11 The results show that Germans are still keen to travel in 2026, despite economic uncertainties. They want to travel but they want to plan well and focus clearly on value for money, safety and comfort. This is a good sign for suppliers at home and abroad, says Sören Hartmann, President of the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry (BTW). Among other things, the fact that most people would like to take just as many days off or even more than 2025 makes us confident. BTW SURVEY Classic holiday trips continue to be very popular among Germans. Workations, on the other hand, remain a niche topic. HOLGER M. JACOBS DIRK MICHAEL DECKBAR People want to travel but they want to plan well and focus clearly on value for money, safety and comfort, says BTW President Sören Hartmann. In mid-December 2025, Yougov surveyed a total of 2,123 people aged 18 and over in Germany weighted representatively by age, gender and region on behalf of the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry (BTW). The positive result: despite the economic downturn, people are keen to travel. 62% of those surveyed by Yougov are planning private holidays lasting several days 36% of them several times and 26% once. In contrast, 16% are still undecided. Only 19% definitely do not want to travel privately in 2026. 41% of respondents plan to travel for the same length of time or longer (27%) than in 2025 and to book just as early or earlier. The younger generation up to the age of 34 (29%) in particular wants to spend more days travelling in 2026 than last time. According to the survey, only 4% of the population has experience with workation but 40% of Germans have never even heard of the term. Out of those interested in workation, 22% are planning a workation in 2026 especially younger people. Hartmann: Workation is not yet a mass phenomenon, but the momentum among 18- to 34-year-olds shows that a future market could develop here. The topic offers potential that needs to be leveraged and exploited by companies in the industry. This includes, above all, diversifying offerings and further developing them with reliable digital infrastructure and attractive priceperformance packages for customers interested in workations. GERMANS HEAD FOR CHINA German tour operators are reporting a significant rise in sales of trips to China and expect further growth this year. Almost 40% expect better results in 2026 than in 2025, while more than 30% even anticipate significantly better figures. These are the findings of a survey conducted by the agency One Billion Voices among the 40 most important China tour operators in Germany. For the vast majority of these companies, 2025 was already a good year. More than 63% rated it as good or even very good. The decisive factor for these positive figures is visa-free entry. An overwhelming 80% consider this to be very relevant to drive demand. Whats more, many of these China holidays are booked through travel agencies. GEBECO Travel but plan well STRONG SALES GROWTH The Great Wall is one of the top tourist attractions in China. DAY 1 3 MARCH 2026 THE ITB NEWSPAPER 60TH ANNIVERSARY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ITB BERLIN! Suddenly under fire: Destinations such as Dubai used to be perceived as safe. PIX123.DE/DAVID VASICEK ITB Berlin is celebrating its 60th anniversary with new innovative formats. But there is also space for nost #fvwkongress All information can be found here! 15. / 16. SEPTEMBER 2026 PENTAHOTEL LEIPZIG Your Gateway to Global Travel Insight Join as Partner, Sponsor, or Attendee. Partner performed by 3 3 Dear ITB Visitor, ITB Berlin has been affected by the impacts of many international conflicts as well as natural catastrophes and not least a pandemic over the course of its 60 years. This year is no different. The attacks on Iran by the USA FVW MEDIEN/MAJ and Israel have already had many con 4 12:45 7.1A ORANGE STAGE JOSCHKA FISCHER ON GEOPOLITICS Amid the Middle East crisis, former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer discusses geopolitical shifts, the new world order and the implications for tourism. 15:35 7.1A ORANGE STAGE LEAD TOURISM INTO BALANCE Industry leaders discuss top 6 WEAK JANUARY BUT NO SLUMP German holiday bookings weakened in January against a strong previous year, the latest monthly figures from Travel Data + Analytics (TDA) showed. Although January is traditionally the strongest holiday sales month of the year, booked travel revenues for summer 2026 were 7 Germany, 42% plan to travel elsewhere in Europe, 20% to other continents, and 13% are still undecided. Within Europe, Spain continues to lead, followed by Italy, Scandinavia, Turkey, Greece, France, Austria, and Croatia. BAT SURVEY Germans are travelling more than they have in 20 years and tra 8 A step onto the big stage CONSUMER TRENDS AI TOOLS ENTER TRAVEL SEARCH More Germans are using AI tools to research travel but the technology does not play a significant role in booking travel yet, according to a survey by RTK, Germanys biggest travel agency cooperation. This found that 14% of r 9 Not only leisure travel OLIVER GRAUE The Business Lounge will be the meeting place for everyone involved in business travel on all days of the ITB. Travel managers can talk to industry colleagues here, as well as to the 18 exhibiting providers. On 3 and 4 March, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., the Home 10 Organised travel grows faster GERMAN AIRLINES CAPACITY CUTS FOR ALGARVE The Algarve, the top holiday destination in Portugal for Germans, is seeing capacity cuts as Condor withdraws and TUIfly scales back. Eurowings, however, is adding seats. Condor cites the financial viability of these route 11 The results show that Germans are still keen to travel in 2026, despite economic uncertainties. They want to travel but they want to plan well and focus clearly on value for money, safety and comfort. This is a good sign for suppliers at home and abroad, says Sören Hartmann, President of the Fe