The number of Germans unable to afford a one-week holiday continues to grow. Meanwhile, holiday prices in Germany have risen by an average of 20-30% in a single year.

By their own admission, in 2022 21.9 per cent of Germans did not have enough money for a one-week holiday, according to Eurostat’s data reviewed by the German Der Spiegel newspaper. The statistics were requested by the opposition Left Party from the European Union’s specialised agency. According to the data, single parents are the most affected. In the category of „single person with dependent children,” 42% cannot take a week’s holiday. Overall, households with children are also more affected (23.4 per cent) than households without children (20.7 per cent), compared with 28.7 per cent of pensioners. Dietmar Bartsch, leader of the left-wing parliamentary group, said: „These statistics paint a sad picture.”

These figures show how deeply divided Germany is socially. Everyone should be given the opportunity to go on holiday for at least a week a year,” he said. To do this, he said, Germany needs higher wages, adequate pensions, a consistent anti-inflation policy and a basic childcare system, he said.

The numbers have fluctuated quite a bit in recent years. Compared to 2021, the number of people who cannot afford a holiday has increased slightly. The figure was 19.9 per cent then, also almost one in five. This proportion was much lower in 2017 (15.3 per cent) and 2019 (12.8 per cent). Also in 2011, almost one in four people (22.8 per cent) could not afford to travel on a one full week’s holiday.

With no foreign travel, people are forced to look at home, but German tourism has turned upside down. Hotels, restaurants, entrance fees: prices are rising in German holiday resorts, too. At the same time, the service has got worse.

For a family of five, a week in the Baltic would cost €2,240, plus €1,500 for travel, food and other expenses. „For a holiday in Germany, this is pretty tough. People can hardly afford that,” a father tells German public media.

For this year, there is an average price increase of 20 per cent compared to last year’s high season, but there are places where the difference is as high as 50 per cent. „We have to walk a tightrope to find the point where guests are still willing to stay with us,” one hotel owner says. „If you go over, you’re on your own. A family of four simply can’t afford the prices anymore,” he adds.

Germany is much more expensive than most European destinations, with holidaymakers spending an average of €64 a day in 2019, before the pandemic. Now it’s €80, which is a 26% increase.

It doesn’t help that a brutal shortage of skilled labour has made it difficult for restaurants to get off the ground. For example, a hotel in Binz, near the Baltic Sea, would need 180 people to operate safely, but it started the high season with 150. One reason is the bad reputation of the sector.

„Underpaid jobs, night shifts and evening work. We are now feeling the effects,” the hotel manager explains. „The consequences for guests: more self-service, shorter opening hours, longer queues. Despite the higher prices, this means less service overall,” he adds.