.jpg "Zell am See, Austria")
Much has been written in the UK about a national staycation boom this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions or self-isolation guidance in place for international travel from certain countries. This has even led to some using the opportunity to market their hotel in popular tourist destinations, such as Meudon Country House Hotel near Falmouth, Cornwall, which is being marketed for £2.5 million by Savills.
Over in Europe, we are seeing a further trend: holiday clusters between certain countries. One such cluster is Germany, where I am based, Austria and Switzerland, the so-called DACH region, where leisure destinations are reporting strong occupancy rates. The Alps, lakes and coastal regions are proving particularly attractive. While business travel is still subdued this too might pick up from this autumn onwards, depending on how the pandemic develops and how corporate businesses adjust their own travel advice.
Although tourism between the three countries will not quite compensate for the lower number of international tourists, traditionally coming from the US and Asia, the DACH region may see its own hotel recovery scenario due to domestic demand.
The reason for this is that national travel destinations, holiday regions and attractions are experiencing a ‘revival’ as they become tourist hot spots, leading to increasing demand for overnight stays. All three countries are easily accessible by car or train, which are both currently proving more Covid-19 resilient compared to travelling by plane. The staycation boom will only increase if fears of a second wave and further lockdowns increase.
Domestic travel in Germany accounted for 79.3 per cent of total arrivals in 2019 – a huge percentage, suggesting the impact of limited international demand won’t be so detrimental to the German hotel market. Even once international tourists return, if hotels in the DACH region are able to continue to attract domestic travellers, this will give them a more balanced and secure income by not being reliant on one group over the other.
With a direct train line between Amsterdam and London due to open this October, we could see similar clusters in other parts of Europe develop and hotels benefitting from a mix of national, neighbouring and international tourism for years to come.
Further information
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