Despite people feeling affected by the economical crisis, there are little or no signs of general cancellation of travel plans. That is the conclusion scientists draw from studies and surveys about Germans' vacation plans.

Although 15% of the interviewees felt influenced by the economy's downturn, of the 76% of Germans who take holidays abroad only 3% indicated they would change their plans this year.

Speakers at ITB Berlin have even ventured the prediction there will be no discount rally for summer vacations. "Holidays are a beloved usage of our people, like the fir tree for Christmas", Professor Martin Lohmann from Kiel university in Northern Germany said during the introduction of the FUR Travel Analysis ("Reiseanalyse"), which is a highlight among the ITB events and is attentively followed by the public.

Scientists like Lohmann speculate that the tourists, instead of remaining at home, try to cut costs at their final destination, for example through dining more cheaply or going for shopping only once a week instead of the daily mall experience. The number of short trips and additional trips , however, is expected to be reduced, they believe.

To closely watch and limit their budget has become very important for many middle class people, and as a result the demand for all-inclusive-packages is anticpated to increase, particularly where food and beverages are included and activities like sports do not cost extra.

Another trend is critical, the disappearance of the middle class itself. Since 2001 the number of middle class travelers has declined by about 2.2 million people, whereas luxury travel grew 1.6 million and low airfare users by about 1.63 million. This also explains  why premium products are not as affected by the crisis as middle class packages.

The FUR travel analysis surveyed nearly 8,000 people during January and February of this year. The number of indecisive respondents, who were still uncertain when and where to travel, was estimated at about two million people – representing an interesting target group for the travel industry.

The competitor of FUR is the German Foundation for Future Questions (Stiftung fuer Zukunftsfragen), which a few weeks earlier published much more dramatic figures about travel plans not yet made:  Scientist and head of the foundation,  Horst W. Opaschowski, came to the conclusion that about 35% of the people are indecisive, an amount which has not risen to such levels in the last 25 years.

The overriding conclusion to be drawn is that European holidaymakers are going to be seeking out those all-inclusive bundles more typical of resort hotels than the imaginative out of the way luxury spots.