A current analysis by the Skyscanner booking portal has shown that Germans are particularly flexible when it comes to vacation planning this year. This applies to both the travel period and the destination.
More than a third of respondents (35 percent) do not have a specific destination in mind when planning their trip. A further 42 percent said that they are flexible when it comes to where and when they travel. Most German travelers use the "All locations" option on Skyscanner.de instead of a specific travel destination. This search function enables travelers to easily compare all available flights to hundreds of destinations worldwide and thus find the cheapest deals - sorted by price. The desire to have all the options for the next vacation in view is therefore great. For 51 percent, price is also one of the most important factors when booking a vacation. It is therefore not surprising that travelers prefer to remain flexible when choosing a destination in order to find the best price.
“In recent years we have seen a shift in demand towards spontaneous and last minute bookings. Naomi Hahn, travel expert at Skyscanner, also explains that search and comparison portals such as Skyscanner enable travelers to find the best prices at short notice. “The impact of the pandemic has further accelerated this shift, making flexible travel the new travel norm. In 2021, we've seen some lesser-known destinations gain popularity as countries with no travel restrictions have been in the spotlight. We assume that this trend will continue beyond the pandemic and will play an important role in the summer of 2022, as holidaymakers can often still find cheap offers there. In our latest survey, 61 percent of German participants said they now attach more importance to international travel than they did before the pandemic. In addition, 88 percent of German holidaymakers are more hopeful about trips abroad in 2022. This is also reflected in our bookings: a 68 percent increase in flight bookings in April for trips in June, July and August shows that Germans are planning their summer holidays.
The following destinations are currently in vogue:
- Mexico
- Turkey
- Croatia
- Greece
- Cyprus
Naomi Hahn advises passengers who want to save money: “A smart option is to combine flights from different airlines. If you don't book flights as a return flight package, but instead fly with one airline and return with another, or choose a return flight from another airport, you can often save in this way. Those looking for multiple dates and airports have the best chance of finding a bargain. Flight prices are based on supply and demand. Because some dates are more popular than others, prices vary. If you are considering traveling a day before or a day after your originally planned date, you can often find cheaper flights. Because on less popular days of the week, these are always cheaper”.