Why traveling in summer 2022 was chaotic
From never-ending lines at airports to crowded trains, drought and wildfires in vacation areas, travel in the summer of 2022 was fraught with challenges. Here's a recap of the travel season.
Cheap train tickets come at a cost
To ease the burden on citizens and make train travel more attractive, the German government initiated the 9-Euro-Ticket. In June, July and August, anyone could use regional buses and trains throughout Germany for just €9 ($9) a month. Over 52 million tickets were sold and crowded trains with plenty of delays were the result. But there's a silver lining: The cheap ticket will be back!
Airport chaos
Anyone intent on having a vacation in Europe had to be stress-resistant this summer. Since most airlines and airports cut staff massively during the pandemic period, chaos broke out when the summer travel rush began. Travelers had to wait hours at check-in and security checkpoints, like here at Düsseldorf Airport. Many flights were also canceled.
Ready to relax on crowded beaches?
After two years with few tourists, many popular vacation spots were ill-prepared to deal with the onslaught of travelers. Plans to avoid overcrowding which were carefully prepared during the last two years fell to the wayside as even lesser-known vacation spots filled with travelers, like here on the beach of Cala Pi on the Spanish island of Mallorca.
The beach in front, a wildfire behind
Due to the very hot and dry weather this summer in many parts of Europe, large forest fires broke out all over the continent, including at southern French seaside resort of Pyla sur Mer (pictured). Although the sky is black with smoke, tourists continued to swim peacefully.
More boats than water
In some parts of Europe, such as Lac de Sainte-Croix reservoir in southern France (pictured) water levels were extremely low. The sun, heat and lack of precipitation created a drought that the French Prime Minister called the worst ever recorded in France. Yet a vacation is still a vacation, and canoeists and standup paddlers made the most of it.
Hello again, tourists
Crowded streets and squares, lots of noise, garbage and high rents — there were many reasons the inhabitants of Barcelona were fed up with mass tourism. With the onset of the pandemic, the city was able to recover, since only a fraction of the tourists came. This summer, however, the masses were back, and with them the problems. The city has now established some new rules for tourists.
New rules for tour groups
At the end of July 2022, Barcelona limited tour groups to a maximum of 30 people within the city and 15 people in the old town. In addition, groups of more than 15 people are no longer allowed to shop in certain markets. Also, tourist groups may now only stand in certain squares, and tour guides are prohibited from using megaphones.
Finding the balance
In recent years, the inhabitants of Venice suffered greatly from overtourism. 2020 and 2021 were the exception, as the COVID-19 pandemic meant fewer tourists, particularly those from outside of Europe with whom Venice is especially popular. But not everyone was happy with this extreme drop in tourists. Sales were down by 80% in some locations and many businesses had to close.
A solution to overtourism in Venice
Although only 50,000 people live in the historical center of Venice, before the pandemic, up to 33 million tourists came each year — that's 90,000 per day. The overwhelmed city devised a plan which requires tourists visiting Venice for the day to pay an entry fee of €3-10 ($3-$10) per day, depending on the season. It comes into effect as of January 2023. Will it work?
Travel at any cost
Yet paying a fee to enter a city may not stop tourists, since rising prices didn't seem to be an obstacle to traveling this summer. The cost of taking a vacation was especially high due to rising inflation, rising food prices, and the increasing cost of energy and gasoline. Fuel used for airplanes is also on the rise, yet nevertheless, vacation-hungry people eagerly booked flights and hotels.
The revenge of the pandemic
"Revenge travel" is a term that was coined to describe the fact that many people were eager to travel abroad after two difficult pandemic years, despite the flight chaos, high inflation, and other challenges. It was almost as if travel in the summer of 2022 was taking revenge on the coronavirus dampening travel plans in previous years. The Acropolis in Athens remained a popular destination.
Plenty of sun and a cheap ticket in Germany
Although German cities lack the tourist crowds of Barcelona and Venice, plenty of tourists still came to Germany this summer. Not only was it the sunniest summer ever, with 817 hours of sunshine, the €9 ($9) train ticket available in June, July and August was another draw. Tourists took advantage of both and headed to popular spots like the Bastei Bridge in Saxon Switzerland (pictured).