Germany’s DER Touristik will expand its long-haul programme next winter after strong bookings this year but has heavy declines for the Eastern Mediterranean crisis destinations.
Like other large tour operators, Rewe Group’s tourism subsidiary has been through a turbulent year but claims to be coping well. “2016 is definitely a travel year of extremes. But we can react to changes faster than our competitors thanks to our technical flexibility,” said Rolf-Dieter Maltzahn, head of DER’s Cologne-based package holiday unit (which operates the ITS, Jahn Reisen and travelix brands). However, the group has not released any overall booking figures and only disclosed figures in terms of destinations.
DER Touristik claims it “is not suffering as strongly as competitors” from the crisis in demand for North Africa and Turkey, but the figures are still dramatic. Package bookings for Tunisia, an important destination for the group, are down by 75% compared to last year, while Egypt (-35%), Turkey (-34%) and Cyprus (-25%) are all much lower than last summer.
In contrast, Germany’s third-largest tourism group has strong package holiday sales for the Western Mediterranean and long-haul destinations. Bookings for the Balearic Islands are up by 16% and Portugal by 7%, with strong demand in recent weeks. Among long-haul destinations, Cuba is up by 40%, Mexico by 26% and Mauritius by 22% but Bali is down by 40% due to higher prices.
Good sales for various long-haul destinations
The Frankfurt-based unit (Dertour, Meier’s Weltreisen, ADAC Reisen) also has good sales for various long-haul destinations, according to managing director Matthias Rotter. Sri Lanka is leading the way with a 40% rise in revenue terms while Thailand is up by 9%. However, demand for Brazil has dropped due to high hotel prices because of the summer Olympics.
City trips, where Dertour is market leader, have suffered from the terror attacks in Paris, Brussels and Istanbul, and revenues are down by 16%. But self-drive holidays are making a comeback, especially for Germany (+15%), the Nordics (+12%) and Italy (+9%).
For winter 2016/17, DER Touristik is focusing on expanding its long-haul programme. Rotter has added 11 more hotels in Thailand, where a total of 155 are now on offer, while Cura?ao is a new destination for Jahn Reisen with 16 hotels. The group will also offer more Cooee branded hotels.
Prices “will remain stable on average” next winter, according to Central Europe chief Ren? Herzog, while there are extensive early booking discounts of up to 90%. Thailand is 5% cheaper “thanks to contracting at attractive dollar exchange rates”, Rotter said.
Read more here.
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
