Thinkstock Back in business Tour operators hope for Sri Lanka recovery German tour operators are hopeful about a recovery in demand for Sri Lanka over the coming months following the end of the state of emergency. ...more by Paul Needham – Wednesday, September 04, 2019
Thomas Cook fvw interview Thomas Cook Hotels plans more management contracts and in-house cross-selling Thomas Cook wants to take tighter control of its hotels through more management contracts, sell more rooms to group tour operators and expand its portfolio cautiously, hotels chief Enric Noguer told fvw in an interview. ...more by Paul Needham – Tuesday, September 03, 2019
Michael Krane Financial rescue Thomas Cook Group seals £900 million recapitalisation and heads for break-up Thomas Cook is set to be split into separate tour operator and airline businesses within weeks after the financially troubled group secured £900 million in recapitalisation funding from Chinese shareholder Fosun and its banks. ...more by Paul Needham – Thursday, August 29, 2019
Flughafen München/Bernd Ducke German air passengers Turkey and North America win as Canaries plummet Germans flew abroad more than ever in the first half of 2019, with Turkey, the USA and Canada among the destination winners but the Canary Islands, Cyprus, the UAE and the Dominican Republic all welcomed fewer tourists from Germany, new figures show. ...more by Paul Needham – Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Lufthansa German aviation summit Lufthansa pushes synthetic fuel and emissions compensation The German aviation industry, led by Lufthansa, has won government support for technological and technical solutions such as synthetic fuels and emissions compensation to reduce the sector’s environmental impact as it seeks to avoid a new CO2 tax on air fares. ...more by Paul Needham – Thursday, August 22, 2019
DER Tour IT system switch DER Touristik opts for Atcom reservation system DER Touristik Central Europe will switch from its current two separate reservation systems to British-based Atcom from winter 2021/22 to speed up sales and offer more flexible products in a major technology move. ...more by Paul Needham – Thursday, August 22, 2019
fvw Travel Insights July German holiday sales recover thanks to last-minute bookings The German travel industry is staging a gradual recovery after more customers booked last-minute holidays in July, according to the latest monthly Travel Insights sales analysis. ...more by Paul Needham – Tuesday, August 20, 2019
OYO Vacation Homes Strategic expansion Oyo plans €300 million investment in European holiday homes Fast-growing Indian hotels group Oyo will splash out €300 million to upgrade holiday homes across Europe, including with pools and saunas, to attract millennials and overseas travellers as it invests heavily in response to rising demand. ...more by Paul Needham – Wednesday, August 14, 2019
TUI / Christian Wyrwa Q3 financial results TUI sells German brands as quarterly profits slump TUI has sold two German specialist brands for €100 million to reduce dependence on the ‘volatile’ tour operator business as Q3 profits were hit hard by the B737 Max grounding. ...more by Paul Needham – Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Source: Amadeus Destination trends Antalya and Hurghada win late German bookings in July Turkey and Egypt were the two main winners as Germans booked more last-minute summer holidays last month but demand weakened for Greece and again slumped for Spain, the latest monthly package holiday booking figures from Amadeus show. ...more by Paul Needham – Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Amadeus Top 15 earners Here are the best-paid European travel industry CEOs Airline and hotel CEOs dominated a Skift ranking of the 15 best-paid tourism bosses in Europe, which featured only two women along with 13 men. ...more by Paul Needham – Monday, August 12, 2019
TUI Group Minister meeting Joussen pledges more TUI investments in Greece TUI Group will continue investing in Greece with more hotels and other activities as demand grows, CEO Fritz Joussen has pledged to new tourism minister Harry Theoharis. ...more by Paul Needham – Wednesday, August 07, 2019
Wikinger Reisen Destination trends Small is beautiful for Southern Africa group tours Demand for Southern Africa tours in small groups enabling tourists to get closer to nature is rising on the German market, prompting tour operators to adjust their portfolios. ...more by Paul Needham – Wednesday, August 07, 2019
Thomas Cook fvw interview Thomas Cook "won't get a Chinese uniform look", says CEO Fankhauser The planned takeover of Thomas Cook Group’s tour operator business by China’s Fosun Group is a growth opportunity, CEO Peter Fankhauser tells fvw in an exclusive interview. ...more by Paul Needham – Tuesday, August 06, 2019
Klaus Hildebrandt Financial restructuring Turkish tourism entrepreneur buys up Thomas Cook stake Neset Kockar, founder and head of Turkey’s Anex Tourism Group, has acquired a 6.7% stake in Thomas Cook as Europe’s second-largest tourism group heads for a break-up into separate tour operator and airline companies. ...more by Paul Needham – Thursday, August 01, 2019
Birds on Mars fvw Kongress 2019 Artificial intelligence changes the whole process Artificial intelligence will play a vital role in the travel industry in future but only if companies reinvent their processes, AI expert Klaas Bollhoefer will explain at the fvw Kongress in Cologne on September 17-18. ...more by Paul Needham – Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Tourist Board Dominicanian Republic Caribbean destinations Dominican Republic seeks more flights as Cuba declines The two biggest destinations in the Caribbean for German tourists face tough times this year as a lack of flights holds back the Dominican Republic and high prices weaken demand for Cuba. ...more by Paul Needham – Tuesday, July 30, 2019
TUI/Christian Wyrwa Restructuring TUI Germany will close all airport stations TUI plans to close its stations at 18 airports across Germany and will replace 130 customer service jobs with digital services as part of its forthcoming restructuring. ...more by Paul Needham – Monday, July 29, 2019
Studiosus/Parzinger Destination trends Studiosus sees North Africa and Middle East comeback German cultural travellers are returning to destinations in North Africa and the Middle East, according to a leading specialist tour operator. ...more by Paul Needham – Thursday, July 25, 2019
C. Wyrwa fvw workshop Barbados is back on the German travel industry map Barbados aims to make a comeback on the German market with more marketing, more flights, a diverse mix of hotels and a wide range of activities for holidaymakers, the recent fvw workshop showed. ...more by Paul Needham – Wednesday, July 24, 2019
