- German travelers spend more money and time for holiday trips in the summer of 2018: The BTW Tourism Index showed that Germans will spend about 30 million more travel days than in 2017 and tourism experts estimate 2018 to be a new record year in sales figures and turnover.
- Domestic holidays boom as heatwave keeps Germans at home: Holiday resorts on the milder Baltic and North Sea coasts are packed this summer as late bookers switch away from scorching Mediterranean destinations, according to researchers and tour operators. Several tour operators have confirmed that the current heatwave appears to be hitting late bookings as Germans either delay booking holidays completely or prefer to head off to a domestic destination amid weeks of temperatures well above 30°C across the country.
- Croatia increases tourist taxes: The Croatian government has announced a 20 % tax increase for tourists. The new regulation will come into force in January 2019. Tourists will have to pay 10 Kuna (€1,34) per night. Exemptions are camp grounds, here tourists have to pay the regular 8 Kuna (€1,07).
Tour operator news:
- TUI group publishes sales figures: TUI Group increased turnover by 5% to just over €5 billion in the April – June third quarter and improved underlying operating profits (EBITA) by 2.4% to €227 million (excluding currency effects and the impact of this year’s Easter timing). Over the first nine months of the business year, turnover was up by 6.3% to €11.83 billion while underlying EBITA improved by €57.7 million year-on-year to €65 million. More importantly, prospects for the July – September quarter, when tourism companies make most of their money, look good so far.
Online travel agency news:
- HolidayCheck Group AG increases turnover: The first half of 2018 was very successful for HolidayCheck, as the company’s turnover increased by 19 % to €72.2 million. The company expects an overall turnover increase of 10 % to 14 % in 2018. The future strategy of HolidayCheck is to become the world’s most customer friendly company in the tourism sector.
- Expedia enters home rental market: In order to become more competitive on the home rental market, Expedia plans to invest more money and technical equipment into this sector. The target is to become a big player on the home rental market and to outperform competitors like AirBnB. Currently Expedia’s home rental company “HomeAway” has 1.7 million online-bookable listings whereas AirBnB and the Booking Holdings Inc. both have about 5 million listings.
Airlines:
- Condor cooperates with Air Europa: Condor and Thomas Cook Airlines UK started a work relationship with the Spanish airline Air Europa. Condor and TC Airlines has expanded its flight portfolio by 14 new destinations in Spain. The cooperation offers more flight connections to the Balearic Island and the Canary Islands.
- Pilot’s strike, Ryanair cancels 250 flights in Germany: German airline pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit yesterday announced a one-day strike at Ryanair from 3am on Friday until 3am on Saturday in order to step up pressure on management in a widening conflict over pay and working conditions. The strike coincides with further industrial action by pilots in Ireland, Belgium and Sweden tomorrow. “Our demands relate to improvements in pay and working conditions,” said VC president Martin Locher. In particular, the union wants a collective pay agreement for pilots based in Germany. But Ryanair had categorically ruled out any increase in staff costs during negotiations, he claimed. In response, Ryanair announced that it is cancelling 250 flights in Germany on Friday, affecting about 42,000 passengers. This is nearly the complete Friday flight schedule operated by planes stationed in Germany, according to marketing chief Kenny Jacobs.