One in six Germans can't afford a holiday: study
Sixteen percent of Germans can’t afford to go on holiday for financial reasons, according to data from the European Statistical Office Eurostat.
Two groups were particularly affected in 2017: 32.6 percent of single parents with children and 24.7 percent of single people without children found that a week's holiday away from home was not possible.
The figures are collected in a European Union-wide annual survey on material deprivation. Throughout the EU, 30.5 percent of people could not afford a week's holiday last year.
The situation in Germany has improved in recent years, according to Eurostat. In 2016, 18.4 percent of respondents said they could not travel up from 23.7 percent in 2010. Since then, the percentage has has declined with slight fluctuations.
On Thursday, Left Party politician Sabine Zimmermann stressed the relationship between a lack of holiday travel and poverty.
"Especially during the holiday season it is of course bitter for children if they would like to travel, but it is not possible,” said Zimmermann. "People need more money in their pockets again," she said.
Under German law, Hartz IV social welfare recipients are supposed to reachable by local job centre. However, they can apply to be absent for up to three weeks of the year without a reduction in the amount of money they receive. Recipients don’t receive extra holiday pay.
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Two groups were particularly affected in 2017: 32.6 percent of single parents with children and 24.7 percent of single people without children found that a week's holiday away from home was not possible.
The figures are collected in a European Union-wide annual survey on material deprivation. Throughout the EU, 30.5 percent of people could not afford a week's holiday last year.
The situation in Germany has improved in recent years, according to Eurostat. In 2016, 18.4 percent of respondents said they could not travel up from 23.7 percent in 2010. Since then, the percentage has has declined with slight fluctuations.
On Thursday, Left Party politician Sabine Zimmermann stressed the relationship between a lack of holiday travel and poverty.
"Especially during the holiday season it is of course bitter for children if they would like to travel, but it is not possible,” said Zimmermann. "People need more money in their pockets again," she said.
Under German law, Hartz IV social welfare recipients are supposed to reachable by local job centre. However, they can apply to be absent for up to three weeks of the year without a reduction in the amount of money they receive. Recipients don’t receive extra holiday pay.
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