Despite challenging condition's the outbound market saw a very
small growth (1 per cent) in terms of trips. (source: ITB)
Around 72.8 per cent of Germans plan an extensive holiday in
2012 and there is good overall demand for holidays to New Zealand
(source: ADAC)
There is good overall demand for holidays to New Zealand, and
tour operators are relatively stable.
Economy
The European Crisis is a major factor continuing to affect
travel and reinforcing consumers search for the best value. Strong
exchange rates and a weak Euro are continuing to have an impact.
There have been strong airline initiatives in response.
In 2011, the overall German economy grew strongly, increasing by
3 per cent (price-adjusted) thanks to the continued robustness of
the domestic economy, and a period of marked economic weakness is,
at present, unlikely. In fact, development of the real economy in
Germany is remarkably resilient.
Industry is benefiting from renewed investment activity, which
is expected to continue thanks to strong domestic and foreign
demand for German products.
The economic recovery is also having an increasingly positive
impact on the labour market. Unemployment is continuing its
downward trend (December 2011: -22,000 [seasonally adjusted]). The
annualised average unemployment figure dropped to its lowest since
1991 settling at 2.976 million. A more buoyant job market will help
to ensure that consumer spending also grows over the year.
The future course of the European crisis of confidence and of
sovereign debt remains of crucial importance for economic
development.
(Source: Federal Ministry of Economics and
Technology).
Key Indicators
Sources:
www.economist.com (GDP Growth)
www.xe.com (Exchange rates)
| Exchange Rate vs NZD |
EUR1 = NZD1.59199 (10 Feb 2012) |
| Expected GDP Growth |
+2.9% 2011
+1.0% 2012 |
Outbound Travel
Visitor arrivals from Germany for the year ending December 2011
were down 1.4 per cent.
Airlines and operators continue to report strong interest and
enquiries for travel to New Zealand, though the exchange rate is
negatively impacting on this.
The continuing decline of the Euro is becoming a real issue for
pricing for the coming season. Some German operators have had to
raise their prices by as much as 25 per cent. If the Euro continues
to decline against the New Zealand Dollar it will make New Zealand
relatively more expensive than other long-haul destinations. The
same situation equally applies to Australia (down 3.9 per cent in
2011 - ABS).
The German Government is planning to introduce a new air travel
tax that will see airline ticket costs rise by EUR14 per ticket.
However, the impact of the tax is likely to be felt mostly by
short-haul destinations.
Airfares for travel to New Zealand over the summer season rose
slightly on 2010/11 levels. Economy fares for travel between
September and December were advertised from 1130 Euros. Special
offers entered the market post Christmas from as low as 899 Euros
signaling a continuing weakness in the market, at a time where
capacity to the South Pacific ex-Germany has risen.
The number of people with an affinity for long-haul travel has
been constantly rising since 2008 and is now at 9.6 million
people.
The number of visitors and people planning to travel to New
Zealand is the same as last year.
The top 3 long-haul destinations are USA, the Caribbean and
South East Asia.
Airline Update
As mentioned above flight prices to New Zealand and
Australia have been heavily discounted since Christmas 2011. When
one leads, others re-adjust their fares to follow.
The past year has been characterized by increases in
capacity ex-Germany. While many have been to immediate points they
have provided many new opportunities for 1 and 2 stop or codeshare
arrangements to New Zealand.
Carriers offering connecting services to New Zealand now
include:
- Air New Zealand: via London,
China and USA (with Lufthansa)
- Emirates: from 4 gateways via
Dubai
- Etihad: via UAE/Australia
enhanced with the purchase of Air Berlin
Singapore, Qantas, Korean, Cathay and Malaysian all fly
directly from Frankfurt with 1 or 2 stops.