Nuremberg, June 13, 2019 - Travel Data + Analytics GmbH (TDA) is taking over the GfK’s tourist trade panel GfK Travel Insights. The new GmbH was founded by Dr. Markus Heller, a well-versed expert in the tourism industry. The purchase agreements for the takeover of the travel sales panel Travel Insights were signed in April 2019. In order to ensure a seamless transition, the analyses and reports will continue to be handled by GfK in Nuremberg until the end of October 2019, thus until the end of the current tourism year.
The tourist trade panel, which will appear under TDA Travel Insights in the future, will evaluate the booking data of approximately 2,000 stationary travel agencies in Germany as well as online bookings on classic travel portals of providers and OTAs (Online Travel Agencies). Founded in 2004, the sales panel has become firmly established as a tourism industry currency. The German Travel Association DRV is among those working with Travel Insights’ analyses.
The background to the sale by GfK is a strategic realignment of the Nuremberg market research company. In the future, GfK intends to focus on selected sectors, key markets and core products, and has thereby separated itself from its tourist trade panel.
With Dr. Markus Heller as managing partner of Travel Data + Analytics GmbH, an experienced industry expert was won over during the takeover who will not only run Travel Insights, but above all develop it further. “We have received very positive feedback from our previous discussions with customers and travel agency cooperations”, explains Heller. “With the development of a new data system, we will be able to functionally better depict the requirements of tourism companies for modern data management as a strategic management tool.” The system development on the TDA side is already in full swing. It is the responsibility of Tilman Bucher, Managing Director of Check IT ETC, and his team. During a transitional period of around six months, the booking data will be processed in the GfK systems as before. As of November 1, 2019, the system transition to TDA should be completed. The anonymity of the panelists and the confidentiality of the data remain ensured.
The relevant contact persons of Travel Insights, who have been running the trade panel for years, are accompanying the current transition and, as far as planning is concerned, will continue to be involved in the future. In Nuremberg, the team of four to five employees will act as an autonomous entity. Dr. Heller, who clearly separates his new company from his consultancy work as managing partner of Dr. Fried & Partner, will mainly focus on strategic issues and further developing the sales panel. “Today, especially in the package travel segment, Travel Insights is the only market-representative tool that is covering the developments in the market very well. However, in the short and medium term, we plan on expanding into further product segments and even more extensively integrate the sales channels, for instance in the sale of cruises and holiday apartments”, says Heller.
About Travel Insights
The tourism sales panel Travel Insights is based on booking data from approximately 2,000 travel agencies, which represent the stationary distribution market in Germany in a representative way. In addition, booking data of the classic travel portals and tour operators is gathered online. Projected to the overall market, Travel Insights’ evaluations allow reliable conclusions on the booking and travel behavior of German tourists. Current trends and developments in the tourism market can be traced in a timely manner. The core business of travel agencies and the online travel portals of the organizers and so-called OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) is based on package holidays or vacations booked by.
Further Information:
Dr. Markus Heller, markus.heller@traveldataanalytics.de, Telefon: +49 (0)911 951 510 00