German tour operators are generally happy with summer 2017 bookings, with Greece and Egypt as the main winners and Turkey making a late comeback, according to fvw.com.
Germany’s leading tour operators are growing again this year after diverse trends last year. “Summer 2017 is going better than 2016,” said Thomas Cook Germany chief Stefanie Berk. Alltours chief Markus Daldrup expects a 4.5% rise in bookings this summer after a heavy drop last year.
TUI Germany’s new chief Marek Andryszak noted: “We’re winning market share in important destinations such as Spain, Greece and Portugal.” TUI has a 20% booking increase for Greece, for example. TUI claims it has increased its market share to 23% so far this year.
Tour operators agree on the main destination winners this year, including Greece, Egypt, Croatia and Portugal. But there are already the first signs of capacity shortages in some places. “Capacity is getting tight in particular on Greek islands such as Corfu and Kos for certain dates in certain hotels,” Berk confirmed.
In contrast, TUI’s tourism chief Stefan Baumert stated: “At the moment there is still capacity everywhere.” And Schauinsland Reisen’s tourism chief Andreas R?ttgers added: “The Balearics have significantly more capacity available than the media suggested before the start of the summer holidays.”
However, the big Mediterranean destinations are more expensive this summer. FTI director Ralph Schiller commented: “After the boom in 2016 the Balearics, the Canaries and mainland Spain along with the Greek islands are significantly more expensive than last year.”
In response, many German clients are booking summer holidays instead in Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey, which are all competing strongly on price to win back business. Most tour operators have high growth rates for Egypt this summer as German holidaymakers regain confidence in the destination. “Demand for this summer is very strong,” said Thomas Cook’s Stefanie Berk. Schauinsland-Reisen, with a 30% increase, is adding more flight capacity from D?sseldorf and Munich this summer.
Turkey is also making a long-awaited comeback with a surge in last-minute bookings, although at very low price levels. Thomas Cook’s Stefanie Berk said: “Turkey is currently the destination with the highest demand in last-minute sales.” The destination is about 25-30% cheaper than other destinations such as Spain and Italy, she emphasised.
DER Touristik’s CEO Central Europe, Ren? Herzog, stressed: “Yes, there’s a last-minute trend.” TUI and specialist Bentour Reisen also confirmed an upswing in late bookings for Turkey. However, most tour operators still have lower overall Turkey bookings this year, although FTI claims to have a double-digit rise on 2016.
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Source: fvw.com
