Contribution to an anthology
Year of publication: 2022
Authors:Eilzer, Christian, Harms, Tim
01.01.2020-31.12.2022
Following the first survey in 2019, the German Institute for Tourism Research (which emerged from the IMT) conducted its second representative survey in October 2020 of German-speaking Internet users aged 16 to 75 living in private households. This survey was also conducted by the market research firm Ipsos.
In addition to repeating most of the questions from 2019—with the aim of obtaining time-series comparisons—a special section was added in 2020 to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on demand in hiking tourism. The results show that shifts in leisure behavior—including a shift toward hiking tourism in Germany—can be observed.
The results of the survey were incorporated during the 2020–2021 winter semester into the seminar “Success Factors for Destinations in the Context of a Growing Hiking Tourism Industry” in the bachelor’s program “International Tourism Management” at FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences as a data foundation for preparing qualitative follow-up methods. The objective of the seminar is to use selected regions to determine which factors are important for a region to benefit from its hiking infrastructure and from hiking tourism as a whole.
A detailed analysis of the study can be found in the results report, which is available for download. Here are some key findings from the study:
Three-quarters of respondents go hiking at least sometimes. Nearly one in five (19.6%) go hiking very often, another 17.7% of respondents go hiking often, and 37.9% go hiking sometimes.
For just under one-third of respondents (30.2%), a hike begins at 60 minutes; for 15.5%, however, it begins only at 120 minutes, while for 13.5% of respondents, a hike begins as early as 30 minutes.
Among the reasons for hiking, “experiencing nature” was rated as the most important by 81.3% of hikers (Top 2 Box on a scale from 1 = “very unimportant” to 5 = “very important”). The motivations “getting some exercise, being active” (75.3%), “doing something for my health” (71.9%), “clearing one’s head” (68.6%), and “having fun” (63.0%) are also rated as (very) important by many hikers.
The majority of hikers (51.9%) always or very often use the signage in the area as a navigation aid (scale from 1 = “always” to 5 = “never,” top-2-box value). Other frequently used orientation aids include overview maps along the trail (43.1%), smartphones or cell phones (38.8%), as well as route descriptions from hiking guides (35.2%) and hiking maps (34.6%), while 36.6% of hikers always or very often rely on their instincts or hike without any aids.
For 65.9% of hikers, it is (very) important to find route signage or trail markers along the hiking trail. Viewpoints (62.9%) and a trail that blends into the landscape (60.5%) are also rated by a large majority of hikers as (very) important local infrastructure elements. Furthermore, the majority of hikers would like to see benches or picnic areas (52.9%) and a well-maintained trail (51.7%).
Hiking on Vacation During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The following results pertain to vacations that included hiking since March 2020—that is, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. 32.0% of hikers took a vacation in Germany that included hiking between March and early October 2020 (at the time of the survey). At 56.7%, the majority of these vacations had been planned before the pandemic began; however, this also means that 43.3% of the vacations were planned during the pandemic.