The tourism industry draws up the balance closing 2011 with a new record result. No better annual result has been achieved in the last ten years in terms of sales revenues and number of participants than in business year 2010/2011 ending on 31 October 2011. Spain, Greece and numerous long-haul destinations like the Maledives are the winners of the summer 2011. Travel agencies as well as tour operators posted above-average increases in sales revenues. Revenues of travel agencies rose by 2.1 billon euros while tour operators recorded an increase of 2 billion euros.

According to the preliminary economic result published by the German Travel Association (DRV) at the beginning of its Annual Convention in South Korean Daegu, the German travel agencies generated an increase in revenues of about 9.5 percent and tour operators of about 9 percent compared with previous year’s period. “Travelling is and remains one of the central needs of Germans. In 2011, we noticed a continuing desire to travel”, says Jurgen Buchy, President of the German Travel Association pleased.

“Compared with last year’s result that was clearly marked by the repercussions of the global financial and economic crisis in 2009, this year the overall result turned out very good,” explains Buchy. A growth was already recorded in 2010, but low unemployment figures and the positive economic development made themselves felt on the travel market only in 2011. For the coming year, the DRV market researchers expect a continuing positive development of the travel market: They consider a moderate growth of two to three percent possible - depending however on the further general economic development and the imponderables of the eurozone.

The results in detail: In tourism year 2010/2011, sales revenues of high-street and online travel agencies rose by more than 9.5 percent to approx. 22.5 billion euros (previous year: 20.4 billion euros). Looking back at the last ten years, this result exceeds the previous record of 21.8 billion euros set up in 2008. Tour operators achieved sales revenues of 23.3 billion euros this year (plus nine percent compared with previous year’s 21.3 billion euros), thereby clearly exceeding the last decade’s top result of 21.4 billion euros in 2008.

More results at a glance:
Compared with tourism year 2009/2010, about five percent more guests decided to book their holidays with German tour operators. Already last year the number of participants had risen by five percent. Thus, tours organized by travel agencies, whether as packages or travel modules, are more popular than ever and offer a number of advantages over self-organized holidays: they are easier for customers to calculate. With insolvency insurance and many services they provide considerable added value.

In 2011, also the cruise market developed again excellently with an increase in sales revenues of about twelve percent and a marked growth in passenger numbers.

Air travel organized by travel agencies generated an average increase in sales revenues of eleven percent - 12.5 percent for short and medium-haul flights and seven percent for long-distance flights.

So-called earthbound travel by car, rail or bus generated a sales growth of 2.5 percent. Main growth drivers are holidays in Germany as well as wellness holidays and city trips.

In Europe, the destinations Spain, in particular mainland and Balearic Islands, as well as Turkey and Greece attracted growing interest of German holidaymakers in the last tourism year. Also the long-haul destinations in the Indian Ocean like the Maledives, Seychelles and Sri Lanka, as well as Thailand and the Caribbean appealed to more holidaymakers than last year. Canada, the USA and the United Arab Emirates continue to be in high demand. Because of political unrest early in 2011, the North African destinations Egypt and Tunisia recorded declining guest numbers. During the summer season bookings for both countries picked up again, but so far do not reach the level prevailing before the events. However, also the long-distance destinations Australia, Kenia and South Africa suffered slight declines this year.  This is mainly due to the additional costs of the air traffic tax amounting to € 45 per person for a long distance flight. Without the increase in the price of flights imposed by the German government, an even stronger growth - especially in long-distance travel - would have been possible or the decline could have been prevented respectively.

Strong growth of travel sales - Tourism and business travel: one billion euros increase each
In the last tourism year 2010/2011 more customers than ever before in the last ten years have booked their tours in a high-street or online travel agency - and never before in the last decade have sales revenues generated by travel agencies been as high as in the last tourism year (as of October 31, 2011). This was stated by the German Travel Association (DRV) at its annual Convention this year held in South Korean Daegu. The tourism sector accounted for 14.7 billion euros (previous year 13.7) and business travel for approx. 7.8 billion euros (2010: 6.7). High-street travel agencies generated a sales increase of about seven percent and business travel agencies of almost 15 percent. Total sales of all travel agencies thus increased by around 9.5 percent to 22.5 billion euros. Hence, in the last ten years, travel sales figures have continuously grown - apart from the crisis year 2009. As the number of travel agencies has reduced in the last years, the existing travel agencies generate more revenues per agency: From 2001 to 2011, the average sales revenues per travel agency rose by 20 percent.

In 2011, the number of high-street travel agencies dropped only slightly, so that today 130 fewer agencies are on the market compared with business year 2009/2010, bringing the total number to 10,240 (569 closedowns as against 439 openings). This is mainly due to the merger of subsidiairies and closedowns of agencies.  Of these 10,240 travel agencies, 2,697 are agencies with full Deutsche Bahn and/or Iata license, 6,752 are tourist travel agencies and 791 business travel agencies.

“With the current 10,240 travel agencies and more than 10,000 mobile travel agents, Germany still has one of the highest numbers of travel agencies in the world”, emphasized Jurgen Buchy, President of the German Travel Association. In comparison: in 2009, the United Kingdom counted 5.858 travel agencies (with 61 million inhabitants), Spain 5,100 (with 47 million million inhabitants) and France 4,922 agencies (with 65 million inhabitants)  (in 2005, last available data). In the United States (310 million inhabitants) there are 15,000 subsidiaries of about 10,000 travel agencies with a staff of about 120,000 (according to the US Travel Association ASTA).

Statistical data: numbers and sales revenues of travel agencies in the last ten years
year  number sales revenues in billion euros

2002: 14,235    22.0
2003: 13,684    19.8
2004: 13,753    20.5
2005: 12,639    20.7
2006: 11,866    20.8
2007: 11,404    21.4
2008: 11,046    21.8
2009: 10,717    19.0
2010: 10,370    20.4
2011: 10,240    22.5