The war in Ukraine and the crisis in the high cost of living are not dampening German consumers’ appetite for holidays, the German travel industry body DRV said today, predicting that 2023 will see a return to the pre-pandemic record sales. of Covid-19.

The year started strongly, with revenue from travel agents and online booking platforms doubling in January year-on-year and up 12% compared to the same month in 2019, according to DRV.

“Overall holidays are a high priority for people. This makes us optimistic despite the known uncertainties and geopolitical and economic developments,” said DRV President Norbert Fiebich in his remarks on the occasion of the opening of the ITB tourism fair in Berlin.

Fibih said he expected this year’s revenue to return to the record level of 2019, when consumers spent €98bn on holidays – €69.5bn of which was on travel bookings and the rest on excursions and other spending. to their destination.

The German tourism industry had already come close to this level in 2021, when sales had reached 84 billion euros, almost twice as much as in 2020, according to the DRV.