Spanish holidaymakers in the Black Forest: “We are flying because of the heat”

Extreme temperatures, devastating forest fires: some headlines from southern Europe make you less keen on a holiday in the south. Many Spaniards agree – and prefer to travel to the Black Forest.

“We are flying to escape this terrible heat that is currently prevailing in Madrid,” says Guillermo Sarasibar when asked why he, as a Spaniard, chose to go on holiday to the Black Forest. The region in southwest Germany no longer seems to be an insider tip among Spaniards: locals already call a section of beach on Lake Titisee “Little Barcelona” and you hear Spanish everywhere instead of Baden dialect.

The statistics seem to confirm this impression: From 2022 to 2023, the number of Spanish overnight guests in the Upper Black Forest increased by more than 50 percent. There are no figures for the current year yet, but: “We assume that we will see another increase in Spanish guests,” a spokeswoman for the local tourism company told tagesschau.deAlthough three quarters of the tourists in the Upper Black Forest are still Germans, followed by guests from neighboring Switzerland, tourists from Spain and other southern European countries are also increasingly coming to the region.

Climate change is having an impact on tourism

The reason for this is obvious – at least if you ask the Spanish tourists themselves: “It's 42 degrees in Seville, you can't even go out on the street,” says Maricarmen Marcías Pérez. Her children have fared much better here in the Black Forest. Mireia Romo confirms this: she traveled from Barcelona with her husband and children. “It's almost unbearable in Spain at the moment,” she says: “In summer, many people prefer to travel north.”

And many German tourists are no longer drawn too far south for their summer holidays. “I'm glad that we are at an altitude of 850 meters,” says Klaus Strümper about the region around Lake Titisee. He traveled here from Gladbeck in North Rhine-Westphalia. In general, he also likes to fly south, but no longer in summer: “The temperatures are now so high that it is much more pleasant here.”

Due to inflation: guests are more price-conscious

Klaus Strümper, his wife and a couple of friends, checked into the Seehotel Wiesler for his Black Forest vacation: a wellness hotel where many older people, but also young families, go on vacation. The cheapest double room costs around 100 euros per person, and with a lake view it costs at least 130 euros. Due to inflation, hotelier Klaus-Günther Wiesler had to increase room prices slightly again this season.

Wiesler has not noticed that guests are foregoing their vacation because of this: Now, during the high season, his hotel is once again fully booked. Nevertheless, he notices: “The guests are more price-conscious.”

Prices have risen in the catering industry

This is particularly evident in the hotel restaurant. Here, the price increases are even more significant: “We had to increase by twelve percent,” says Wiesler, blaming the increase in VAT for the catering industry for this: “We don't like to pass this on,” he says, referring to the higher costs: “But we are forced to.

This year, more guests had to forego the more expensive half-board with dinner and only book overnight stays with breakfast. And even those who eat dinner in the hotel restaurant are more frugal: “Instead of a bottle of wine, people prefer to order just a quarter liter,” observed Wiesler.

But prices have also risen in other European countries. “It's still cheaper here than in France,” say Catherine and Patrice Oudot, who have traveled from the neighboring country. They live not far from the German-French border and didn't have to travel far to get to the Black Forest – unlike the tourists from Spain. But they are sure that the trip was worth it, and not just because of the pleasant temperatures. “We just feel at home here,” says Guillermo Sarasibar: “The German and Spanish cultures go well together.”