No vacation in the East because of the AfD? How the media wants to create a crisis
Are vacationers avoiding the East because of the AfD? The Tagesspiegel newspaper, in particular, is diligently perpetuating this myth. This time, it's hitting the city of Wittenberge hard. It's not just there that people are horrified.
It wasn't particularly warm on the Whitsun weekend, even though it was already the beginning of June. In the town of Wittenberge in Brandenburg, a woman who runs a small guesthouse there lost her nerve. This is how she described it herself in a letter she sent to various German newspapers: "We're staring at our cell phones and hoping that guests will still find their way to us." The woman wrote that her guesthouse had done well for nine years, but this year, guests were staying away. She also had a guess as to why this was: the high election results for the AfD in eastern Germany. Many hoteliers were struggling with a significant decline in guest numbers, she claimed. The restaurants in her town were also empty.
The Tagesspiegel newspaper published the letter in full, initially without conducting any research into it. It kicked off a whole series of articles revolving around the question: Can, should, or is it still allowed to spend one's holidays in the East?
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) also picked up on the guesthouse's letter. By calling the guesthouse, the FAZ editor discovered that guests were canceling their rooms because their plans had changed, or without giving any reason. Apparently, no one had cited the AfD or the political climate in the East as a reason for their cancellation.
But the operator believes it must be due to a sense of unease among potential guests, the text stated. So the whole thing was just a guess, a bad feeling. For some topics, that's apparently enough; it fits perfectly with the image many editorial offices paint of the East. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) also refrained from further research, from asking what the situation really was like in the East, or even in Brandenburg, or whether the tourism industry was actually suffering from a wave of cancellations. That would have ruined the nice headline: "Who wants to vacation among Nazis?"
The Berliner Zeitung surveyed all eastern German states – not a single one reported a decline in vacationer numbers. Still not, it must be said. Even after the federal election in February, media outlets ranging from the Ostsee-Zeitung to Bild and Spiegel reported that vacationers might now avoid the east. A hotel operator from the Rostock district expressed concern in several interviews that guests would stay away, and on social media, a few users wrote that they wanted to boycott the east because the AfD had become the strongest party there. There was no evidence, only speculation. But that was enough to spark reports across Germany about a possible wave of cancellations in the east. Even then, when contacted by the Berliner Zeitung, all eastern German states replied that there had been no such wave. Each of the five states stated that they were not aware of a single cancellation that a guest had cited the AfD election result as the reason.
Nevertheless, something seems to have stuck with the many articles that speculated rather than reported. A bad feeling, as it did for the guesthouse owner from Wittenberge. In the East, vacationers are staying away because of the AfD; this story apparently sounds too good for some to simply give up on. The Tagesspiegel, in particular, is diligently pursuing it. The opinions of its own readers, among others, have to serve as evidence. From a comment forum on its own website. Anonymous, often aggressive voices.
Tagesspiegel reader about the East: “A pity for the beautiful landscape”The newspaper used this source to create another article with the headline: “It’s impossible to go on holiday when 40 percent of people vote for Nazis.” It also included a photo of three bald men, taken from behind. An anonymous reader said that in every bar in the East he had to listen to the ranting about refugees, “everywhere” really, and that it was “a shame for the beautiful countryside.” Another called the East “drive-thru states.” Federal states that you can only drive through without stopping. Above all, however, readers are of the opinion that in the East “it’s going to happen as it had to happen” because tourists are moving to “more civilized areas.” The speculation in the media has created a reality of its own for these readers.
There still doesn't appear to be a tourism crisis in the east. The tourism authorities of the five federal states also reported this to the Berliner Zeitung at the beginning of July. While bookings were rather "subdued" in the first few months of the year, as was the case throughout Germany, the situation has been improving since then. Figures from the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga) show that the German travel year indeed got off to a rather weak start across the country. Hotels and guesthouses in Hamburg were best booked from January to March, while Rhineland-Palatinate was the worst. Neither of these was likely due to political reasons.
Booking situation in the East: What the five federal states say
In Saxony-Anhalt, there are still no known cancellations due to the AfD election results, says Sabine Kraus from the state's investment and marketing company. Bookings in all eight travel regions are good, and spring was already very good in Magdeburg and Dessau-Roßlau. A reliable forecast for the summer is not yet available – because many people are now booking their vacations at very short notice. Officials from Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg also report this. All agree: This is also a Germany-wide trend. Are hoteliers in Saxony-Anhalt following the discussion about whether vacations in the east are still possible? Sabine Kraus writes that she has forwarded this question statewide. Among other things, she has received concerns that the ongoing debate could have a deterrent effect. In Saxony, they are optimistic about booking numbers for the summer, says Ines Nebelung from the state's tourism marketing department. Vacation packages for families with children are particularly well booked. "We are not aware of any cancellations due to the AfD election results." In January 2025, Saxony was named the most hospitable federal state by the booking platform Booking.com. Neither guest numbers nor revenues have collapsed in his state since the last elections, says Christoph Grösel, head of Thuringian Tourism. Thuringia reached a "historic record" in 2024: ten million overnight stays by tourists. A survey of hotels and guesthouses showed that three out of four operators are satisfied with the booking situation for the summer holidays. In the Thuringian Forest and other "rural nature regions," many bookings are already well booked, especially on weekends; in Weimar and Erfurt, advance bookings are good from August to October. Grösel says more clearly than other tourism promoters from the east that the media reports worry him. "Recently, even individual cancellations have been multiplied and discussed so enormously in the media that the impression of politically motivated reluctance to travel to Thuringia is created," he says. The ongoing reporting on the "supposedly xenophobic" East is severely damaging Thuringia's image as a "friendly host country." Above all, it ignores the reality on the ground. "Form your own opinion!" pleads Christoph Grösel. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is the only federal state in the East to already report booking figures for the summer. Based on advance bookings, occupancy is expected to reach 81 percent in July, and even 82 percent in August, according to the tourism association for the entire state. This is just as good for July as it was in 2024, and even slightly better for August.
And in Brandenburg, the state from which the concerned guesthouse owner contacted us? The holiday season there seems to be going particularly well since spring. In April, the number of overnight stays was already ten percent higher than the previous year, says Patrick Kastner of Tourismus Marketing Brandenburg GmbH. Summer weekends are already very well booked. The number of followers on the state's social media channels is growing, with only a few polemical comments.
Mayor of Wittenberge: “Rather too few accommodations”In Wittenberge, the guesthouse owner herself declined to comment on the matter. Mayor Oliver Hermann said he could not confirm that "everywhere is dead" in his town. There are minor problems he does not want to hide. They have nothing to do with the AfD. But the Elbe cycle path, which runs through the town, is no longer the best in a ranking, but only the second-best cycle path in Germany. "When it comes to cycle tourism, we really have to see how the season goes," says Hermann. Furthermore, Deutsche Bahn will be closing the line between Berlin and Hamburg, on which Wittenberge is located, starting in August, making the town more difficult to reach.
Otherwise, however, he mostly hears "that we don't have enough accommodations." This despite the fact that the city actually added 70 beds last year. Things are going well in Wittenberge, and there's also business tourism, says the mayor, who, like many in the east, doesn't belong to a political party. The articles about the city's alleged tourism crisis have "caused more outrage" locally.
Take Lutz Lange, for example. He owns seven hotels: one in Bavaria, two in Thuringia, and four in Wittenberge, Brandenburg, including the "Elbe Resort Alte Ölmühle."
Poor booking numbers? Fewer guests? "No," says Lange, "we're seeing even more visitors than in recent years, tourists from all over Germany and Europe."
Lutz Lange accuses the Tagesspiegel of turning a letter to the editor into a campaign. His son, Jan Lange, is the Brandenburg vice president of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association. He quickly visited the guesthouse, whose owner had written to the Tagesspiegel, and determined that the poor booking figures weren't caused by Nazis, but rather by the conditions: rooms without private bathrooms, advertising on a dedicated website rather than on online platforms like Booking.com, and all guests sit at one large table for breakfast.
East German hotelier: Media reports “further divide our society”Lutz Lange says: "My accusation is that the Tagesspiegel is simply copying. I would have expected someone to pick up the phone and do proper research. That's not right; it further divides our society. I simply expect something different from reputable newspapers."
His son inquired at other Wittenberg hotels and restaurants. All said bookings were better than in previous years. The owners of a Persian restaurant said they had never encountered hostility from right-wing extremists.
The Tagesspiegel report on the alleged Nazis in Wittenberge appeared shortly before the Small Town Congress, says Lutz Lange. The town was proud to have been awarded the contract in a nationwide competition. 300 visitors from across the country were expected, even from Austria. Wittenberge was intended to serve as a positive example, proof of how well a town in the East had developed. "We were a marginalized region after the fall of the Wall, you can truly say that," says Lange. Mayor Hermann has also established a Small Town Academy, which is to move into the old train station building.
Lutz Lange recounts how he started in the 1990s "as a two-man operation, with nothing." Now he has 610 employees covered by social security contributions, including 25 apprentices. He also employs Syrians, Afghans, and Georgians. "We're a family business; my three sons and my wife are involved. We're on the right track; our region is developing well."
Jan Lange called the Tagesspiegel newspaper and told the editorial team what the real situation is in Wittenberge. "We have to fight back," he said, "otherwise they'll do whatever they want to us." The newspaper published another report and finally gave other hosts from Wittenberge a chance to speak. All of them said there was no tourism crisis in their town.
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Berliner-zeitung
