The result comes as no surprise. Visit German tourism was not spared by the Covid-19 crisis, but the pandemic did offer some grounds for satisfaction. Admittedly, the total number of overnight stays fell by almost 90 million overnight stays foreign à 32.2 million in 2020. This is the same level as 30 years ago. But at the same time, in 2020 Germany became Europe's No. 1 destination for European travellers for the first time. European travellers generated 23.5 million trips to Germany, ahead of Spain and Austria.
The French accounted for 1.3 million nights in 2020, a far cry from the 3.8 million nights in 2019. For the first 11 months of 2021, this figure fell slightly to 0.9%.
Business travel accounts for more than 20% of European journeys
Business travel has been one of the segments most affected by the crisis. And yet it is a more important segment than for other European destinations. The number of Europeans travelling to Germany for business reasons represented 21% of all trips in 2020, compared with an average of 15% for all trips.. For the market alone Francethe percentage was 20%.
In detail, 49% of all European business trips to Germany were for a 'traditional' reasonThe rest are so-called "promotional" business trips. i.e. in connection with an activity MICE.
In fact, it was this sector that suffered the most in 2020. While the number of business trips to Germany fell by 63% in 2020, travel to trade fairs and exhibitions fell by 75%.. Attendance at conferences and conventions fell by 65%.
Looking at modes of transport, the car accounted for the majority of journeys at 54% (58% for the French), followed by the plane at 26% (27% in France) and the train at 9% (7% in France).. It will come as a surprise to see how little rail travel is used in France, a result of the cancellation of many direct services during the pandemic.
Improvements to air and rail services
The situation has only partially improved since then. SNCF and DB announce that they will jointly operate 24 trains a day to Germany from Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Strasbourg.. Nevertheless, the two railway companies are still operating a reduced number of frequencies on the Paris-Sarrebruck-Frankfurt and Paris-Stuttgart routes. However, the good news is that they are operating a direct train service six days a week between Paris and Fribourg in three hours.
On the other hand, the tourist office hopes that the improved air service from France will generate a new flow of traffic, particularly business traffic. The airline Vueling has been serving Hamburg, Leipzig and Nuremberg from Orly. Lufthansa has finally inaugurated its Orly-Munich and is launching this spring Rennes-Frankfurt. Finally, Transavia resumes services between Montpellier and Berlin in April.
" Accessibility is essential to the growth and appeal of Germany as a destination in France" said Bénédicte Richer-Langlais, Director of ONAT in France, during a presentation. This spring's offer should therefore bear fruit.
