Sluggish consumption deters holidaymakers: Bavaria is suffering from the winter crisis!

Sluggish consumption deters holidaymakers: Bavaria is suffering from the winter crisis!

In the winter of 2024, German tourism faces a critical challenge: The ongoing economic crisis has severely dampened the mood of German consumers. According to tourism expert Dennis Utzerath of the Boston Consulting Group, Germans are increasingly choosing to save money rather than invest in vacations. This has a direct negative impact on the tourist hotspots in the Bavarian Alps and beyond in Austria and Switzerland, where German guests traditionally make up one of the largest groups. A look back at the past two years shows that the trend towards reducing travel to one main holiday trip has increased, while short trips are becoming less attractive. The rising costs of skiing and other winter activities are reinforcing this development, which is particularly clear according to the Holiday and Travel Research Association (FUR).

Alpine winter in the stress test

The ongoing uncertainty among German consumers, who tend to save money despite rising wages and falling inflation rates, has direct consequences for booking figures. Experts fear that bookings will be weak in the popular winter destinations. Klaus Wohlrabe, head of Ifo surveys, highlights that consumers are more hesitant to travel due to job concerns and the general economic situation. This could be fatal for the catering and hotel industries in these regions, especially in Bavaria, where the mood is already gloomy and operators are suffering from high costs, such as increases in food prices and VAT.

In addition, recent developments in Switzerland, such as the shock of the Credit Suisse collapse, have weakened confidence in the financial sector. While German banks are benefiting from the current interest rate situation, in Germany the focus of concern is not only on commercial real estate, but also on possible provisions for loans for commercial real estate, which could come under pressure due to rising interest rates. According to an analysis by the financial market supervisory authority Bafin, these uncertainties could slow down the construction industry and thus endanger economic stability, even if the solvency of the banks is not yet considered to be at acute risk, as the report shows Trade newspaper emerges.