Holidays are a luxury for more and more Germans

More than a third of German workers find it difficult or impossible to take a holiday financially, and almost half are forced to cut back on their holiday this year.

This is according to a June survey by the German Social Association (SoVD), according to which German families are facing additional stress during the holidays this year, as one fifth of parents with children up to 18 years of age find it difficult to cover the costs of leisure activities such as swimming pools, zoos and cinemas.

These results confirm official figures that almost one in five children in Germany lives in poverty.

When it comes to their financial situation for holidays, young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 are particularly affected, as almost 40% have some to extreme difficulty covering their costs.

Differences also arise based on education level, as more than 70% of Germans with or without a secondary school diploma report difficulty in affording a vacation, almost half with a secondary school diploma, and more than one in four with a high school diploma.

Young Germans and those with a lower level of education are particularly affected, resulting in a sense of exclusion, which, if a large part of the population loses its sense of participation, will threaten social cohesion in the long term, as the survey points out.

As the president of the SoVD, Michaela Engelmeier, points out, if relaxation and social participation become a luxury for many, something is not right at all and emphasizes that the crises of recent years have left deep marks, from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine to the significant increase in the cost of living as a result of inflation in recent years.

This no longer only affects people at risk of poverty or those receiving basic social benefits, but also the wider middle class of society, stresses Ms Engelmeier, who calls on politicians to implement tangible relief measures to address the growing social divide.

In this context, she proposes relief measures for Germans on low and middle incomes, such as...

designing cultural, leisure, and educational activities so that they are accessible to all

limiting price increases for basic goods such as energy and transport

investing in social infrastructure and affordable and accessible housing

a minimum wage to protect against poverty and significantly higher coverage through collective bargaining

better conditions for balancing family and work life, so that employees can extend their working hours when they wish.