Many people in Germany do not have the money to go on vacation for just one week a year - this often affects single parents in particular. "The inflation monster will further increase the gap between travelers and those who stay," says Left Party leader Bartsch.
More than every fifth person in Germany (22.4 percent) has too little money to be able to afford a one-week holiday once a year. This emerges from data that the chairman of the left-wing faction in the German Bundestag, Dietmar Bartsch, has requested from the European statistics authority Eurostat, as stated in a preliminary report by the editorial network Germany.
Especially for people with children, the statistical risk of not being able to afford a week's vacation increases significantly. Four out of ten single parents (42.2 percent) do not have enough money for this. For couples, the risk of poverty increases with the number of children. 18.1 percent of couples with one child cannot afford a seven-day holiday. With three children and more, the rate rises to 29.4 percent.
Childless couples with one partner over the age of 65 have the lowest risk of poverty. In this group, 15.9 percent of people lack the money for vacation.
"Summer vacation equals travel time? Unfortunately, only a distant dream for millions of children and families," said Left Party leader Bartsch to the editorial network Germany. "The fact that many single parents and families lack the money for the smallest trip shows how important children and families are in our country," continued Bartsch. "Every child and every family should have the opportunity to recharge their batteries and experience something new once a year away from their own four walls," he said.
It is to be feared that inflation would make the problem even worse, Bartsch added. "The inflation monster will further increase the gap between travelers and those who stay," he emphasized. And further: "Instead of continued wage restraint, in the current crisis we need a strong sip from the wage bottle and prompt basic child security. Children only have one childhood and cannot wait for the next coalition."
The data comes from the European community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) for the survey year 2020. Comparisons with previous years are not possible due to a change in the survey method.
