 2020. A full 71 percent, however, plan to travel by car next year.

As far as the type of destinations are concerned, most Germans are drawn to a beach holiday next year (63 percent), but national parks and destinations in the countryside trail only slightly behind (60 percent). 

City breaks were only slightly behind, with 52 percent of those surveyed saying that they would like to venture into a bigger city on their holidays. 

For the month of November, Germany has imposed a hospitality ban for hotels, pensions and guests homes for holiday travellers as part of a partial lockdown. It is not yet clear if the restriction will be extended after November ends.

READ ALSO: Is Germany set to tighten shutdown measures?

Vocabulary

travel destination – (das) Reisezeil

Baltic Sea – (die) Ostsee

search queries – (die) Suchanfragen

restrictions – (die) Einschränkungen

We're aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.

 

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HEALTH

Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

It’s back again: amid sinking temperatures, the incidence of Covid-19 has been slowly rising in Germany. But is this enough to merit worrying about the virus?

Published: 20 September 2023 12:05 CEST
Updated: 20 September 2023 22:22 CEST
Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

More people donning face masks in supermarkets, friends cancelling plans last minute due to getting sick with Covid-19. We might have seen some of those familiar reminders recently that the coronavirus is still around, but could there really be a resurgence of the virus like we experienced during the pandemic years?

According to virologists, the answer seems to be ‘maybe’: since July, the number of people newly infected with Covid-19 has been slowly rising from a very low level.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), nine people per 100,000 inhabitants became newly infected in Germany last week. A year ago, there were only around 270 reported cases.

Various Corona variants are currently on the loose in the country. According to the RKI,  the EG.5 (also called Eris) and XBB.1.16 lines were each detected in the week ending September 3rd with a share of just under 23 percent. 

The highly mutated variant BA.2.86 (Pirola), which is currently under observation by the World Health Organisation (WHO), also arrived in the country this week, according to RKI. 

High number of unreported case

The RKI epidemiologists also warned about a high number of unreported cases since hardly any testing is done. They pointed out that almost half of all registered sewage treatment plants report an increasing viral load in wastewater tests.

The number of hospital admissions has also increased slightly, but are still a far cry from the occupation rate amid the pandemic. Last week it was two per 100,000 inhabitants. In the intensive care units, only 1.2 percent of all beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients.

Still, a good three-quarters (76.4 percent) of people in Germany have been vaccinated at least twice and thus have basic immunity, reported RKI. 

Since Monday, doctors’ offices have been vaccinating with the adapted vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer, available to anyone over 12 years old, with a vaccine for small children set to be released the following week and one for those between 5 and 11 to come out October 2nd.

But Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has so far only recommended that people over 60 and those with pre-existing conditions get vaccinated.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Who should get a Covid jab this autumn in Germany?

“The pandemic is over, the virus remains,” he said. “We cannot predict the course of coming waves of corona, but it is clear that older people and people with pre-existing conditions remain at higher risk of becoming severely ill from Covid-19”

The RKI also recommended that people with a cold voluntarily wear a mask. Anyone exhibiting cough, cold, sore throat or other symptoms of a respiratory illness should voluntarily stay at home for three to five days and take regular corona self-tests. 

However, further measures such as contact restrictions are not necessary, he said.

One of many diseases

As of this autumn, Covid-19 could be one of many respiratory diseases. As with influenza, there are no longer absolute infection figures for coronavirus.

Saarbrücken pharmacist Thorsten Lehr told German broadcaster ZDF that self-protection through vaccinations, wearing a mask and getting tested when symptoms appear are prerequisites for surviving the Covid autumn well. 

Only a new, more aggressive mutation could completely turn the game around, he added.

On April 7th of this year, Germany removed the last of its over two-year long coronavirus restrictions, including mask-wearing in some public places.

READ ALSO: German doctors recommend Covid-19 self-tests amid new variant

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