Excerpts from issue No. 12, Vol. 8, December 2004

The gross value added by tourism to the German economy amounted to 57.5 billion Euro in 2000, which was 3.2% of all gross value added (gross domestic product) that year, according to the TSA Tourism Satellite Accounts study of the German government in cooperation with the European Commission. In comparison the portion of the gross value added by tourism of the GDP in the Netherlands was 2.5%, in Sweden 2.7%, in Italy 5.4%, in Austria 7.2% and in Spain 11.8%. All tourism spending in Germany 2000 reached 158 billion Euro. Private households spent more than 12% of their available income for travel. The TSA was carried out along tight principles of national income accounting.
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In the first half of 2004, just under 7 million embarking and disembarking passengers were counted on ferries and excursion ships in German North Sea ports, which was a decline of 300,000 or 4.5% on the same period of the preceding year. The number of passengers recorded in German Baltic Sea ports amounted to nearly 5.8 million in the same period (-200,000 or –3.7%). The major ferry line - measured by passenger numbers – is the route between Puttgarden on Fehmarn Island and the Danish port of Roedby on Lolland Island. Just under 2.9 million ship passengers used that so-called Vogelfluglinie. Compared with the first six months of 2003, their number increased by one third.

Excerpts from issue No. 11, Vol. 8, November 2004

German households spent 612 Euro on average for package tours in 2002 (2001: 672 Euro), the Federal Statistical Office reports. That was almost a quarter of all expenses for leisure, entertainment and arts totalling 2,640 Euro that year. Households in Eastern Germany spent 552 Euro annually, those in the West 624 Euro. Households with a state pension spent the most for package tours: 1,248 Euro. Other high spenders were publicly employed people (792 Euro), white collar employees (708 Euro) and retired people with a normal pension (648 Euro). Less than the average 612 Euro were spent by blue collar workers (468 Euro) and unemployed (204 Euro). With rising income, expenses for package tours increased. While households with a monthly net income of less than 1,300 Euro spent 144 Euro that year, those with a monthly net income of 1,300 to 2,600 Euro spent 588 Euro. Households with a monthly net income of 2,600 to 3,600 Euro spent 672 Euro, those with a monthly net income of 5,000 to 18,000 Euro spent 1,116 Euro.
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36% of all city-to-city connections between the new EU member states and Germany are flown also by low cost carriers, a joint study of ITB Berlin and the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry (BTW) says. This portion grows by 32% with the beginning of the winter schedule 2004/2005. German tour operators currently offer only about 600 hotels in the new EU member states, not taking into account Cyprus and Malta. The number of hotel beds in all ten new EU states is less than half of those in Italy. Short holidays in those countries can be offered up to 70% cheaper than in established European tourism regions, the study claims.
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Lufthansa has launched a new, international image campaign, with the central message "All for this one moment". The effort, which is said to be budgeted at less than € 20 million, focuses on the topics of quality, innovation and confidence. The aim is to intensify the emotional appeal of the Lufthansa brand and to position Lufthansa as the "Airline of trust". "Since, within the last few years the focus was on price advertising due to the general economic conditions, with our new advertising approach we again want to strengthen our brand in the long term and to increase the level of brand awareness in our strategic markets", Thierry Antinori, Vice President Marketing and Sales at Lufthansa German Airlines, said. The new approach will also be integrated in the implementation of direct and online marketing. The campaign started in Germany in selected daily newspapers, business magazines, special interest magazines and on posters. Various motifs will later run in the strategic markets of the USA, the UK, Italy, France, Switzerland, Spain and Japan. Overall, the concept will be implemented in over 40 countries. The slogan "All for this one moment" will be translated into the respective national language and will form the campaign link besides a uniform visual approach. It confirms the central claim "There’s no better way to fly", which will continue unchanged. The agency M.E.C.H. The Communications House in Berlin, which is owned by McCann-Erickson Deutschland, is responsible for the creative development of the new Lufthansa advertising approach. The Frankfurt agency Mindshare is responsible for media strategy and coordination.

Excerpts from issue No. 10, Vol. 8, October 2004

Businesses and the public sector in Germany spend more than 120 billion Euro every year on job-induced mobility as a whole, that is one of the findings of the “VDR Business Travel Report Germany”. The key figures are: 8.1 million business travellers in Germany made 147.4 million business trips in 2003, spending a total of over 54 billion Euro. At 54.1 billion Euro the total cost of business travel (not including incidental private expenditure) remains on a par with the amount that Germans spend for package holidays. If the costs of micro enterprises and expenditure on company cars, business functions (necessitating travelling) and mobile telecommunication are added, the costs of job-induced mobility are in excess of 120 billion Euro. This corresponds to about half the expenditure in the German Budget for 2003.
While holiday trips are getting shorter, business trips involve more overnight stays than in 2002. Although there is a tendency for fewer business trips, business travellers are away more frequently and for longer periods of time. The proportion of business trips to intercontinental destinations has doubled in comparison with the previous year. Also the pull of other European countries has increased above average among companies with more than 2,500 employees. The use of electronic support for managing the business travel process is in its early stages in Germany. For example, in 34% of the businesses with more than 2,500 employees approval procedures for travel applications are based on phone, paper and e-mails. The report was published by VDR The Business Travel Association of Germany in cooperation with BearingPoint.
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TUI Hotels & Resorts has moved up to 13th position in the ranking of the world’s 300 biggest hotel companies and so has further consolidated its position as Europe’s largest provider of holiday hotels. This survey result was reported by the American journal “Hotels”, which every year publishes a list of the Top 300 hotel companies in the world. The ranking is based on the number of hotel rooms. Expansion is planned together with its hotel partners above all in destinations such as Turkey, Egypt, the Caribbean, Mexico, Greece, Bulgaria and Croatia. The TUI Hotels & Resorts portfolio includes such brands as Riu, Robinson, Grupotel, Magic Life, Grecotel, Iberotel, Dorfhotel as well as Nordotel and Atlantica Hotels.
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38 million people were online in Germany in the first quarter of 2003, that is 52% of the population from the age of ten, the Federal Statistical Office reports. A year earlier, the figure was 46%. In Internet use, males still have a slight lead which, however, is decreasing. In the first quarter of 2003, 56% of the men and 47% of the women went online. It is mostly older females who hesitate using the Internet. Among the younger age groups, the share of women using the Internet was in part even larger than that of men. Currently, the Internet – more so than the PC – is a technology for young adults: Among those aged 15 to 24 years, about 84% use the Internet, while only 11% of those aged over 65 do so. Purchasing and ordering goods and services via the Internet (e-commerce) is getting ever more popular: 38% of onliners bought or ordered something via the Internet at least once in the first quarter of 2003. In the preceding year, the figure was 28%. 

Excerpts from issue No. 9, Vol. 8, September 2004

TUI AG has entered the Russian tour operator market. TMR (TUI Mostravel Russia), a joint venture of TUI and Russian tour operator Mostravel, has started work in August 2004. TUI will initially have 34% share, but can acquire a further 17% in a second phase from 2006, boosting its holding in TMR to a 51% majority. Mostravel will transfer its entire operations, business and employees, into the new company. The new TMR company will be managed by general director Rabson Mamedov, formerly a Mostravel director. Mostravel is one of Russia's leading tour operators for trips to Turkey and Egypt. The company is headquartered in Moscow, with 70 employees at present. It focuses on package tours in the four and five-star sector, with a range complemented since 2003 by Magic Life, Iberotel and Sol y Mar, TUI Group hotel brands. A further cooperation exists with Travco, a TUI Group incoming agency. The Russian airline KrasAir is Mostravel’s most important air carrier. Mostravel products are presently available in around 3,000 travel agencies. Mostravel has five sales outlets in Moscow, operated by its travel agency companies, Atlas and Turavia.
Experts estimate that two million package tours were purchased by Russians last year. TMR forecasts around 200,000 customers in 2005.
This engagement in Russia is the latest move in the TUI Group’s strategy of Eastern European expansion, being pushed forward from its bridgehead in Vienna by Franz Leitner, head of TUI Austria Holding. TUI is already active with its own tour operators in Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia. TUI has also established sales cooperations in other countries, such as Rumania, Bulgaria and Serbia.
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German consumers are confronted with more than 6,000 advertising contacts per head and day, the Institut für Marketing und Kommunikation (IMK) found out. The media involved include newspapers and magazines, radio and TV, posters and billboards, neon signs, display windows, stickers, logos on textiles, shopping bags and more. When asked about advertising contacts of the last 24 hours, consumers could remember not more than three (0.05%).
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Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain are the by far most popular coach tour destinations for German tourists. The Czech Republic has nearly replaced France as the fifth most popular destination, and Hungary, Poland and Croatia are already more visited by coach than established destinations such as the Netherlands, Greece or the UK. Between 2001 and 2003, six million coach holidays were taken by Germans, according to the Reiseanalyse 2004 survey.

Excerpts from issue No. 8, Vol. 8, August 2004

675,000 tourists (8% of all tourists) living in the East German states last year complained at their tour operator, hotel or other service providers, Institut für empirische Forschung (Leif) in Leipzig found out. In 2002 that group was larger by 130,000 travelers. About 39% of the complaints concerned noise, bad service, uncleanliness and construction deficits, 23% voiced unhappiness with rooms. About 20% claimed deviations from the promised product, 11% criticised travel organization or tour guides.
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The Greeks, Finns and Austrians like holidays that include some form of sport, Americans love sightseeing and Germans' ideal holiday is lazing in the sun or trying out restaurants. These are the findings of a joint survey carried out in 20 countries by GfK Ad Hoc Research Worldwide and The Wall Street Journal Europe (“Vacation Plans“). Activity holidays are equally popular in Europe and the USA. Around 30% of respondents in each case said that they enjoyed visiting places of interest at their holiday destination as much as walks and hiking. Sport is another popular holiday activity, with 28% of respondents choosing to cycle, go sailing etc. while on holiday. Sunbathing is something only one in four respondents mentioned as their favourite holiday activity. Germans love the sunshine and gourmet restaurants There are, however, country-specific differences: Greeks are particularly keen on sport during their holidays, with 75% engaging in some kind of sporting activity. Approximately 50% of Finnish, Austrian and Swiss holiday-makers also like to spend most of their holiday time doing sport. Sunbathing is especially well-loved by Germans, with almost 50% indicating it as one of their preferred holiday activities. Germans like also walking on holidays and eating out in upmarket restaurants. Most Americans shun sunbathing, with only one in ten indicating it as something they would do on holiday. US citizens are very active holiday-makers, loving sightseeing tours. Like the Greeks, Finns and Austrians, Americans also love sports. Four in ten Americans indicated sport as a favourite activity.
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Tourism offices often react inadequately when contacted by e-mail, the University of Applied Sciences Munich found out. „Mystery shoppers“ had asked 125 destination tourist offices and DMOs by e-mail to recommend 4 and 5 star resort hotels in the region. While almost half of the offices did not respond at all, 11% sent the information the same day, about a quarter took one or two working days for it, 5% took between nine and 13 working days. Although the request specified an electronic answer, about a quarter of the reacting offices sent catalogues by mail, sometimes without an accompanying letter.

Excerpts from issue No. 7, Vol. 8, July 2004

Thomas Cook AG, Germany’s troubled number two travel group, has repositioned its aviation arm. Thomas Cook Airlines, re-named Condor, now is the first carrier in Germany to offer low fares for long-haul flights. Tickets to destinations in the Caribbean, North America, Africa, the Indian Ocean and Asia are available from € 99 one way. Tickets for short- and medium-haul routes can be purchased for as little as €29. In total, Condor offers three fare options: The lead-in prices starting from € 29 and € 99 are aimed at passengers who have only limited budgets for their flight. The “Sunshine Fare” allows passengers to change the length of stay at short notice as the booking can be altered even after departure. The “Flex Fare” offers wide-ranging rebooking and cancellation options, thus targeting such passengers who, for instance for business reasons, demand the highest possible degree of flexibility.
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Europe’s package holiday market is heading for moderate growth of 4% in 2004 after two weak years, according to the newly-published annual FVW Documentation on Europe’s top 150 tour operators. After a strong start to bookings, the market recovery has weakened again, leaving operators with mixed feelings ahead of the peak summer season. Falls in turnover were the rule for the largest 150 European tour operators in 2003, the documentation shows. The percentage changes on a Euro basis, however, are even larger for those companies outside the Euro zone, i.e. British and Swiss companies in particular, since their currencies lost value against the Euro last year. First Choice, for example, generated a 3% increase in turnover in British pounds, but showed a 6% fall on a Euro basis. TUI was able to increase its lead at the top of the European tour operators table significantly thanks to the first-time full consolidation of Nouvelles Frontières. Thomas Cook moved € 1 billion further ahead of number three My Travel. Alltours rose one place after increasing turnover nearly 10% last year while Hotelplan dropped back one place since it only included travel agency commissions in turnover in 2003 rather than the sales revenue total. In all, Europe’s ten largest tour operators achieved turnover of € 41 billion in 2003 compared to € 43.4 billion the year before, a decline of 5.3%.
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Restrictive US travel practices create major problems for German business travelers. 73% of member companies surveyed by VDR The Business Travel Association of Germany said they consider the handling of tightened U.S. travel policies as “inadequate”. 33% report to be directly negatively affected by the tough immigration procedures, 95% have to cope with more complex processes and 63% increased efforts to obtain proper visa. 23% face economic disadvantages because of US travel restrictions. 10% have downscaled their travel volume to the USA as a result of the increasing problems. VDR represents 440 companies with a combined volume of business travel expenditures of € 9 billion.

Excerpts from issue No. 6, Vol. 8, June 2004

21% of German tourists intend to travel to a Non-European destination this year, compared to 12% in 2003. This is one of the results of a study commissioned by the Europ Assistance Group in April ("Urlaubsbarometer 2004"). In France only 15% of tourists said they would travel outside of Europe. Most popular world region with Germans is Asia (41%), followed by North America (22%) and Africa (14%). Of those Germans planning to stay within Europe for holiday, 28% intend to go to Italy, 20% to Spain and 17% to France. 53% want to use their own car for holiday travel, 32% intend to fly. 49% plan two weeks of main holiday, 19% three weeks. The quality of accommodation is selection criterion number one for booking (32%; 2003: 49%), attractiveness of destination number two (24%), clean beaches number three (21%). 37% would not travel to a country recently being hit by terror incidents. The study was conducted by IFOP International end of April.
www.europ-assistance.de***
38% of Germans will spend less money for their summer vacation than last year, a study conducted by Munich researcher polis commissioned by news service dpa found out. Almost half predict stable spending patterns, 13% say they will spend more than in 2003.
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Restrictive US travel practices create major problems for German business travelers. 73% of member companies surveyed by VDR The Business Travel Association of Germany said they consider the handling of tightened U.S. travel policies as “inadequate”. 33% report to be directly negatively affected by the tough immigration procedures, 95% have to cope with more complex processes and 63% increased efforts to obtain proper visa. 23% face economic disadvantages because of US travel restrictions. 10% have downscaled their travel volume to the USA as a result of the increasing problems. VDR represents 440 companies with a combined volume of business travel expenditures of € 9 billion.
www.vdr-service.de

Excerpts from issue No. 5, Vol. 8, May 2004

Disposable time of German consumers grew in the last decade, the Federal Statistical Office says, but men have profited more from this trend than women. Women in 2001/02 had an average of five hours and 43 minutes daily for leisure activities, about 20 minutes more than 1991/92. In comparison men enjoyed an average of six hours and 11 minutes daily for recreation, about 30 minutes more than ten years before. Leisure time is typically spend watching TV, reading, talking and attend events.
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67% of Germans base their selection of holiday destinations on security considerations, a representative survey of Internet agency Opodo in conjunction with TNS Emnid found out. This group will travel only to “secure” countries. Only 15% say, they are not scared by any threats in their vacation destinations.
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TUI Leisure Travel has started a low cost sales operation called Touristik Express. The new outlets of the tourist giant (1365 travel agencies in Germany) offer no print catalogues but show the products virtually. On sale are 36 packages, changing daily, starting as low as € 19; the highest price category begins with € 599. The first Touristik Express agency is located in Hamburg, others are to follow in Berlin, Tübingen and Nuremberg.
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TUI is the winner in Germany of the Reader's Digest European Trusted Brands 2004 research in the category “tour operators”. 58% of the votes (2003: 59%) were cast for the Hanover-based product. Second place again was achieved by Neckermann with 10% (2003: 15%). Thomas Cook was rated third with 2% and replaced Alltours (2003: 4%).
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Hotel rooms without a surcharge for single occupancy are in growing demand, says Klaus Laepple, president of the German Travel Agencies and Tour Operators Association (DRV). This reflects the changing population structure with more and more single households.
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The German market for low cost airlines will continue to expand, Monitor Group believes. Passenger growth in this segment will be 24% annually until 2006, the Munich office of the international consultant company thinks. For 2004 about 22 million passengers are estimated, plus 39% compared to 2003. Largest players in Germany 2004 will be Ryanair, easyJet, Air Berlin, HLX, Germanwings and dba. Growth is partly due to the new EU members in Eastern Europe, Heiko Schulz, airline expert of Monitor Group, says. New low cost carrier such as Bexx Air, Air Polonia, Whizz Air and Smart Air are ante portas. Demand mostly comes from customers who have not used airlines before. 

Excerpts from issue No. 4, Vol. 8, April 2004

67% of suppliers in international tourism expect growing customer volumes this year, 53% project stable prices. These are the main findings of “ITB Tourismusbarometer 2004”, based on interviews between December 2003 and January 2004 with 1,027 touristic suppliers in 20 destinations which represent 66% of the world’s touristic income (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, the UK and the USA).
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69% of Germans plan at least one holiday trip of five days or more this year, researcher F.U.R reports. 17% are willing to try a low cost airline and book accommodation themselves. 63% of Germans look for relaxation during their holiday, 34% want no activities at all and only 6% look forward to physical exercises.
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Almost half of all Germans planning a trip outside Germany but within Europe will do so without the help of a tour operator, “ADAC-Reisemonitor 2004“ says. The automobil club had asked 4,000 members. 70% said, they plan a “long” holiday this year (plus 2% compared to 2003).
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1% of German consumers booking a package tour end up seeing the tour operator, the consumer office in North Rhine Westphalia estimates. Most such court cases do not lead to a financial compensation of the tourist, though.
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German travel agents score high concerning their product competence and consultancy qualities, but often fail to finalize sales to customers. This is the main finding of a study conducted by Munich consultant Argonauten 360.
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Sanitary comfort, undisturbed sleep and the breakfast buffet are the three most important criteria for German hotel guests, the Deutscher Hotel- und Gaststättenverband (DEHOGA) found out. In a representative survey together with TNS Emnid the hotel association had asked more than 2.000 customers. “Color TV in the room” was criterion number 4 (number 8 five years ago), “wellness offers” jumped from number 50 to now 33. 83% said they value a classification system.

Excerpts from issue No. 3, Vol. 8, March 2004

61% of all Germans will travel this year, predicts publication Focus in a recent study ("Der Markt für Urlaubs- und Geschäftsreisen"). The trend favours shorter and more economical trips, often booked last minute.
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64% of 4000 Germans asked by Travelchannel.de said they had less money for holiday travel than last year. 33% said they will not change their spending patterns, though. 24% plan one trip, 35% two and 24% three trips this year.
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Only 42% of all Germans are sure they will go on holiday this year, which is the lowest figure since 1991, according to BAT Freizeit-Forschungsinstitut in Hamburg.

Excerpts from issue No. 2, Vol. 8, February 2004

German tourists have spent a total of € 52.5 billion in 2003, 5.5% less than the year before, Dresdner Bank reports. Spain’s income from German tourists was 7% less, strong decreases were also found in Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia. Spending for air packages sank 6-7%. The share of last minute bookings jumped from a long-stable 10% to 30%. For 2004 Dresdner Bank expects a growth in holiday spending of 5%. Countries to profit from the development will be Spain, Turkey and Egypt. Because of the exchange rate, also long-distance destinations will see more German tourists, the bank predicts.
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36% of all Germans 13 years and older did not travel at all in the last 12 months. Why was this so, Project M wanted to know. In a series of representative studies the Lüneburg researcher found that financial reasons are most often named (37%), especially by families (49%). “No time”, said 33%. Personal health was the third-most named reason (29%), getting more important with age. 65% of the 60 years-and-older use this argument, only 16% of them said they cannot afford travel. A minority of 10% claimed no interest in travel. Other findings include that the age groups 14-19 and 60-69 are the most travel-intense (80% resp. 75%).
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Six European States have paid subsidies of about € 9 billion to their airlines since 1991, the USA showered their carriers even with more than € 12 billion since 2001, a new White Paper claims. The booklet ("Fakten zum Luftverkehrsstandort Deutschland") was published by a group within the aviation industry. Germany opposes subsidies to airlines and air traffic control, the group points out, and urges the EU Commission to push for equal terms.
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58% of all adult Germans can go online now, up 8 percentage points from 2002, the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen Online reports.

Excerpts from issue No. 1, Vol. 8, January 2004

Deutsche Lufthansa will introduce a net price model without ticket sale commissions to German travel agents as of September 1, 2004. The new model, which has shocked large parts of the trade, makes a clear distinction between the flight and product, on the one hand, and the advice and processing service, on the other. The final price for the purchase of a Lufthansa ticket will then consist of two components: the net price including taxes and charges for the Lufthansa flight plus, if necessary, charges for advice, booking and issuing of the ticket. In future, the travel agencies will thus be perceived even more clearly as representing the interests of the customers. Agents and their lobbies protested that there had been no negotiations or consultations over zero commission. An attempt to introduce a flat rate commission failed two years ago. Business travel agencies, however, now welcomed the decision to switch to net prices. Over the last few years, commission for domestic flights has been cut back to 5% from the former standard 9% while 7% is paid for continental flights. The online price discount via www.lufthansa.com or via the participating Internet travel portals will be retained, so that in future, as a rule, the least expensive flight prices will continue to be found online. With the introduction of net prices, Lufthansa is following the international trend in the travel business. Within the last two years, similar models have been introduced in the USA and Canada as well as in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and the UK. The end of agency commissions could save Lufthansa as much as € 175 million, according to various industry estimates.
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The number of insolvencies concerning German tour operators and travel agents in 2002 is estimated by the German Travel Agencies and Tour Operators Association (DRV) to be at least 1,000. About 800 start-ups compensated only partly the total number. The absolute number of tourist sales outlets dropped from 20,871 in 1998 to 16,715 in 2002. According to DRV, tour operators in Germany will close 2003 with a combined minus of 7-9% in total sales and a minus of 5-7% in bookings (2002 compared to 2001: minus 10%). The average price per tour operator booking in 2003 was € 572.50 (2002: € 585.55, minus 2.2%), slightly higher than the figure estimated by FVW International.
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Travel agents and tour operators expect 6-7% more customers and 5% more sales in 2004 compared to 2003, the Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln (IW) reports. Theme parks in Germany will continue to suffer, the researcher predicts.
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The European Commission has launched a probe of airlines to see if they charge different ticket prices depending on where the customer lives. 18 airlines, among them Lufthansa, are being investigated.
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The US Office of Travel & Tourism Industries expects an annual growth of German incoming traffic of 5 to 7% until 2007. The total number of German visitors to the USA in 2003 is forecasted as 1.153 million (2002: 1.19 million). In 2004 a total of 1.23 million is projected, in 2007 a total of 1.486 million. - German arrivals dropped by 5% in September contributing to a third quarter decline of 1%. The third quarter showed an improvement over the first two quarters that were down 5% and 3%, respectively. Year-to-date arrivals of 863,000 were down by 3%. - German tour operators offering travel to the USA are optimistic: Explorer Fernreisen reports a plus of over 19% in 2003 and expects double digit growth in 2004. Thomas Cook even reports a plus of 50% in 2003 and expects a 100% growth for the winter season. Canusa projects a total of 10% growth in sales for 2003, with sales of US products alone of plus 45%. In 2004 Canusa expects a growth of 25-40% for their US-bound sales. Also Airtours, DERTOUR, ADAC, Meier's Weltreisen, FTI and TUI show confidence in the market for travel to the USA.
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The average German spends 49 minutes per day surfing the Internet, a study of Forsa in Berlin, commissioned by SevenOne Media in Munich, revealed. In 1999 the dedicated time for online activities was 9 minutes. Average daily numbers for other media consumption are: TV 156 minutes (plus 10 minutes within the last four years), radio 160 minutes (plus 17 minutes).