An overall 17% year-on-year increase in holiday package sales in the German market was recorded in the year to the end of May, shortly before FTI filed for insolvency, according to the latest data from Travel Data + Analytics (TDA), which is based on booking data from both traditional travel agencies and Germany’s OTAs.
Based on this data, although sales of summer holiday travel packages showed a 3 percentage point decline in the fifth month of this year, compared to April, it still documents strong demand for bookings through travel agents. Thus, in terms of the backlog of bookings, compared to the 2019 summer season, it now stands at -10%.
The booking behaviour of German holidaymakers is comparable to the previous year, with a slight shift towards early bookings.
The share of sales for winter holidays already booked is two percentage points higher than in the same month last year. Overall, almost a quarter of the monthly sales in May were for holiday bookings for the upcoming 2024/25 winter season and the 2025 summer season.
In terms of May holidays, 11% of German holidaymakers booked at the last minute, while 45% booked for the summer months of June, July and August. A 21% booked a holiday in the autumn months of September and October. These figures include FTI sales.
Meanwhile, there has been an above-average increase in demand for summer holidays in the Eastern mid-range countries, with Turkey and Egypt accounting for 30% of all holiday bookings this summer through travel agents, up 28% on last year. As a reminder, FTI had strong representation in both of these tourist destinations.
Commenting on the impact of FTI’s bankruptcy, Alexandra Weigand, sales and consulting director at Travel Data + Analytics, stresses that it will clearly leave a visible mark on the German travel market. The question is probably how quickly capacity can be redistributed to other tour operators – and how quickly households, especially those with limited holiday budgets, will receive their refunds.
“Not everyone will be able or willing to re-book in time, despite major concessions made by many tour operators in terms of waiving deposits or extended cancellation terms,” Ms Weigand said.
On June 3, 2024, FTI filed for insolvency and that same week, new booking sales “skyrocketed”. While, they are characterized by an above-average percentage of above-average short-term bookings of summer vacation packages, particularly by families, and a focus on Eastern Mediterranean vacation destinations – formerly FTI’s core markets.
According to the TDA, the travel market is on the move. However, the impact of the bankruptcy of Europe’s third largest tour operator will only be felt when the holiday trips booked twice in the sales statistics are adjusted for FTI’s cancelled trips.
