Informe semanal de noticias del mercado alemán de la Oficina de Turismo de Tenerife en Berlín
- Destination News
International tourism numbers and confidence on the rise – The latest issue of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer from the World Tourism Organization shows that international tourism continued to grow over the first quarter of 2019. Though at a slower rate when compared with the last two years, the 4% increase registered in early 2019 is a very positive sign. The Middle East (+8%) and Asia and the Pacific (+6%) experienced the highest increase in international arrivals. Numbers in both Europe and Africa were up by 4%, and in the Americas growth was recorded at 3%. Europe, the world’s largest tourism region, reported solid growth (+4%), led by destinations in Southern and Mediterranean Europe and Central and Eastern Europe (both +5%). Growth in Africa was driven by the ongoing recovery in North Africa (+11%). In the Americas, the Caribbean (+17%) rebounded strongly after weak results in 2018, following the impact of hurricanes Irma and Maria in late 2017. In Asia and the Pacific, results for the first three months showed a 6% increase led by North-East Asia (+9%) and a very solid performance from the Chinese market.
- Tour Operator News
TUI wants to use travel agents’ customer data for direct offers – Online travel sales have soared in Germany in recent years and about 42% of Germans booked their holiday online last year, according to TUI figures. Yet the tour operator market leader continues to sell the bulk of its holidays through its own and third-party travel agencies, with direct online sales still only relatively small. Faced with this rapid growth by online rivals, TUI now wants to team up with travel agency sales partners and ask permission for access to their extensive customer data, according to FVW. TUI Germany’s sales director Hubert Kluske recently announced that the company wanted to integrate travel agencies into its omnichannel strategy. In future, TUI wants to send holiday offers directly to the agencies’ regular customers, and prominently feature the name of the travel agency for the booking. This has already started in the company’s own travel agencies, with franchise partners to follow and then independent agents.
Tour Operators extend Sri Lanka cancellations – After the terrorist attacks at Easter, most tour operators had canceled their trips to Sri Lanka until the end of May. As the German Department of Foreign Affairs still recommends to refrain from unnecessary trips to the island, the first tour operators extend their cancellations. TUI, Thomas Cook and DER Touristik cancel trips to Sri Lanka until June 30th. They contact all guests and offer free rebooking or cancellation, DER Touristik says. Also at Thomas Cook Sri Lanka customers with arrival up to and including June 30 can rebook or cancel their trip. For customers who do not make use of it, the organizers cancel the travel contracts. FTI also extends the option of free rebooking until the end of June. At Schauinsland there is no regulation beyond May 31st
Aviation News
Ryanair sees profits fall by a third as falling prices bite – Ryanair has seen profits fall by 29 per cent, to €1.02 billion, for the year to March 31st as the price of seats fell and the cost of fuel rose. The low-cost carrier said worse could be to come this summer as overcapacity in Europe pushes carriers to cut prices further. Ryanair chief executive, Michael O’Leary, said: “Short-haul capacity growth and the absence of Easter in quarter four led to a six per cent fare decline, which stimulated seven per cent traffic growth, to over 139 million. For the coming financial year, the carrier said it was “cautious” on pricing and had “zero” visibility for the second half of 2019. Faltering economies in Europe and the possible impact of Brexit could take a toll, Ryanair said. The carrier added that, while bookings in the first half of this year were slightly ahead of last year, “fares are lower and we expect this trend will continue through 2019.
TUI fly opens reservations for summer 2020 – TUI fly is the first holiday airline in Germany to release its flight schedule for the 2020 summer season for booking, focusing on Spain and Greece. From thirteen airports in Germany and Switzerland, the holiday carrier takes off 460 times a week to the south. The summer flight schedule includes a total of 25 sunny destinations around the Mediterranean, in Portugal, Egypt, the Canary Islands and Cape Verde.
- Cruise News
Cruise companies are cutting prices to win more German customer – After years of double-digit growth, German cruise bookings have slowed noticeably since the start of 2019. Many tourism industry experts are blaming this year’s overall weak bookings on the record temperatures in Germany last summer, which resulted in record levels of domestic holidays. This may be encouraging consumers to hold back this year in case the heatwave is repeated. But one key factor may be that international cruise operators are more interested in filling their cabins than in maintaining price levels. This leads to short-term pricing measures when bookings are weak, which customers are well aware of. “The market currently has extremely attractive last-minute offers for price-sensitive customers who are flexible with their choice of travel dates or the route,” said Tim Krätke, marketing manager for cruise portal E-hoi. Another factor is that the industry is busy increasing capacity with new ships at present and thus has more cabins to fill. Experts put the capacity increase for the German market at 15% this year. Among the new vessels are the Aida Nova, TUI’s Mein Schiff 2, two MSC ships, the Bellissima and the Grandiosa, along with Costa‘s LNG-powered ship, the Smeralda.