DUBAI – German travelers who book their trips through travel agencies prefer long-distance travel destinations for the 2024 summer season. According to RateHawk, an online hotel, air ticket and transfer booking system for travel professionals, the share of accommodation bookings in Asia, North America and South Africa within the foreign travel booking structure has increased significantly.

This trend is in line with the expansion of capacity by Middle Eastern airlines and the increase in international routes by European airlines, with the latter now exceeding the number of routes available before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to IATA.

According to RateHawk, the top 20 international summer holiday destinations in terms of hotel bookings are the USA, Japan, Norway, South Africa, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Canada, France, Indonesia, Greece, Turkey, Thailand, Iceland, Ireland, Finland, Vietnam and Austria , Sweden and Malaysia.

A significant increase in demand has been seen in Asian destinations: Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Japan. According to RateHawk, their overall share of the booking structure for foreign travel reached 15%, increasing by 5 percentage points compared to the previous year. Bookings for these destinations increased twofold in the summer months compared to last year.

Nils Proschek, Country Manager for the D/A/CH region, comments: “The expansion of the flight offering to long-haul destinations significantly improves their accessibility and stimulates both international and domestic travel. So far, the increasing demand for hotel bookings in Asia and South Africa has been correlated with the increased flight frequencies and new routes of airlines from the Middle East, which make Dubai and Doha, for example, convenient gateways in these regions. In addition, the connection to South Africa was strengthened with the launch of a new direct connection from Munich to Johannesburg at the beginning of June.

In the Western Hemisphere, flight capacity was also increased as airlines deployed larger aircraft to US destinations and opened new routes.”

The most popular travel destinations in Indonesia are Sanur, Tegalalang, Canggu, Banyuwangi and Ubud. In Thailand, the resorts of Koh Samui, Ao Nang, Phuket and Krabi as well as the Thai capital Bangkok are the most popular travel destinations. In Vietnam, the most frequently booked destinations are Hanoi and the beaches of Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, Phu Quoc and Halong. In Japan, travelers choose the cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Kanazawa.

According to RateHawk, almost one in five accommodation bookings made through German travel agencies is made in North America. Canada and the US account for 18% of all bookings, an increase of 5 percentage points compared to last summer. The most popular destinations in the USA are New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami and Las Vegas. When traveling to Canada, Germans particularly prefer trips to Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Niagara Falls.

Nils Proschek states: “As we have recognized the growing demand for long-haul destinations, we are constantly working to expand our accommodation offering overseas. Our portfolio of offerings includes more than 2.6 million hotels, vacation homes, and other accommodation options, with directly affiliated accommodation reaching over 100,000 units in June, a 40% increase year-on-year, this wide variety allows travel agents to access extensively and directly to address the needs of their customers, regardless of whether they are traveling for business or pleasure.”

Europe retains its dominant position in the list of the top 20 most popular overseas destinations, with European countries taking 12 places in the rankings and accounting for 30% of total overseas bookings for the summer months of 2024. German tourists choose not only beach destinations in Portugal, Spain, and Italy but also northern European countries such as Norway, Finland, and Iceland.

According to RateHawk, the average daily rate for an accommodation booking is EUR 196, 7% higher than last year. The average transaction value increased by 10% from EUR 506 to EUR 558 for 3 nights. Among the 20 most popular countries, the most expensive destinations in terms of average daily rate are Iceland (EUR 275 per night), France (EUR 249 per night) and the USA (EUR 227 per night). The cheapest destinations include Vietnam (62 EUR per night), South Africa (89 EUR per night) and Thailand (91 EUR per night).

The average length of stay for hotel-only bookings for the 2024 summer vacation is 3 nights, the same level as in 2023. The longest stays are in Turkey with an average of 5 days, followed by Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam with 4 days. In Northern European countries such as Sweden, Iceland, Finland, and Norway, the length of stay is the shortest, with an average of two days.

About RateHawk

RateHawk is an innovative B2B booking platform developed by Dubai-based Emerging Travel Group, offering hotels, airline tickets, transfers, car rentals and other tourism services.