Despite economic uncertainty, Germans' desire to travel remains unbroken: A representative survey of PAYBACK customers shows that 74% of respondents are planning one or more trips in 2025. Stays of around one week (52%) are particularly popular, with city breaks (40%), vacation apartments (35%) and package tours (32%) being very popular. Europe remains the most popular destination at 70%, followed by Germany (58%). Long-distance travel is less in demand overall - only 10% are planning a trip to Asia, although younger people in particular are increasingly interested in destinations in Asia and North America. PAYBACK will be exhibiting for the first time at the world's largest tourism trade fair ITB Berlin (4-6 March 2025) to show how travelers and travel providers can benefit from the market-leading bonus program.
PAYBACK: Travel & points - now also at the ITB
More than 33 million active users reward themselves with PAYBACK points when shopping. As many as 13 million use the PAYBACK app to enjoy benefits and save money with more than 700 partners - including more than 60 travel providers such as TUI, meinReisebüro, Aida, Expedia, HolidayCheck, l'tur and Lufthansa. This is possible for everything from travel bookings and travel insurance to ordering photo books. “As a multi-partner bonus programme, we offer the travel industry a platform with immense reach to reach customers in a targeted and personalized way,” explains PAYBACK Managing Director Dominik Dommick. “Our latest survey shows that price awareness and savings opportunities play a key role for consumers, especially in the travel sector. Many therefore specifically use coupons and bonus points.”
Travel budget remains stable - priorities shift
According to the survey, most people's willingness to spend on travel remains stable: 54% plan to spend roughly the same amount of money as in 2024, 22% want to invest more and 12% are reducing their budget. Younger travelers are particularly willing to spend - the proportion of those who want to spend more is 33%. 36% of respondents are prepared to save in other areas of their lives in order to be able to afford a particular trip.
Online bookings continue to dominate
Travel is increasingly being booked online: 83% of PAYBACK customers have already booked a trip or part of a trip online, mostly via well-known travel and comparison portals such as Check24, Booking.com or Airbnb (73%). Price, destination and a simple, convenient booking process are the most important criteria for more than 90% of respondents when booking.
ITB Guest of Honour Albania - a destination with potential
It is interesting to see how this year's ITB Guest of Honour Albania is perceived: 53 percent know little about it, while 35 percent are interested in finding out more about Albania and 30 percent can imagine going on vacation there. 66 percent of respondents said they would generally like to learn more about other countries and cultures.
The PAYBACK ITB stand is located in Hall 9, Stand 302.
Graphics for the survey can be found here.