Bad omens for the German accommodation industry.
(Photo: dpa)
It could have been a breakthrough for Germany’s travel industry, which the Federal Cabinet decided last week: According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the “National Tourism Strategy”, an action plan that has been forged for more than three years, should “offer orientation for those involved in tourism and the change in Germany as a tourism location in a future-oriented manner to accompany”. It will “increase domestic value creation” and “sustainably increase the quality of life of people living in Germany”.
The fact that Germany’s ministerial bureaucracy has turned into a travel think tank these days may seem like a bad joke to tourism professionals. Since the outbreak of the corona pandemic, Berlin has been straying through the industry with bans, discounts and omissions that have made Germany too unattractive for many travellers.
The restrictions on the domestic hotel industry during the pandemic were far more drastic than in most other European countries, from which most hotels will only recover in years – if at all.
Disaster tourism instead of vacation
Flight vacationers from abroad will probably only come to the country this summer as disaster tourists. Airline cancellations, suitcase chaos and three-kilometer queues in front of the security checkpoints, which are actually the task of the federal police, should not only mercilessly deter them, but also business travelers. The “punctuality” rate of 58 percent in long-distance rail traffic is no less.
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Hotels that Berlin dragged through the corona pandemic with billions in aid remain alarmingly empty. Anyone who invests their money there as a financier, as many currently do, risks the bursting of a bubble.
The fact that the National Tourism Strategy only came up with truisms such as climate neutrality, digitization and securing skilled workers to remedy all these mishaps promises a long suffering in the industry.
More: “The problems are only really beginning now” – How the Dax companies react to the travel chaos