Vacation check: These are the Germans' most popular travel destinations
In order to effectively target potential customers in the tourism industry, it is essential to understand the search behavior of consumers. Local travel agencies in particular are now facing the challenge of adapting to an increasingly digital market landscape. At a time when online bookings and digital travel platforms dominate, traditional travel agencies need to develop innovative strategies to remain competitive. Understanding preferred destinations, for example, plays a crucial role in this. But where do Germans actually prefer to travel to?
When it comes to vacations in Europe, there are clear favorites in Germany. Turkey is the top destination – at least in terms of Google searches. Albania, on the other hand, has seen the greatest interest in a break abroad: The country has experienced a real boom since last year with an over 100 percent increase in search interest.
We at Localyzer came to this conclusion in a recent Google analysis. We took a close look at the search behavior of Germans in the period from May 2023 to May 2024. In total, search terms relating to vacations were analyzed – for 34 European countries. Turkey leaves the competition far behind. Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia are not particularly popular vacation destinations in the study.
Turkey is the absolute frontrunner among German vacationers
With an average of 160,890 searches per month, Turkey is by far the most popular European vacation destination. This applies not only to Germany as a whole, but also to the individual federal states. In terms of search volume, Turkey is in first place in all federal states. Croatia is also very popular, with an average of 84,890 searches per month across Germany, putting the country in second place. Greece secured the bronze medal with 79,070 searches. Overall, the federal states seem to agree on the top 3 when it comes to vacations. There are only slight differences in Schleswig-Holstein. Here, Turkey, Greece and Denmark top the list of the most popular countries.
The search volume for a vacation in Albania is 61,750, putting the country in fourth place in the comparison. Italy follows at a slightly greater distance with Germany-wide searches of 43,410. The interest in taking a vacation in one’s own country is rather moderate. Among the European countries, Germany ranks 19th with 14,220 monthly search queries, putting it in the middle of the field.
Interest in travel to Serbia lowest
Users searched an average of 2,180 times a month for information relating to a possible vacation in Serbia. This puts the country in south-eastern Europe in last place. With 2,400 search queries, Macedonia is in second place in the negative ranking, followed by Liechtenstein with a search activity of 2,500. Bosnia and Luxembourg are also not exactly among Germans’ preferred vacation destinations: The two countries ranked fourth and fifth with 2,800 and 2,820 searches respectively.
Vacations in Europe: Hamburg received the most search queries per capita
If we take a look at the willingness to travel in the individual federal states, Hamburg is in the lead. An average of 13.23 searches for vacations in the countries surveyed were made per 1,000 inhabitants. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania follows slightly further behind with 10.84 monthly searches per 1,000 inhabitants. In Saxony, interest in a vacation outside of their own state is also high – the figure here is 10.81 searches.
These countries have recorded the highest growth in search queries since May 2023
Albania has recently become a top destination for Germans. Not only does the country take fourth place in the country ranking with the most search queries, searches have also more than doubled since May 2023 (100.7 percent) – no other country can keep up with this result. Interest in travel to Slovakia has also risen comparatively; the increase here was 23.1%. Finland and Monaco share third place with a 20.8% increase in search volume.
About Localyzer
Localyzer is an online platform for local online marketing on Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other websites. The product enables brands to implement customized local online campaigns for an unlimited number of locations – multichannel. The online platform automates the entire creation of thousands of campaigns, ensuring the necessary local relevance. Up-to-date information about Localyzer can be found on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Xing and Twitter.
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Desiree Engel |desiree.engel@tonka-pr.com| +49 172 620 6392
Dennis Eliasch |dennis.eliasch@tonka-pr.com| +49 157 868 72201
