Current information about German tourism

Updated May 2025

Finland's position in the market

Finland and the Nordics are considered as widely safe and problem free area and relatively close to main European source market in travel. Within the Nordic context Finland is a leading winter holiday destination in Central Europe with Lapland practically meaning Finnish Lapland.

Our market share of the Nordics outside winter is only below 8 % and even if we take further distance, less accessibility, less marketing resources and less known as summer holiday destination into calculation: we are behind our potential.

The importance of flight connections can’t be underestimated, as for example Sweden and Denmark are easily reachable with a car and train, so they already have a head start when comparing accessibility.

Pandemic and geopolitical tensions have changed Finland’s possibilities as well: different crises have “closed” many destinations, but the world is open wide and Asian destinations are trending with eastern Mediterranean making very dynamic marketing with low prices.

Finlands visibility in media has been higher and according to the Reiseanalyse 2024 the awareness of Finland as holiday destination has risen remarkably since 2016 and has reached Swedens awareness above 80 % of the population. Our conclusion is that Finland is well known generally, but our regions and holiday offer are not.

Consumer trends and behavior

Relaxation and wellness: nature experiences, sustainability, camping remain the biggest trends at the Finland audience during summer. Our classic consumer segment is the outdoor explorer: the outdoor explorer is travelling with own car or a camper and uses less services as very independent.

The role of tour operators remains high for certain segments like sun & beach holiday and in Finland winter holidays in Lapland have higher share of package tours. On the other hand, summer holidays are commonly booked at suppliers and OTAs if at all: package tour is less than 10 % of market in the summer.

Finland’s largest potential customer segments are the less independent Nature lovers and lifestyle travellers, who are looking for a bit less adventure with stay at one resort or a prebooked arrangement.

Many uncertainties in bother consumers in the first half of 2025 which is influencing booking behaviour for holidays. At this point we do see that demand for Finland remains stable.

In 2025, several interesting holiday trends are emerging in Germany:

1. Increased Travel Plans: About 30% of Germans plan to travel more for leisure in 2025 compared to 2024
2. Solo Travel: Nearly one-third of Germans (28%) often travel alone
3. Nostalgia: Many Germans (39%) with children are choosing destinations they would have liked to visit as kids
4. Relaxation and Wellness: A significant number of travelers prioritize rest and relaxation, with 58% traveling to recharge. Beach holidays are also popular, with 34% enjoying coastal destinations
5. Sustainability: There's a growing emphasis on eco-friendly and socially responsible travel
6. Tech and Personalization: Younger travelers are embracing technology and personalized experiences, although they often struggle to disconnect from their smartphones

Industry update and distribution channels

Distribution channels in Germany are unique globally as there a strong tour operator-travel agency network with 50 % market share in all leisure trips.

At this moment some 600 tour operators offer leisure trips to Finland. Most of the tour operators offer only few group coach tours, usually bought from Service Reisen Giessen, who brings a large volume of overnights with its own selling agency SR travel.

For classic package tour operators touring is the main product in the FIT segment and the range of operators is big from global players like TUI or Der Touristik to small boutique travel agencies with themed tours. Studiosus Reisen, Tuja Reisen, Fintouring, Wikinger Reisen, Arktis Tours, Vianova Reisen, Feelgood Reisen, Zonista are a few of the better-known tour operators with a Finland offer.

German outbound market is significantly influenced by OTAs. The biggest Online Travel Agencies in Germany include:

1. Booking.com: Dominates the market with the largest share, 30 %.
2. Expedia Group: A major player globally and in Germany with 25% market share.
3. HRS: Popular for business travel bookings, 15%.
4. Lastminute.com: Known for spontaneous travel deals, 10%.
5. eDreams: Offers a wide range of travel options, 8% market share.

A common misunderstanding is that travel agency bookings are “offline”. Today only a few tailored tours are “on request” manually and can be a part of a complex upmarket service for customer that wish something special. Also, this part of the business is transferring to DMCs as the tour operators do not have enough resources for extensive own production.The role of incomings and DMCs is increasing of two reasons mainly: lack of staff and guest management in the destination.

Accessibility has been increasing rapidly to Lapland, also other destinations like Turku, Oulu and Vaasa able come to prepandemic levels of connectivity options and volume.

Finland travel USP's

Nature combined with Finland other main USPs happiness, freedom to roam, thousand lakes and Finnish wellbeing-sauna are all highly potential for our audiences. Safety and sustainability play an increasingly big role in travel decisions.

Finland owns Santa Claus and it works in Germany. Christmas is one of the main holidays with new year celebration which are often combined, and both together form a peak winter travel season.

Are our USP strong enough to drive business? Absolutely, but we might lose the client if we do not give availability for our products. Especially online channels are not "on request" and a clear “call to action” is critical for success.

We should also remember key selling points which complete our promise for the chosen holiday. Be it Winter Wonderland with huskies and Northern lights or chilling at your own rented cottage at your own beach enjoying the endless light during the summer clear & easy narratives should be used to inspire our prospects.

It is also a fact that we seem lack hit products that link to our USPs. So, our recommendation is to discover better ways to use the USPs in communication, stack USP in tour suggestions and highlight the benefits for consumers more.

Sustainability is something we can own with the other Nordics and maybe we should conclude that sustainability is always inclusive in a Finland holiday. Now for ca. 8 % sustainability is the decisive factor when choosing a holiday product but around 70 % are reacting positively to the theme. In other words: Sustainability can be a competitive advantage for Finland and sustainable holidays in Finland should sell well on the German market.

Future outlook and upcoming season

Here are some of the biggest travel trends for 2025 in Germany: consumer demand is not quick to change, and the competition is fierce on a large marketplace like Germany.

Germans love to travel, and many make even several holiday trips a year. Germans make 70 million long holidays a year and 90 million short holidays 2-5 days. Expenditure is reaching 100 billion 2025 trade hopes. Nordics are growing but together only 4 % of the market is travelling to the north.

1. Early Booking Offers: Over 71% of Germans plan their vacations early and take advantage of early booking offers to secure the best spots.
2. Package Holidays: Classics like Spain, Turkey, Egypt, Greece, and Portugal remain very popular for package holidays.
3. Exotic Long-Haul Destinations: Thailand, the Maldives, and the Dominican Republic are the top long-haul destinations for 2025.
4. Social Media Inspiration: Many Germans get inspired for their travels from social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.
5. Bleisure Travel: The combination of business and leisure travel is becoming more popular, with travelers exploring the surroundings after their business appointments.
6. Backyard Tourism: Exploring local treasures close to home is becoming increasingly popular, with Germans discovering the gems of their own country.

The winter has been developing well and the booking figures for summer are stable. The news of Finnlines renewing their fleet on the Travemünde-Helsinki route gives us the possibility to develop our overland tourism and even double the figures with the next 5-6 years. To reach that we need more products at the market.