The current bookings slump is an opportunity for German travel agents to profit from their expertise and secure business with active sales and marketing measures, according to experts, fvw reports.
Many Germans, especially families, are currently holding back with bookings due to fears about safety in destinations. Summer package holiday sales were down by 7.5% as of end-February, according to market researchers GfK, and about one million fewer bookings than last year have been made to date.
Alltours and FTI this week extended their offers of free re-bookings of holidays in the three main impacted destinations – Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia – for the entire summer season in an effort to stimulate bookings. The two tour operators originally had a cut-off date of March 31 for the option of changing bookings to other destinations up to 30 days before departure but this option now covers all new bookings through to the end of the summer season.
One problem, however, is that these three countries are all relatively cheap destinations that cannot be easily replaced by more expensive alternatives, such as Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece, even though these destinations are all benefiting strongly from switch bookings at present.
Price comparison
A price comparison by researchers GfK for fvw shows that the annualised average price per person of a 7-day package (including flight) rose in Portugal by 23% (to €740), in Spain by 17% (€702), Italy by 15% (€694), Croatia by 9% (€654) and Greece by 8% (€649), as of March 12.
In comparison, the average price for Turkey was €602 and for Egypt was €605. The only comparable cheap destinations are Bulgaria, where the average price dropped 12% to €530, and Tunisia, with an average price fall of 18% to €492.
But Bulgaria simply does not have anything like the capacity to cope with a large-scale switch from Turkey, which welcomed 5.7 million German visitors last year. Some 330,000 Germans holidayed on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast last year, which represented a 90% hotel room utilisation rate.
In response, experts are urging travel agents to take advantage of their position as trusted advisors and to step up proactive sales and marketing measures to encourage customers to make bookings, either for the impacted destinations or alternatives. “The current phase heavily favours travel agents,” claimed Thomas B?sl, head of the large RTK travel agency consortium. “Customers come to us, ask questions and want to talk about security in holiday destinations.”
Trainer and coach Roman Hohaus agreed: “It’s a chance for travel agents to profile themselves in dealing with customers. They should be more curious about people, more relaxed about different opinions, and show more empathy and openness.” Instead of countering customer concerns with “Yes, but…” responses, agents should openly discuss people’s fears and provide factual information about the distance of holiday destinations from the sites of terror attacks, or, where appropriate, suggest alternatives instead, he recommended.
Alternative destinations
In terms of alternative destinations for families and price-sensitive customers, this could be the Spanish mainland instead of the more expensive Balearics or Canaries, for example, or cheaper accommodation such as apartments, holiday homes and campsites in countries such as Italy, Austria or Croatia, commented Uwe Wenglikowski, head of Kozica Reisen.
For travellers with a larger budget there are plenty of alternatives, according to Aquilin Sch?mig, managing director of the Derpart chain. “For individuals, Scandinavia is interesting as well as long-haul trips. South Africa is an alternative for couples and singles, especially due to the current attractive exchange rate.”
Meanwhile, TUI’s Robinson Club will open its new resort at Belek on the Turkish Riviera as planned at the end of April, the club on Djerba in Tunisia has been open since March and the resort at Soma Bay in Egypt will open after extensive renovations in July, managing director Ingo Burmeister told fvw.
Robinson has a lower decline in demand for Turkey than the general market, he pointed out. “Compared to price-driven competitors, we can rely on our high proportion of repeat guests,” he said. In addition, the club operator is actively communicating with clients and travel agents about its security arrangements to dispel concerns, he added.
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