A significant digitalization effort in Germany’s tourist sector was sparked by the COVID outbreak. Despite the fact that a lot of progress has been done, a big problem is the staffing deficit.
Nowadays, it is common practice to plan and purchase a vacation online. Searching social media sites like Instagram and YouTube for travel ideas is also acceptable. As a result, in order to remain competitive, travel agencies and hotel chains need to adapt to the digital era and make sure that potential tourists can locate and book their products online. However, adoption of the digital solutions has been sluggish in the German tourist sector. However, many people were forced to become digital when the COVID epidemic struck.
In 2020 and 2021, many Germans chose to stay home for their holidays since travel restrictions due to the epidemic made it impossible to go overseas. Germany’s beaches were crowded with vacationers during the warmer months, and many hotels and campgrounds had weeks-long waitlists. Additionally, a lot of tourism-related businesses started advertising online. An official from the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry (BTW) tells DW that the coronavirus epidemic “motivated and pushed small firms in particular to embrace digitalization.”
Virtual menus, online booking, and reservation systems, as well as contact-free check-in alternatives, are just a few of the innovations that hotels and restaurants have implemented recently. 84% of firms claimed the pandemic had prompted the industry’s digital transformation, according to a 2021 study by the German Tourism Association (DTV).
Today, visitors to Germany’s East Frisian Islands may make reservations for restaurants and check into hotels using a specialized app. online booking and payment are available for beach chairs in Germany’s well-known North Sea or Baltic Sea coasts. Additionally, tourists going to spa towns may now purchase virtual visitors’ cards, giving them access to a variety of discounts and free beach access.
Germany has achieved improvement in certain areas, but not in all of them. Let’s say you want to make a cashless payment. German companies still rely heavily on cash, but card payments are extensively accepted in Denmark, Poland, and Lithuania.
A lack of public wifi, sluggish internet, and bad phone connection are among the things you could encounter while traveling in rural Germany.
