The DERTOUR Group benefited from strong demand for holidays in 2023. The outlook for the 2024 travel year is correspondingly optimistic.
The DERTOUR Group, formerly DER Travel and Tourism Group, the second largest tour operator in Europe, provided an insight into its dynamic growth and latest booking figures at ITB. The group, which is represented by over 130 companies in 16 source markets and has over 9,200 employees, benefited from strong demand for travel in 2023. The outlook for the 2024 travel year is correspondingly optimistic. "In 2023, we saw strong interest in package holidays in all markets with a Europe-wide trend towards higher-quality holidays," explains Dr Ingo Burmester, CEO Central Europe DERTOUR Group. In 2023, the Group's total revenue increased accordingly by 23% compared to 2022. The number of European guests increased by 10% compared to the previous year. In addition, the average holiday duration rose to 8.1 days, exceeding the 2019 average by one day.
The strong early booking figures for 2024 reflect the great desire to travel. "After a year of significant growth in the travel market, we are seeing that the pent-up demand for holidays is continuing. Consumers are still very keen to travel and are taking advantage of early bookings in the form of attractive discounts," explains Dr Ingo Burmester, CEO Central Europe DERTOUR Group. "As a diversified and international tourism group with more than 20 tour operators and around 30 specialised travel brands, our aim is to offer our guests from 16 European source markets exceptional travel experiences. To this end, we are also strengthening cross-market collaboration between our international teams and will increasingly focus on more customised travel offers in 2024."
The DERTOUR Group's booking analysis highlights the trends for the current 2023/24 winter season for its 16 European markets (The winter season runs from 1 November 2023 to 30 April 2024. The booking figures for this period include the cumulative bookings of DERTOUR Group tour operators in Germany as at 11 February 2024). This shows a 24% increase in sales compared to the previous winter season (2022/23) and a 17% increase in guest numbers. The most popular winter destinations for short and medium-haul holidays currently include Spain, Egypt, Germany, Italy and Turkey. At the same time, winter bookings are signalling a strong comeback for long-haul trips: Almost one in three guests is opting for a long-haul destination in the current winter season. The most popular regions are the Middle East (including the UAE, Jordan and Oman), the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean, Thailand and North America. "We are seeing growing interest in travel to the Arabian Peninsula - a positive signal for the flourishing tourism landscape in this part of the world," says Dr Ingo Burmester.
Up-and-coming destinations for the winter include India and guest favourites in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam and Indonesia. Among the short and medium-haul destinations, Croatia, Turkey and Tunisia are at the top of the list. These countries have seen the strongest growth in visitor numbers compared to the previous year.
DERTOUR Group's booking figures for the 2024 summer season (The summer season runs from 1 May 2024 to 31 October 2024. The booking figures for this period include the cumulative bookings of DERTOUR Group tour operators in Germany as at 11 February 2024) paint an optimistic picture with a significant increase in sales of 30% and a 24% increase in guest numbers compared to the 2023 summer season. This increase in guest numbers reflects the strong demand for summer holidays, especially in the Mediterranean region. The short- and medium-haul favourites of European guests in summer include Greece, Turkey, Spain, Tunisia and Egypt. In terms of long-haul destinations, the Indian Ocean, North America, the Caribbean, the Middle East (including the UAE, Jordan and Oman) and Thailand are the favourites.
The analysis also identifies those destinations that are currently rising in popularity among travellers and have the highest annual growth rates compared to the previous year. Formerly classic winter destinations such as Vietnam, India and Indonesia are also becoming increasingly important as summer destinations and are becoming year-round travel favourites. Among short and medium-haul destinations, Portugal, Turkey and Bulgaria are showing the strongest growth in customer numbers. This underlines the increasing importance of value for money for European travellers.
"We are seeing the trend of former winter destinations such as the United Arab Emirates and Thailand becoming year-round holiday destinations. This development is being driven by the high quality of the hotel industry and travel experiences at very attractive prices in the summer months," explains Dr Ingo Burmester.
The positive developments at Group level are also reflected in bookings in Germany. The year 2023 closed with a 6% increase in customer numbers compared to 2022, with the highest growth rates recorded in the long-haul segment. Revenue development also recorded significant growth of 21%, which can be attributed to the strong trend towards longer trip durations (two additional days compared to 2019) and the trend towards higher-quality holidays. This is reflected in a strong preference for 4- and 5-star hotels, which accounted for almost 80% of bookings last summer, as well as the trend towards booking all-inclusive offers. Bookings for the current winter season underpin the optimistic outlook: Compared to the 2022/23 winter season, the DERTOUR Group in Germany recorded a 33% increase in sales and a 19% increase in guest numbers. The cumulative bookings for the 2024 summer season show a 33% increase in the number of guests and a 47% increase in revenue compared to the previous year. Turkey, Spain and Greece top the list of the most popular summer destinations for German guests in 2024. They are also increasingly interested in Vietnam, India and the Middle East, with these regions showing the highest growth rates compared to the previous year.
DERTOUR Group not only offers holiday experiences in the most sought-after destinations, but also responds to new travel trends that are emerging in the various markets. This summer, almost a third of DERTOUR Group's European guests are opting for a 5-star hotel, reflecting the growing interest in high-quality travel experiences.
"At the same time, we recognise that luxury is defined in different ways and can also stand for experiencing nature, wellbeing or local cultures," explains Dr Ingo Burmester. "In our markets, we see trends ranging from sports and outdoor travel to immersive holiday experiences - which shows an overall growing preference for more individual and unique travel." The DERTOUR Group's specialist network now comprises more than 30 brands that offer customised travel experiences for specific target groups and travel interests, such as diving or golf trips, luxury holidays or trips to the Nordic countries. The Group's growing hotel portfolio, which comprises ten brands with more than 100 hotels in 14 countries, is also expanding the range of travel experiences to include more individuality with concepts such as the lifestyle hotel brand ananea.