Michael Dohmen one: Corona, the war in Ukraine and online competition: how have you, or rather "your" offices, survived the crises of recent years?

Michael Dohmen: More than ten years ago, travel agencies were already seen as a species that would die out in the short term. Particularly in view of digitalisation, the principle of stationary advice was repeatedly described as an obsolete model. But lo and behold, travel agencies have proven to be much more resilient and versatile than they were given credit for. Especially during the crises, they were able to show what it means to have local contacts with personalised advice and support.

one: You have some good news these days: The stationary franchising of DER Travel and Tourism in the DER Travel and Tourism Partner Companies (DTPU) network is growing. How do you explain this? Is this a sign that people are increasingly seeking advice from travel agencies again?

Michael Dohmen: Yes, that's certainly true for the partners who have taken the plunge into self-employment with us and opened a completely new agency with us. We have five new openings among our new additions. That doesn't sound like much, but it's a relatively high number after coronavirus, and they will even achieve their first million in sales in the first year. However, the majority of our new partner offices come from competitor systems. In this respect, I believe that the main reason is our service portfolio, which is very attractive.

one: What makes this franchising so attractive for travel agencies?

Michael Dohmen: It's the mix of very good conditions, customised technology - and of course the strength of our red brand, our DER Travel and Tourism. We offer all of this, but in combination with the greatest possible entrepreneurial freedom.

one: Why are there franchise systems at DER Travel and Tourism, and also a cooperation model with DTPS?

Michael Dohmen: We have developed various forms in order to reach as many travel agencies as possible. With our DTPU franchise system, we offer maximum affiliation with the group. At this highest level of affiliation, partners benefit by far the most from our Group advantages - but the fees are also higher and the targets, e.g. for Group revenue, are much more ambitious.

We also offer different partnership models, as the need for entrepreneurial freedom and our level of support vary. While DTPU is fully owned by DER Travel and Tourism and is a classic franchise system, DTPS has limited partners who also hold shares in DTPS.

In this respect, we are open to all models: Do you want to remain completely independent as a travel agency? Like the Galeria offices: they receive many services from us under our DTPS umbrella, such as the technology for booking and marketing. Or one level below, like the Deutscher Reisering, which has also joined DTPS. They have an association structure, want to be free, keep their names - so from the outside you can't tell which office belongs to Deutscher Reisering. However, in order for them to benefit from us, they still come under our management and control.

one: Do DTPU and DTPS also offer technical systems for their partner offices?

Michael Dohmen: That's right. We offer system solutions from front to mid to back office, which are of course different and tailored to the needs of the offices. Some systems that we have developed ourselves are not freely available on the market. Others are available from us as a purchasing group at significantly lower prices. Around 90 per cent of my DTPU employees, for example, use our own technology.

one: What distinguishes DTPU from others on the market?

Michael Dohmen: I believe that, on the one hand, our approach is to stand alongside our partners as a service provider. They know best what they need for themselves and their customers in order to be successful in their environment. We then deliver that. But we also provide advice and support with our extensive expertise. We don't have this "you have to, you have to, you have to" - which is difficult with franchises anyway. I try to convince people with services, arguments and commission instead of, for example, banning certain organisers from the shelves. Maybe that's one reason why I've now won over so many DTPUs.

Secondly, we have built up a strong relationship of trust with our partners through transparency, continuity and success over the more than 20 years of our existence - always with the strength and reliability of a REWE Group parent company in the background.

It's a very personal relationship that has a lot to do with trust. At our DTPU annual conference, the first thing I always say is: Welcome to our family reunion! That's exactly how it feels: a bit like family. It's a bit like learning that you know each other, the partners pick up the phone when they have a problem and then you look for a solution together. New partners are assigned long-term partners as mentors to make integration easier.

one: What are the advantages of the DER Travel and Tourism franchise systems?

Michael Dohmen: We guarantee DER Travel and Tourism an above-average share of the product range, and thus a secure share of sales.

one: Are the partner offices spread throughout Germany, or are there geographical focuses?

Michael Dohmen: From Bremerhaven, Rostock and Forst to Ampfing, Heusweiler and Selfkant, our partners are spread all over Germany. The greater North Rhine-Westphalia area is a focal point - as the cradle of our parent company, and also of our travel agency history, starting in the 1980s with our own Atlasreisen offices. And the greater Berlin area. Naturally, TUI, with its headquarters in Hanover, is very strongly represented with its offices in the north.

one: You are an "old hand", having worked in the travel agency business for many years. What are the most noticeable changes since you started in the industry?

Michael Dohmen: What I find most striking is what hasn't changed in the last 30 years: The travel agency was and is a service provider, and customers are still looking for personal advice, inspiration and help in making decisions. In addition, mechanisation and the resulting transparency of offers is a big change. During my training, I learnt to look up train connections in the timetable, write flight tickets by hand and calculate package holiday prices using complicated price components. Unimaginable nowadays - fortunately!

one: What do you think the travel agency of the future will look like?

Michael Dohmen: Competent employees who, with the support of (our) state-of-the-art technology, look after their customers before, during and after the trip. We have recently introduced "Panama 360 Grad" for this purpose: Our own AI product that automatically compiles everything for travel consultants, from searching for customer habits and holiday data to individualised offers including vacancy queries. The boundaries between inspiration, booking, additional sales - such as car hire, excursions, admission tickets or table reservations - follow-up and renewed inspiration are fluid and automated. In my opinion, this combination of human expertise and experience and machine support is the future - even in travel agencies.