Tourism Holds Steady

While rain clouds and falling temperatures have left sunbathers, beer garden enthusiasts and grill experts with a mild case of withdrawal, spa lovers, museum aficionados and moviegoers have had to put up with longer lines and more crowded facilities this summer.

The summer so far has been as successful for tourism as last year, but vacationers have been headed to places that usually get more visitors during the winter, said Nicole Habrich, director of press and public relations for the German Tourism Association.

"It is to assume that museums and other bad-weather-friendly areas had a larger then previous year's number of guests," she said.

Unlike last year, when Germans were taking spontaneous trips to the North and Baltic seas or traveling around the country to follow World Cup teams, big cities -- and their indoor attractions -- are high on this year's list of summer destinations.

Unusual summer activities

Arne Schmidt, a spokesperson for Cinemaxx movie theaters, said more people are going to the movies than last year.

"When the weather is extremely good, the number of visitors in our theaters declines," he said, adding that he a better selection of blockbusters was at least partly responsible for increased ticket sales.

The beginning of the year actually showed potential for Germany' sun-starved population. The period between June 2006 and May 2007 was the warmest 12-month period since records began being kept in 1893. The temperatures throughout the nation were 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees F) higher than average.

But when summer officially arrived, the heat plunged and early tans faded from bronze to orange with Germans unwilling to go without some sort of summer glow.

Tanning studios noticed an increase of about 15 to 25 percent this summer, compared to last year's, according to Beatrix Heimann, AYK Sonnenstudios.

Germans are seeking warmth

Spa providers also saw a boost of visitors in 2007's colder summer months.

The Claudius Wellness Spa in Cologne noted a 20 percent visitor increase in the month of June, while the warm April brought a 25 percent decrease, according to manager Simon Nothhelfer.

"Spas are very much dependant on the weather," he said. "We sell warmth, and that's what people needed this summer."

A foreign search for the sun

Those who did travel to escape German weather turned to the beloved Spanish island of Mallorca. This summer about 5 percent more Germans visited the island compared to last year, Volker Böttcher, director of the travel agency TUI, said at a press conference.

Italy was second among road trip destinations, according to the ADAC, Germany's largest automobile club.

Online travel agency Expedia.de found that many Germans were traveling farther to places including Oman and Vietnam in an anxious search for the sun.