The third most popular short-medium distance destination for customers of the German tour operator DERTOUR is Greece, as shown by the picture of bookings for the summer of 2025, with Turkey as their first choice and Spain as their second.
Greece is followed by Egypt and Germany, completing the “golden” five of the top choices of Germans, while in terms of long-distance destinations, the Indian Ocean, North America, Thailand, the UAE, and the Caribbean dominate.
According to the demand data presented so far by Germany’s second-largest tour operator, the total number of travelers this year is showing a single-digit growth rate compared to the record levels of 2024. This indicates the Germans’ resilient desire to travel, says Mark Tantz, CEO of Operations at DERTOUR Germany.
At both ends of the “booking window”, between early bird and last minute
Most DERTOUR customers booked their summer holidays very early, ensuring attractive early bird offers. In fact, as Mr. Tantz points out, “never before have so many holidays been booked so early.”
However, it is also clear that for some travelers, last-minute bookings are more attractive than in previous years. As DERTOUR’s Operations CEO explains, although advance bookings are by far the most economical option, demand for last-minute bookings is rising, especially among travelers seeking flexibility in vacation planning or those who are able to determine their vacation budget at the last minute. In order to broaden the choices of these travelers, DERTOUR offers a diversified program for them that includes luxury vacations to budget trips. Last-minute packages with high availability and high offers are those for Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia and Bulgaria, while in long-distance destinations, Thailand is attractive for last-minute travel, which is reviving in demand levels due to the balance of attractive prices and quality.
In the summer of 2025, DERTOUR offers a total of 12,000 hotels, of which 365 are exclusive.
At the same time, half of the program for the summer of 2026 is available for booking, while for long-distance destinations, availability exceeds 60% of the portfolio.
DERTOUR Germany, the travel arm of the REWE group, is headquartered in Cologne and includes the tour operators DERTOUR, ITS and Meiers Weltreisen, offering programs in 179 countries around the world.
