Tourism Economy – what exactly is it?

The companies in tourism are very diverse, ranging from large hotel chains in cities and beer gardens in rural areas to amusement parks, castle gardens, and museums. This also includes mobility services such as taxi and coach operators, travel agencies, cruise ships. And of course, many industries that partially depend on tourists: nightclubs, shops in high-traffic areas, suppliers to tourism businesses.

You see: The tourism and leisure economy is a cross-sectional industry, diverse and incredibly exciting. What connects us: We welcome guests and ensure they have a great time. Our mission is the well-being of people – we make Germany livable. Unfortunately, the importance of our businesses continues to be underestimated.

In what way?

During the Corona lockdowns, tourism businesses were the first to close and the last to reopen. To politicians, they seemed the most dispensable. This continues to bother many entrepreneurs – after all, we are an economically influential industry with significant value creation within Germany. And this will intensify: vacations within the country are trending. No wonder: in terms of sustainability, standards, and infrastructure, local offerings are hard to beat.

But long-distance travel also remains popular. However, Germany is the only country in Europe where airport occupancy has not returned to pre-Corona levels. This is also due to fees and charges – the highest in Europe. This deters airlines, and some are restricting air traffic to and from Germany. This is a competitive disadvantage for domestic tourism – and for the economy overall.

What other challenges are you facing?

As mentioned, most companies do not complain about a lack of demand. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet this demand: we lack skilled and, above all, workers. The willingness to work where others vacation is dwindling. Many employees left our businesses during the lockdowns and have not returned: traditional hotels, for instance, still have a quarter fewer employees than in 2019. Not only highly qualified workers are desperately sought – even for activities that require neither training nor prior experience, fewer and fewer applicants are coming forward.

For this reason, we as the tourism and leisure economy have to organize ourselves better. Due to the diversity of businesses, there are numerous industry associations in tourism, each fighting for itself. This is understandable, but together we are stronger. If we want to draw better attention to our legitimate interests, we must think across industries. And that's what I like about the IHK idea: working together instead of against each other to achieve something for everyone.