• Informe semanal de noticias del mercado alemán de la Oficina de Turismo de Tenerife en Fráncfort

  • Tour Operator News

German summer holiday bookings improve in March – Summer holiday bookings in Germany picked up moderately last month but still remain weak overall, according to the latest sales figures from GfK. According to FVW, bookings of summer holidays in travel agencies and online grew by 2% last month compared to the level of March 2018, the market researchers’ analysis of sales by 2,000 representative travel agencies, OTAs and tour operator websites showed. Growth was again generated by online sales rather than by travel agencies, whose sales were at last year’s levels. Overall, however, there is still a 1% cumulative decline for all bookings of summer 2019 holidays since last November. But this figure is compared to very high booking levels early last year, with summer holiday sales up by 15% as of end-March 2018. Winter 2018/19 looks likely to close with a 4% rise in revenues, even after a 10% increase in the previous winter. Winter bookings in March were 1% lower than last year but this did not change the overall growth figure. With this year’s late Easter holiday, bookings for March are down by 14% while April is showing a very strong 31% increase in sales revenues, as FVW mentioned.

Travel agency customers accept service charge – According to a survey for specialized tourism media CounterVor9, in which around 500 travel agencies participated, a majority of the respondents are convinced to accept service charge. However, numerous travel professionals report in comments that with service charges an increased need for explanation goes hand in hand. 55 percent of the travel professionals explained that customers accept separately reported fees, while 13 percent categorically answer the question with no. Almost a third of them believe that customers only pay for service fees for particularly complex services. The regular customers of travel agencies tend to have more understanding when «their» seller charges them for additional services. In this sense, several respondents express themselves. At the same time, the travel professionals also make it clear that customers who book high-priced trips, usually do not accept surcharges for additional services, so CounterVor9.

  • Aviation News

Lauda wants to work more closely with tour operators – According to latest FVW report, the Ryanair subsidiary Laudamotion, which in the meantime only markets itself as Lauda, strives for a more intensive cooperation with organizers. Managing Director Andreas Gruber wants to promote group business, but also offer quotas. «The tour operator business is important to us and we have talks with many large market participants,» Gruber said in an interview with the fvw. In terms of content, it is primarily about the reduction of fixed quotas: «About 20 flights per week on machine XY from Düsseldorf to Palma», Gruber describes his model. What Gruber wants to do is to do business with groups. Like her mother Ryanair, Lauda has since established her own group department. Travel agencies and smaller organizers can book groups. This is also possible online: «Via our homepage, B2B customers can book a group booking for 20 people or more for a flight with special conditions,» notes Gruber.

Boeing customers are preparing for longer grounding – According to latest ReiseVor9 report, American Airlines has taken the 737 Max aircraft out of flight planning by June 5. Due to the grounding of the aircraft, about 90 flights per day are dropped at the US airline. It had initially planned recommissioning on April 24. The price of the Boeing share had come under pressure at the beginning of the week and had lost about four percent. Within one month, the price loss of the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer is eleven percent. At the end of last week, Boeing announced that it would reduce its production by one-fifth to 42 aircraft a month. Analysts took this as an indication that the aircraft manufacturer had taken longer than initially expected until US regulators lifted the no-fly ban on the Boeing 737 Max. Many airlines, which have already put machines of this type into service, are affected by the grounding, including the airlines of TUI. Even longer-term effects are already becoming apparent. So the Irish airline Ryanair has announced to cut frequencies between London Stansted and Edinburgh as well as Belfast from October onwards. Observers also associate this move with the 737 Max misery. Ryanair has ordered 135 aircraft of the type, so ReiseVor9.

  • Cruise News

Princess Cruises checks for a start-up stop for Brunei – The cruise industry is also responding to the sultanate’s announcements of sanctioning homosexuality with the death penalty. «At Princess Cruises we celebrate diversity and equality and would avoid any place where guests are not treated with dignity and respect,» the statement said. For discussion is the deletion of all attempts in 2020/21, this year Brunei is not in the route plan, according to latest About Travel reports. The introduction of new laws in Brunei, which includes the stoning of homosexuals, is now also affecting the cruise industry. Princess Cruises is checking to remove Brunei Port from the itinerary for 2020 and 2021, reports the news portal Cruise & Arabian Online. Previously, celebrities such as George Clooney had called for boycotts of hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei. Princess Cruises said the decision was based on the need to ensure that its guests felt safe in the countries they visit, as the law applies to both residents and tourists.

Currently eight cruise lines in Brunei – The country has a small but growing cruise sector with 130,000 passenger arrivals in the last five years. According to the portal, there are currently eight cruise lines with scheduled port calls in Brunei by 2021, including Silversea, Crystal Cruises, Aida Cruises, Viking Ocean Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Hapag-Lloyd, Star Clippers and Princess, About Travel Highlights.

 

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