DERTOUR tour operators are starting the winter season with around 75 per cent more guests. After rainy months in many parts of Germany, people are longing for a holiday in the sun. Accordingly, the focus is on warm destinations. Here are the highlights from the new programmes.
New destinations, great travel variety and rising guest numbers - the outlook for the 2024/25 winter season at DERTOUR Group with its tour operator brands DERTOUR, ITS and Meiers Weltreisen is sunny: "We are expecting high demand for winter holidays, which we are already seeing in a strong increase in guests of around 75 per cent," explains Dr Ingo Burmester, CEO Central Europe DERTOUR Group. "After months of rain in many parts of Germany, there is a great desire for holidays in the sun. Accordingly, we are focussing on warm destinations, which we are offering in the coming winter season with an unprecedented variety of destinations and experiences."
Bookings are being made much earlier again
The very high number of winter bookings at the present time is not only an indicator of guest volumes that are currently being redistributed in the tour operator market. The figures also show that booking lead times are significantly longer again. Last year, the lead time for booking winter holidays increased to an average of three months before the start of the holiday. Attractive early booking offers for winter are currently incentivising early bookings: "Our early booking discounts of up to 45 per cent will further boost bookings," says Ingo Burmester. Overall, the tour operator expects prices to remain largely stable for the winter.
Turkey, Egypt and the Balearic Islands are currently particularly popular with guests. Winter bookings in these destinations have more than doubled compared to the previous year; in Egypt they have even tripled. On long-haul routes, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates are the current winter travel favourites. They are currently recording the highest year-on-year increase in guest numbers. The most popular round trip destinations, also a fast-growing segment for DERTOUR tour operators, currently include Mexico and Cuba in the Caribbean, Thailand and Vietnam in Asia and Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Namibia and Botswana in Africa.
Changing winter holidays: strong demand for year-round destinations Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt 
Egypt, © Getty Images, AlexAnton
Lots of sunshine and a mild climate on cold winter days are promised by holiday favourites such as Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt. These popular and attractively priced destinations for beach holidays are increasingly becoming popular year-round destinations alongside the Canary Islands and the up-and-coming country of Portugal. The sharp rise in demand is particularly noticeable in autumn and spring - be it among
Long-term, active, wellness or culture-interested travellers. Accordingly, the DERTOUR Group has greatly expanded its winter offering in these three regions with a total of 446 hotels. These include 38 family hotels and 13 hotels offered exclusively by DERTOUR. The expansion includes a wide range of flights, which has been significantly extended in recent weeks. DERTOUR is cooperating with partners such as Condor, SunExpress, Air Cairo and Corendon.
DERTOUR's own hotel brands are also focusing on the trend towards year-round holidays in these regions and are supporting this development: Sentido Caribbean World Soma Bay in Egypt, for example, is celebrating its opening as a Sentido Hotel in November. The two new sister hotels in Egypt, the Sentido Naga Bay and the Aldiana Club Naga Bay, will follow with their opening in December. And the popular Aldiana Club Side Beach in Turkey will also be open in winter for the first time. At the beginning of April 2025, Calimera will expand its portfolio with another hotel in Turkey and welcome its guests to the Calimera Club Grand Aqua on the Turkish Riviera.
"We expressly promote the development of new year-round destinations. Against the backdrop of the overtourism debate, we also believe it makes sense to extend the season in popular destinations in order to better distribute holiday flows throughout the year," explains Ingo Burmester. "Extending the season naturally requires that the necessary infrastructure - i.e. restaurants, attractions and events - is also offered outside of the high season. And here we can see that the regions have developed significantly with new tourism concepts, for example with high-quality wellness offers." This is important because since the pandemic, there has been a sustained trend towards increasing travel spending and booking higher hotel categories.
The ananea Beach on Kos © DER Travel and Tourism
The top 5 short and medium-haul destinations
- Spain (with the Canary Islands & Balearics)
- Turkey
- Egypt
- Tunisia
- Portugal
Long-haul travel variety with new destinations in the Middle and Far East
DERTOUR organisers are starting the winter with a strong increase in bookings on long-haul routes. "We are currently recording a 76 per cent increase in long-haul guests compared to the previous year and are expecting a very strong long-haul winter," predicts DERTOUR Chief Product Officer, Sven Schikarsky. In addition to long-haul classics such as Thailand, Vietnam, Cuba, the Maldives and South Africa, which are already very well booked, Sri Lanka is also celebrating a major comeback, as are the rising stars Kenya and Zanzibar. Accordingly, some of these regions are also home to the most exciting new hotel openings in the 2024/25 winter season.
The United Arab Emirates in particular will enjoy great popularity next winter. In order to meet demand, DERTOUR has further expanded its 4-star hotel offering in the United Arab Emirates and launched offers for long-term travellers in Dubai.
The long-haul travel programme also promises great variety with several new regions in the Middle and Far East: Bahrain with its pristine white beaches is new to the programme this winter, as are the Philippines, Laos, Hong Kong and Bhutan, which expand the long-haul travel variety in Asia. In addition, round trip experiences continue to be very popular with DERTOUR tour operators, who are market leaders in this segment. "Sri Lanka is currently experiencing a real boom, but New Zealand and Costa Rica are also continuing to grow in popularity among round trips," says Product Manager Schikarsky.
Top 5 long-haul destinations
- Thailand
- Indian Ocean (e.g. Maldives, Mauritius)
- Caribbean (e.g. Dominican Republic, Mexico, Cuba)
- North America
- United Arab Emirates (e.g. Dubai, Abu Dhabi)
"Slow glamour" far away: New ananea hotels at dream locations on the Indian Ocean
In winter, sunny destinations are particularly popular. One of the new openings of the DERTOUR hotel brands is the ananea Diamonds Mapenzi on Zanzibar. © DER Travel and Tourism
ananea - DERTOUR Hotels & Resorts' new lifestyle brand for casual elegance in "slow glamour" style - is significantly expanding its long-haul offers in the winter season: The ananea Diamonds Mapenzi in Zanzibar and the ananea Diamonds Malindi in Kenya will be the first hotels to open in East Africa this November. The ananea Diamonds Athuruga in the South Ari Atoll in the Maldives will open its doors in August. The ananea Madivaru Maldives Hotel in the North Ari Atoll will follow at the beginning of 2025.
The desire for luxury is growing: from the dream beach in Bali to the cultural sites of Saudi Arabia
Thailand © Getty Images, SHansche
demand is also unbroken in the luxury travel segment and the luxury travel specialist DERTOUR Deluxe is currently recording a 42 per cent increase in guests for the coming winter compared to the previous winter season. As the market leader in this segment, the luxury tour operator is positioning itself through its high service and product quality: "DERTOUR Deluxe stands for pure luxury in hand-picked accommodation in special locations around the world - be it luxury resorts, villas or entire islands. An essential part of the travel experience is the highly personalised service, which is tailored precisely to the individual needs of the guest. Our DERTOUR Deluxe product and service team therefore works very closely with our sales partners to fulfil even the most unusual wishes of our guests every day," explains Sven Schikarsky.
Demand for destinations such as Dubai, the Maldives and the Canary Islands has risen once again. Destinations in Asia are particularly popular among luxury travellers: Bangkok, Phuket and Bali. For the coming winter, a total of 51 new luxury hotels and nine new exclusive round trips await discerning travellers. Of particular interest to those interested in culture: the new travel offers to Saudi Arabia. DERTOUR Deluxe offers a round trip and 10 hotels in the luxury segment.
Summer holidays 2025 bookable now
If you want to secure your dream hotel and high early booking discounts, you can already book your 2025 summer holiday with the DERTOUR tour operators. DERTOUR, ITS and Meiers Weltreisen have already made many hotels and resorts bookable in numerous popular destinations. For example, in Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Turkey as well as in the long-haul segment, where the majority of accommodation in holiday destinations in Asia, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and the Orient is already available.
It is also advisable to plan trips to major events such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico well in advance. For all those who want to secure their campervan for the accompanying road trip to the World Cup, DERTOUR Cars & Camper offers an extensive range of hire cars and campervans worldwide, which will soon be available for the summer of 2026. Depending on the country and rental company, there are many inclusive services for hire car bookings, such as a free additional driver in North America, the first tank of petrol for free or a GPS at no extra charge.
