Vacation & Travel News
Solo travel in vogue: more and more Germans are traveling alone – also because of Corona
A Europe-wide survey* by eDreams ODIGEO, Europe's largest online travel company and parent company of Opodo, shows the trend toward solo travel – also and especially due to the current exceptional situation.
Only altogether a quarter wanted to travel originally alone. Now 41 percent of all respondents forgo companionship for their next trip. Plans for the upcoming couples' vacation have also changed for many: While around half of all travelers actually wanted to spend time with their partner on vacation before the Corona pandemic, this proportion has now dropped by around 10 percent. In addition, travel with friends and children has declined significantly. Significantly more than one-third of respondents cite the situation surrounding Covid-19 as a reason for this.
Play it safe: Instead of traveling with a partner, German vacationers are increasingly traveling alone – 38 percent cite the Corona pandemic as a decisive factor.
In Germany, around 38 percent prefer to travel alone, and 37 percent of respondents said they had changed their travel plans in light of the current situation with regard to travel companions – this is still above the European average of 31 percent. Here, without the global state of emergency, not even one in five would have gone on a solo trip – the circumstances have now inspired just under a third to embrace the solo travel trend. Originally, around 53 percent of European vacationers would have liked to travel with their partner, but now only 46 percent are convinced of that.
European comparison: German vacationers are not loners
In the ranking, German vacationers are the only ones who clearly prefer to travel with their partner (48 percent) than alone (38 percent). Solo vacationers, on the other hand, are found in the majority in the United Kingdom (48 percent) and Portugal (47 percent). Here the vacation with the partners stands behind. Meanwhile, in Spain, France and Italy, there is a balance between partner vacations and solo traveling.
Overall, Switzerland is the country with the most lone travelers: more than half (52 percent) of Swiss travelers booked trips for individuals. Portugal is in second place with 47 percent, followed by France with 42 percent and Germany with 38 percent. Scandinavians, on the other hand, clearly prefer to travel in company: 65 percent of all respondents from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden book their trips for more than one person.
Favorite destination for German solo vacationers: Palma de Mallorca and Lisbon
As confirmed in many years before: Mallorca is indeed the favorite destination of the Germans – even when traveling alone**. In Germany by far the most solo travelers named Palma de Mallorca as their favorite travel destination. Among Spaniards and Austrians, too, Palma de Mallorca is the most popular vacation location for solo travelers. When French and British travel alone, they prefer to go to Lisbon. Portugal's capital is also popular in this country, ranking fifth among the most popular solo travel destinations. In Switzerland, Porto is the most popular destination for solo travelers, with Lisbon coming in second.
The typical solo traveler: Thrifty and long-term traveler
Short trips are not particularly popular among solo travelers. The largest share of all solo vacationers (29 percent) plans to travel for 7-13 days – another fifth even wants to escape the daily grind for 21 or more days or visit relatives in faraway places. A total of 63 percent plan a vacation of at least 7 days. Germany lies here with 62 per cent in the average. Front runners are France and the Scandinavian countries, with two thirds each planning to travel for at least 7 days.
Single travelers from Spain, Italy and Austria are money-savers: on average, they pay the least for their flights to their vacation destinations. Italians spend an average of 220 euros, Spanish travelers around 221 euros and Austrians have an average of 235 euros. Germans make solo vacation cost 270 euros, which is mediocre and still below the European average of 283 euros. Travelers from the UK (336 euros), Switzerland (322 euros) and France (320 euros) are particularly generous.
Why Germans travel alone
In a previous survey, eDreams ODIGEO already shed light on Germans' reasons for going on a solo trip. German holidaymakers were particularly keen to have plenty of freedom to make their own decisions when traveling without fellow travellers. In addition, the respondents found that on vacation alone they are more likely to meet new people. Getting to know oneself better also showed to be an important factor. Experimentation, on the other hand, is the exception among German solo vacationers. As the results of the current evaluation show, the global Corona pandemic is also a criterion that makes travelers more likely to travel unaccompanied – according to 38 percent of respondents.