This “extremely warm” autumn weather certainly did not harm the 2024 summer tourism balance, understates Tobias Woitendorf, head of the state tourism association. While the industry otherwise complains about the increasing short-term nature of bookings, which is difficult to plan and has been observed since Corona at the latest due to various uncertainties, this time it benefits a positive overall balance: many people are enjoying late warmth, lots of sun and therefore a golden autumn after a mixed season Those wanting to relax were spontaneously “washed” to the northeast.
Autumn got a lot out of it
“The weather definitely boosted the demand from holidaymakers and the satisfaction of the hosts,” says Woitendorf. This means there will be a total of 33 million overnight stays in the northeast in 2024, he cautiously estimates. Although autumn, with its warm weeks, saved a lot: Woitendorf counts three million overnight guests during this short period alone. It is therefore significantly higher than last autumn.
Tobias Woitendorf (Photo: Bernd Wüstneck/dpa)
The very warm September, for example, once again ensured a high total number of bathers: the three public bathing areas in Waren saw a total of 100,000 bathers in the 2024 season. 70,000 water lovers cooled off in the Volksbad alone, according to a current balance sheet for the large Müritz town.
The trend is towards more short vacations
A balance that the regional Mecklenburg Lake District Tourism Association also endorses. “The main season started slowly, but gained momentum with the summer holidays and better weather,” says association boss Robert Neidel when asked. In his opinion, a slight decline in overnight stays reflects a change in travel behavior: short vacations are increasing, while price sensitivity is increasing and booking behavior is becoming more flexible. In addition, guests are on average somewhat more economical, especially in the catering and leisure sectors.
The Western Pomerania Tourism Association also sums up a positive development of the season compared to the previous year, with an increase of 3.2 percent in overnight stays on the Western Pomerania mainland from January to July. Demand has stabilized, but the bed quota has not always been used, especially in the rainy summer months. “The pre-bookings for the main season went well again,” says association employee Sven Köppert. “We are therefore cautiously optimistic for the remaining months.” This is combined with the note: “Interested guests can still book many beautiful accommodations in Western Pomerania in autumn!”
Only a small proportion of new guests
The proportion of regular guests in MV is very high and continues to increase, observes Tobias Woitendorf. “On the one hand, this is of course pleasing, but on the other hand, it is worrying because Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was unfortunately not able to attract significantly new guests this year. Only around eight percent of our guests were here for the first time.” The head of the tourism association would like to see this differently.
Woitendorf sees a reason for this, among other things, in the price increases, the shortage of workers, especially in the management and reception areas, and the crises as a whole. “Traditionally, East German vacationers in particular remain loyal to the northeast: Saxons, Thuringians, Berliners, Brandenburgers. These people are particularly price sensitive.”
On the other hand, the holiday destination can still report one positive aspect: a disproportionate number of foreign tourists were here in 2024: Dutch, Scandinavians, Poles, albeit at a “delicate level”. This increase proves that the association is right in the efforts it has recently started away from home. This year we’re going to Vienna to score points with MV in the Alpine countries.
The proportion of dissatisfied people in the industry is quite high
However, many hosts do not agree with last season. What’s new this time is the very high proportion of those who are rather dissatisfied, who actually make up the largest proportion at more than a third of all tourism professionals.
The industry is now continuing to focus on the autumn campaign. “We hope that a lot will happen,” said Woitendorf. Contiguous travel times such as Reformation Day, which together with a bridge day can turn into a long weekend, give him hope. “Autumn with its wealth of colors should continue to provide an attractive ‘time out’ for city dwellers in the country,” he advertises, pointing to crane tours, events such as the castle autumn, culinary events such as the game weeks and much more.
