Germany’s outbound travel market suffered a significant set-back to demand last week after beginning the summer peak well ahead of the UK, with Turkey joining Spain on the Covid-19 high-risk list.
Turkey’s reclassification by German public health body the Robert Koch Institute means unvaccinated travellers returning from Turkey must quarantine for 10 days.
Spain joined Germany’s high-risk list in July.
German tour operators reported few cancellations to Turkey despite the change, with tour operator FTI telling German travel trade publication FVW: “We expect a few re-bookings.”
But industry figures criticised the decision which FVW reported “particularly impacts families” as children under 12 and most teenagers in Germany have not been vaccinated.
Turkish tour operator group Anex confirmed “mainly families” want to rebook “because they cannot observe the quarantine regulation”.
Latest figures showed 58% of Germany’s population have been double vaccinated as the Robert Koch Institute confirmed the country has entered a fourth wave of the pandemic late last week.
FVW noted travel agency sales fell “significantly” through July and August following an “upswing” in May and June.
It reported research showing agents’ sales expectations have also fallen dramatically – from one in four (79%) expecting to demand rise in the next six months in June to just 19% expecting improved sales in August.
Half the agents surveyed forecast demand would now remain flat and more than one quarter (28%) forecast a further decline.
Barely one in six (17%) forecast improved earnings in the next six months, down from 54% in June.
Tui reported carrying five times as many passengers from German as from the UK in June and double the number in July, when in a normal year the markets would be about the same size.
But Tui chief executive Fritz Joussen acknowledged a dip in the market since, noting on August 12: “The big bookings came early in the season in Germany. It’s clear it [the market] goes down.”