Revenue growth continues to outpace passenger growth

Nuremberg, November 27, 2025 – According to the current booking position at the end of October 2025, both the summer season and the 2024/25 tourism year have concluded. Both close with a 6 percent increase in revenue year-on-year, driven by strong last-minute demand in the final booking month of the season. The total number of holiday travellers booked for the full travel year, however, remains at the previous year’s level, while the summer season alone shows a small increase of 1 percent. The new winter season 2025/26 begins with a solid early-booking cushion: at the start of the season, it records a cumulative revenue increase of 8 percent. Early bookings for summer 2026 also look promising.

German travellers spent around €16 billion on their package and dynamically packaged summer holidays this year, once again delivering record revenues for the travel industry. Traveller numbers, however, are far less record-breaking: they exceed last summer’s season by only 1 percent, and compared to the pre-crisis summer of 2019 they still lag behind by 8 percent. The growth seen this year is therefore driven primarily by higher travel prices and higher per-capita spending, which not every German household is able to absorb. The trend towards online bookings continues to strengthen as well: with 47 percent of all travellers now booking their summer holidays online through tour operator websites and OTAs, almost every second customer is choosing digital channels. In terms of revenue, online sales now account for 43 percent of this year’s summer turnover, an increase of 15 percent compared with last year. The high street travel agencies have maintained their previous year’s level and, together with the last winter season 2024/25, achieved a 2 percent revenue increase across the tourism year.

The new winter season 2025/26 (travel period November 2025 to April 2026) shows a revenue increase of 8 percent at season start, while the number of booked winter travellers is already 6 percent higher year-on-year. This indicates both a moderate rise in winter prices and sustained strong demand from early bookers. In the colder travel half of the year, holiday preferences are more diversified than during the summer months: long-haul travel, western mid-haul destinations—including Germany’s longstanding winter favourite, the Canary Islands—and cruises each account for roughly one quarter of total revenues to date. The eastern mid-haul region follows slightly behind with a 20 percent share, yet shows clearly visible growth (+14 percent). Egypt stands out in particular, recording a 20 percent revenue increase compared with the previous winter. 

In October 2025, 40 percent of the month’s turnover came from winter holiday bookings. Even higher, however, is the early-booking volume for next year’s summer holidays: these already account for 46 percent of all holidays booked in October.

Legend:

The chart displays the cumulative travel revenues generated up to the end of October 2025 for the current summer season 2025 and the upcoming winter season 2025/26, each compared with the previous year and with the pre-COVID level (summer 2019, winter 2018/19). At the current booking status, the summer season and the 2024/25 tourism year are completed. The TDA analyses include holiday travel bookings made in high street travel agencies as well as online bookings made on the websites of tour operators and Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), with a focus on package holidays. On the left side of the chart, the percentage share of October 2025 booking revenues allocated to each travel month or travel season is shown.