German travel agencies’ turnover increased by 3.1% in September 2025 compared to the same month in 2024, with the acceleration of cruise demand continuing for another month.
The cruise market in Germany is growing rapidly and is a key factor in the positive balance for the tourism sector as a whole.
Its contribution is so important to the German package holiday market that, according to MSC Cruises’ director for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Jorg Eichler, without it, the market would be in the red.
The German outbound tourism market is set at 3.4 million this year, while cruise passengers are expected to reach 4.5 million in the future, Mr. Eichler estimates.
For the first nine months of 2025, the cumulative increase in turnover of German travel agencies is +1%.
Total sales of travel agencies showed an increase of 6.6% in September 2025, and cumulatively for the nine months +7.7%.
Cruises are the star, showing the strongest sales increase, of +7.7% compared to September 2024 and cumulatively for the nine months +21.3%!
These data, which result from the most recent Tats-Reiseburo-Spiegel survey, also show that with regard to other services, September 2025 compared to the corresponding month of 2024 “locked” in the following performances…
-air transport +1.5%
-number of tickets +3.5%
-other sales -2.3%
Cumulatively for the 9 months, the following differences are observed compared to last year…
-air transport -2.5%
-number of tickets -2.2%
-other sales -2.2%
Booking flows showed an increase of 8.2% in September, a percentage that for cruises soars by +15.9%.
The trend of bookings for trips up to October 2025 shows a marginal decrease of 0.1%, while for cruises it is increased by 9%.
