Faced with end-of-year financial results and passenger volume data that are expected to be flat and losing market share midst an overall market environment that is sluggish due to a weakened euro, TUI Germany, under its new CEO, Sebastian Ebel, is expanding the company’s hotel capacity and cutting some prices as it strives to recapture share in the German market. Ebel aims to increase share to 25 percent by 2020, which would be a 48 percent increase from its16.0 percent share (see table below).
TUI has added 3,500 new hotels for summer 2016 both in short/medium-haul and long-haul destinations—which means 1,700 more hotels in overseas destinations, which is 20 increase over the summer of 2015.
TUI’s prices will drop by about 2-3 percent on average; this figure includes early booking discounts. Ebel said the reduction resulted from “flight over-capacity” and lower jet fuel costs. Still, some long-haul destinations will be more expensive due to the strong the U.S. dollar vs. the weak euro. In a statement, the company said that most destinations are selling well with the exception of Tunisia where bookings have slumped. Premium brand Airtours has a double-digit rise in winter bookings after “good growth” in 2014/15.
Top Tour Operators in Germany
| Tour Operator | Share of German Market* |
|---|---|
| TUI | 16.90% |
| Thomas Cook | 13.20% |
| DER Touristik | 12.40% |
| FTI Group | 8.10% |
| Alltours | 5.60% |
| Alda Cruises | 5.00% |
| Schauinsland-Reisen | 3.70% |
| Small operators overall | 35% |
| * Based on 2013/2014 business year figures | |
| FVW estimate |
Also, from Germany: A Berlin-based meta-search engine for holiday homes, Hometogo, has entered the U.S. holiday market and is launching a nationwide advertising and marketing campaign to raise awareness. The hometogo websites enable users to find and compare offers but then redirects them to the provider’s website for bookings. The company, which is already active in various European markets, claims to cover about 3.1 million offers for holiday homes, including about a halif-million units in the USA where the offering will be expanded
