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eadership Change in Place at Germany’s Second Largest Travel Company: The second largest tourism group in Germany, DER Touristik—it owns some of the most popular and durable brands for U.S. travel suppliers—has put into place a leadership team that will oversee outbound product operations when company veteran Michael Frese retires this summer after 12 years as head of the group‘s individual and long-haul holidays business. The company has promoted Matthias Rotter and René Herzog to senior management positions to effect the transition following Frese’s departure. .
Rotter will take over as managing director, tourism of DER Touristik Frankfurt, effective June 1st. At the same time, Herzog will become chief operating officer and take responsibility for all tour operator activities at the company’s two divisions in Cologne and Frankfurt, which he currently shares with Frese.
Rotter, who has been head of Meier’s Weltreisen since 2003, will be responsible for Dertour, Meier‘s Weltreisen and ADAC Reisen. Herzog will be responsible for the package holiday brands ITS, Jahn Reisen and Travelix in Cologne together with Rolf-Dieter Maltzahn, tourism director at DER Touristik Cologne, and for the Frankfurt-based brands together with Rotter.
Sören Hartmann, DER Touristik’s CEO, told the German trade publication, FVW, that the management restructuring will not affect the group’s operations, noting that. “the different business models of the individual holidays and package holidays
