Market Update - 23.05.24

CURRENT MAJOR TOPICS WITH THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IN THE DACH REGION

• STUDY AND ADVENTURE TOURS - NEW TRIPS, PREVIOUS BOOKINGS: The demand for study and adventure tours is increasing significantly, and tour operators are responding by increasing their contingents and launching new tours. Gebeco, Studiosus and Chamäleon are just some of the companies responding to the increased demand by offering new trips and additional dates for bestsellers. The Asian segment in particular is experiencing a renaissance, with Thailand and Vietnam among the most popular destinations. Companies such as Karawane, SKR Reisen and Diamir are offering new Asian packages, while Ikarus is introducing a visa-free small group tour from Beijing to Hong Kong. In the high-quality segment, bookings are increasingly being made on a long-term basis, which means planning security for tour operators. Intrepid Travel reports good bookings for winter 2024/2025 in various destinations such as Southeast Asia and Latin America. Read more

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• WHAT FOUR TOUR OPERATORS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THE DIP IN BEACH VACATIONS: After a successful July and August 2023 for Swiss beach vacation specialists, there is now disillusionment as this year's summer business is below expectations. Interviews with tour operators show that the months of July and August are down on last year, while a big rush is expected for the fall. Some factors such as increased cost of living and attractive offers could explain the shift of Mediterranean beach vacations to spring and autumn. However, some destinations such as Turkey continue to record good booking figures. Companies such as High Life Reisen are running special promotions to counteract the reluctance to book, which is paying off with rising passenger numbers in July and August. Read more

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• HOTEL ROOMS ARE BECOMING MORE EXPENSIVE - BECAUSE THERE IS A LACK OF STAFF: Martin von Moos, President of Hotelleriesuisse, reports that hotels in Switzerland are forced to offer higher salaries due to the acute shortage of skilled workers, especially for chefs, who receive up to 500 francs more per month. Staff turnover in the industry is high as employees are lured away by better offers. Many hotels have to limit their offer by renting out fewer rooms or shortening opening hours, which costs around 5 percent of turnover. Von Moos emphasizes that rising staff costs lead directly to higher room rates, as the industry has to pass on the additional costs to customers. Read more
• HOW GEN Z TRAVEL AND HOTEL PROFESSIONALS LOOK AT THEMSELVES: A survey by Reise vor9, Counter vor9 and Hotel vor9 shows that Generation Z in the travel and hotel industry has a positive and differentiated self-image. Of the approximately 1,000 participants, most disagree with the criticism of their willingness to perform and high expectations. Instead, they emphasize the importance of work-life balance, sustainability and mental health. They consider themselves well equipped for the job market and use new media efficiently. Despite a certain degree of skepticism due to global crises, a strong sense of self-confidence and optimism prevails among those surveyed. Read more

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• WEAKENING SALES IN TOURISM AND CRUISES: According to Tats-Reisebürospiegel, travel agencies recorded a 4.5% increase in sales in April compared to the same month last year. However, the tourism and cruise sectors recorded a year-on-year decline of ten percent. In air travel, travel agency sales rose by seven percent and other sales by 6.7 percent. The number of tickets sold was eight percent higher than in the previous year. There was also an increase in the cruises sub-segment, which was up 11.3% on April 2023. Read more

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• RICH COUNTRIES BENEFIT MORE THAN AVERAGE FROM TOURISM: The World Economic Forum's latest index shows that wealthy countries such as the USA, Spain and Japan are benefiting more than average from tourism, while poorer countries are lagging behind. Despite post-pandemic growth, the recovery remains uneven, hampered by labor shortages and inadequate infrastructure. Wealthy economies offer the best conditions for tourism, while poorer countries urgently need more investment to catch up. Read more

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• SALES CLIMATE IMPROVES IN MAY: The Tourism Sales Climate Index published by management consultants Dr. Fried & Partner improved in May, both in terms of the current sales situation and expectations for the next six months. There was a “significant improvement in the assessment of the current sales situation”, according to the report. In May, 55% of respondents stated that the situation was good. In the previous month, the figure was 47 percent. The number of those who rated the situation as satisfactory fell from 44% in April to 39% in May. At the same time, the proportion of those who rated the situation as poor fell from nine percent in the previous month to seven percent. Read more

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• IS LONG-DISTANCE TOURISM HARMFUL? THIS IS WHAT TRAVEL COMPANIES SAY: Environmental destruction, protests, tougher laws: travel companies are increasingly coming under fire for mass tourism. Now they are countering - with surprising arguments. Critics say that mass tourism is responsible for environmental destruction, unsustainable rent increases and unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions. Just in time for the start of the summer travel season, the protests are reaching a new level. Ingo Burmester, head of travel provider Dertour, commented last week at the tourism summit in Berlin: “There is a lack of appreciation.” Tourism supports projects in vacation destinations, ensures infrastructure expansion and provides development aid, industry colleagues also jump to his side. Read more

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CURRENT TOPICS WITHIN THE TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY IN GERMANY & EUROPE

• SINGAPORE AIRLINES SETY NEW RECORD: The Singapore Airlines Group recorded the highest net profit in the company's history in the 2023/24 financial year at CHF 1.79 billion. According to the airline, this record profit is the result of the high demand for air travel, which led to record passenger numbers and load factors.  Despite geopolitical tensions, macroeconomic uncertainties, inflationary pressures and supply chain constraints, the Singapore Airlines Group is demonstrating its financial stability and is ideally positioned to capitalise on future growth opportunities, the company said. Read more

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• EUROWINGS EXPECTS A STRONG SUMMER AND "SPECIAL BOOM": Jens Bischof, CEO of Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings, is optimistic about the summer and expects strong demand in both tourism and business travel. He says that the trends from last year have stabilised. The desire to travel in Germany and Europe remains high, which is also due to the fact that more business travellers are on the road again. The European Football Championship in Germany is expected to provide a particular boost to summer business. This major event will generate additional demand for Eurowings. The airline has already planned over 70 additional flights with a total of 13,000 seats in Europe to take football fans to the games. However, Bischof is concerned about the rising costs. He explains that the increase in air traffic tax, a possible increase in security fees and the mandatory blending of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from 2025 will affect prices. Read more

DESTINATION NEWS

• ANTARCTIC: The number of travellers to Antarctica has increased tenfold in recent decades. Tourism is threatening the region, which is severely affected by climate change, say environmental organisations. In view of the increase in tourism in the Antarctic region, which is severely affected by climate change, environmental organisations are calling for countermeasures. "The upcoming Antarctic conference offers a crucial opportunity to finally enact enforceable regulations and prevent impacts on Antarctic biodiversity," said Claire Christian, Executive Director of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (Asoc), at the start of the meeting of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties (ATCM) in Kochi, India. Previous efforts to improve the regulation of Antarctic tourism had largely come to nothing. Read more

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• AUSTRIA: As the latest data from Statistics Austria show, the Austrian population travelled more in 2023 than ever before: with 27.01 million holiday trips, the number was not only around 8% higher than in 2022 and more than a quarter above the pre-pandemic level in 2019, but also reached the highest level since the start of the survey - according to the data analysis by Statistics Austria. Business travel has also risen sharply. However, almost a quarter of the population did not go on holiday. The budget per holiday remained roughly the same at around EUR 1,500, although this means that people cannot afford the same standard of holiday as they could a few years ago and more than half of all holidaymakers went abroad, mainly to Italy, Germany and Croatia. Within Austria, the most popular destinations were Styria and Lower Austria. Read more

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• COLOMBIA: Tourism in Colombia has taken advantage of the opportunities created by the peace agreement with one component: The strategy to promote tourism has the power to give new meaning to the past and transform it to increase visitor interest, to preserve under an educational focus and with an emphasis on non-repetition. This commitment is further underlined by the country's upcoming role as host of COP 16, the most important summit on biodiversity, which will take place from October 21 to November 1, 2024. In addition, the country will host the World Summit of the Council for Sustainable Tourism in mid-2024, underlining the recognition of the country's efforts to promote sustainable tourism in its territories by organizations of this caliber. Read more

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• ISRAEL: Israeli tourism is still suffering from the Gaza conflict. The country's Ministry of Tourism is now providing a mid-double-digit million euro sum to improve the tourism infrastructure. According to the Israel State Transportation Authority, the budget is intended to improve the tourism infrastructure throughout the country. Around 70 percent of the funds are earmarked for the "core cities" of tourism: Jerusalem, Akko, Nazareth, Eilat, Mitzpe Ramon and a large section of the Mediterranean coast. Read more

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• MEXICO: Los Cabos gets Condor non-stop and wants Edelweiss direct flight. Condor flies to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula with the new A330-900neo aircraft. Passengers land at 5.15 p.m. local time on Sundays and Wednesdays with a flight time of around 13 hours. The return flight operates on the same weekdays and lands back in Frankfurt after a flight time of eleven and a half hours. The Premium Economy Class of the new Condor A330-900neo offers 64 comfortable seats. "We have been in talks with Edelweiss for a long time and it would of course be great to have a direct connection to Switzerland," says Rodrigo Esponda, Managing Director of Los Cabos Tourism. Read more