Nuremberg, January 29, 2026 – With winter revenues at the level of the previous year and summer revenues 7 percent above, the booking month of December 2025 closes in the German market for organised leisure travel. Preliminary seasonal balances have eased slightly compared to the previous month: the currently ongoing winter season declines by one percentage point, yet continues to show stable development with a cumulative booking position of +6 percent. The cumulative summer balance decreases by two percentage points month-on-month, but still records a strong revenue growth of +14 percent at the current booking status. The first two major holiday periods of the year – the Easter and Pentecost holidays – are increasingly coming into focus for travellers.
In December 2025, nearly one third of monthly revenues still relates to holidays in the ongoing winter season. Almost half of this winter turnover is generated by the Easter holidays in March and April, the first major holiday wave of the year. Experience suggests that bookings for Easter travel will continue to gain momentum in the coming weeks. As of the end of December, the winter season 2025/26 shows a cumulative revenue increase of +6 percent compared with the previous year. Measured against last year’s seasonal revenues, the winter season has now reached a booking level of 79 percent (previous month: 71 percent). If monthly booking intake for winter holidays continues to match last year’s level, the winter season is likely to achieve a positive final outcome. The performance of this year’s Easter holidays will have a significant impact on this result.
Summer holiday bookings made in December 2025 already account for 62 percent of total monthly revenues.
At the current booking status, the summer season 2026 continues to show a very The highest summer revenue share relates to the travel month of May, when the Pentecost holidays begin – in total even higher than the Easter travel month of March. encouraging level with cumulative revenues up +14 percent year-on-year. Compared with last year’s summer revenues, the season has now reached a booking level of 30 percent (previous month: 23 percent). The number of summer travellers booked so far also remains above the prior-year level (+10 percent). However, the majority of growth – in both summer and winter, and in revenues as well as traveller numbers – continues to be concentrated in the online distribution channels of tour operators and classic OTAs, with a focus on package holiday travel.
Legend:
The chart illustrates the cumulative travel revenues generated up to the end of December 2025 for the current winter season 2025/26 and the upcoming summer season 2026, each compared with the previous year. TDA’s analysis includes holiday travel bookings made through brick-and-mortar travel agencies as well as online bookings via tour operator websites and Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), with a focus on package holidays. On the left side of the chart, the percentage share of December 2025 booking revenues allocated to the individual travel months or travel seasons is shown.
About TDA Travel Intelligence
Travel Data + Analytics (TDA) took over in spring 2019 the travel sales panel run by the Nuremberg market research company GfK since 2004. After the GfK data had been migrated to a new IT landscape, Travel Intelligence was set up as an independent solution with a self-learning database and associated analysis tool. The basis remains the booking data from stationary travel agencies and online portals that sell tour operator products. The requirements of tourism companies on a modern control instrument and evolving, increasingly dynamic questions can thus be mapped reliably and promptly, without giving up the core of a market-representative method that is consistently comparable over time. TDA = Current booking situation + individual product performance + new market opportunities.
Further information: Alexandra Weigand, alexandra.weigand@traveldataanalytics.de, phone: +49 (0)911 951 510 03