What are the travel trends for the coming season? "The desire for premium and higher hotel categories for beach and beach holidays is not abating at the moment. All signs continue to point to quality holidays," says Dr Ingo Burmester, CEO of DER Travel and Tourism Central Europe. "On medium-haul routes, we expect demand for high-quality beach holidays in popular sun destinations such as Spain with the Balearic and Canary Islands, Greece, Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt to be correspondingly strong."

With the trend towards more conscious travel decisions, our colleagues expect that travellers will increasingly opt for longer, more valuable summer holidays in 2023. In summer 2022, holidays were already almost one day longer on average across all destinations. Higher-quality hotels were also booked: The proportion of four- and five-star hotels booked in summer 2022 was significantly higher than in 2019. This winter also continues to show higher spending per trip.

In addition to the general trend towards quality travel, demand in the luxury segment has also continued to rise, which DERTOUR Deluxe serves with an expanded range of over 200 luxury hotels and resorts - including many small, fine addresses and particularly individual travel experiences.

In addition, long-distance destinations will once again take centre stage in 2023. The trend towards workation (the merging of work and holiday, or work that can be carried out at any holiday destination) will make longer travel stays possible.

"We are clearly feeling the opening up of long-haul destinations and expect a great desire to travel to distant destinations in summer 2023. We are already seeing a year-on-year increase of around 60 per cent in bookings on long-haul routes for summer 2023. Destinations in Asia in particular, such as Thailand and Indonesia, are returning strongly, while Mauritius and the Maldives have firmly established themselves. And there is also strong demand for new summer destinations such as the United Arab Emirates," says Burmester.

The favourites on long-haul routes in summer 2023 are the Indian Ocean with the Maldives and Mauritius, the Caribbean with the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Mexico, the USA and Canada as well as beach holiday favourite Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. The top 10 also includes Indonesia and East Africa.

The 2023 summer programme meets the desire of many travellers for individuality and high-quality experiences. "After a long phase in which factors such as distance, privacy and safety dominated travelling, the desire to discover countries more intensively and to travel in a more diverse way is returning," says Sven Schikarsky, Head of Product at DERTOUR, ITS and Meiers Weltreisen. "Accordingly, we offer a wide variety of products that offer special round trip experiences in addition to classic beach holidays."

A total of 1,800 round trips are offered in 94 holiday destinations - from the fly-in safari in Africa to the Mississippi cruise in the USA and the Arctic Coast Way experience in Iceland. The trend towards individual or small group tours is continuing.

During the pandemic, the desire for closeness and connection to nature has increased significantly. The travel offer in the DERTOUR catalogues "Cycling Hiking Outdoor" and "Camp Holidays" has been expanded accordingly. New offers for overnight stays close to nature and trips in the new outdoor lifestyle await holidaymakers: from hiking trips with dogs to combined bike and boat trips.

In addition to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Scotland, the offer extends to southern regions such as France, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal, and even to Iceland. In addition to a large selection of active hotels, the special "Camp Holidays" catalogue, which will be published in January 2023, offers accommodation close to nature such as camp lodges & co.

Expectations of sustainability criteria are also becoming more important for holidaymakers when choosing a trip: in 2023, customers will be able to choose from over 330 hotels that are certified according to international sustainability standards. With a new online theme world, DERTOUR offers inspiration and information on the topic of sustainable and conscious travelling. The growing portfolio of certified hotels is always up to date here.

There is also a trend towards individual active holidays for families. This summer, DERTOUR added new round trips to its "Family Holidays" programme that include activities for children of different ages and take the needs of the little ones into consideration.

With around 1,500 family-friendly hotels, DERTOUR offers the largest range of family holidays ever. "We are also seeing a trend towards higher-quality holidays for family holidays. More and more certified family hotels with 4 to 5 stars, professional childcare and a wide range of experiences are being booked," explains Schikarsky.

There are also added values and specials aimed primarily at families. Thanks to high discounts for children of up to 100 per cent, children can stay and eat for free in many hotels in popular family beach destinations such as Majorca, the Greek islands or Turkey. Aldiana Club Costa del Sol / Spain © DER Travel and Tourism

In line with the trend towards higher value holidays, customer expectations of quality and value for money are increasing. "Anyone investing in their dream summer holiday expects a high level of reliability and quality," explains Ingo Burmester. "At the same time, the desire for all-round service and peace of mind that has arisen during the pandemic remains."

For summer 2023, DERTOUR has expanded the number of hotels offered exclusively by 75 new properties - with a particular focus on quality, service and customer satisfaction: Many of the most popular holiday hotels in the top summer destinations will only be bookable with DERTOUR and its sister brands in the coming season. Most of the more than 400 exclusive hotels will be offered in Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany and Austria.

With its five own hotel brands Sentido, Aldiana, Calimera, COOEE and Playitas, DER Travel and Tourism will be represented in its tour operator programme next summer with over 80 hotels and club resorts under its own brands. These include eight new Sentido hotels and the new Aldiana Club Side Beach in Turkey in summer 2023.

"The hotel has a significant impact on the travel experience. That's why our growing Hotel Division pays attention to the high quality of our hotels, which is also clearly reflected in the ratings," emphasises Burmester. The high quality standards also include a comprehensive service for travellers: In summer 2023, ten Sentido hotels will launch a pilot project with additional services that can be booked in advance. Guests will then be able to select their preferred room in advance and book early check-in and late check-out.

In the coming summer, the tour operator trip will also meet the desire for security and flexibility, which is now firmly anchored in customer expectations. "Flex options are here to stay," says Burmester. "Especially after last summer's flight chaos, travellers are once again paying closer attention to who they book with and what the service looks like. The tour operator benefits from this, because if there are any problems or irregularities, we are there for our guests."

For maximum security and flexibility, DER Travel and Tourism offers its guests two flex options: The Flex package from 59 euros per booking secures classic flight package tours and numerous hotel bookings with departure until 31.12.2023 with the tour operators DERTOUR, ITS and Meiers Weltreisen and allows guests to rebook or cancel free of charge up to 14 days before departure without giving reasons.

In addition, DERTOUR is now offering a new flexible rate: Around 2,000 holiday and city break hotels in many European countries can currently be booked at the new flexible rate, which allows free rebooking or cancellation up to one day before arrival. The new flexible rate is available for many accommodations in Germany, France, Italy, Croatia, Malta, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. It will also be offered worldwide in the future. The new flex rate is a further development of the previous flex rates, which offered a free cancellation option up to five days before departure.