Germany’s FTI Group is poised to enter the Dutch market with a special programme for summer 2017 holidays, fvw.com reports.
Germany’s fourth-largest tour operator, which will officially present its programme for next summer on November 4, will unveil a move into the neighbouring market, according to Dutch travel trade magazine Travmagazine. This would make FTI the latest major German tour operator to establish itself in the Netherlands after market leaders TUI and Thomas Cook as well as Alltours.
FTI Group Managing Director Ralph Schilller told fvw that the company will offer Dutch consumers its programme for the German market “complemented by offers specially produced for the Dutch market”. Until now, Dutch customers living close to the German border were only able to book from FTI’s German programme.
The Munich-based group, which declined to give any target booking figures for the first year, will use Transavia for short-haul flights and KLM for long-haul destinations.
Explaining the marketing approach, Schiller said: “We will release several brochures but more for inspiration than for price information.” In contrast to the German market, where traditional brochures are still widespread, most Dutch consumers either book holidays through travel agency reservation systems or directly on the internet.
FTI will cooperate especially closely with the travel agency group D-RT Group Netherlands, which operates the D-Reizen and Vakantie-Xperts chains. The Dutch company is a subsidiary of the Raiffeisen Touristik Group (RT Group), which is 75% owned by Egyptian hotelier Samih Sawiris, who also holds a 30% stake in FTI.
However, Schiller stressed: “We’re open for other sales partners, just as the D-RT Group is not working exclusively with us.”
Above all, FTI wants to offer the right kind of products for the Dutch market. “We will enter the market with a thought-out strategy that makes us attractive for travel agents,” he underlined.
FTI will extend its ‘Vitality’ product line by 46 more hotels in Central European and Mediterranean destinations to a total of 52 next summer. The Vitality packages, launched in winter 2016/17, offer ‘sustainable’ holidays focusing on healthy gastronomy and environmentally-managed hotels.
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