Following the approval by the relevant competition authorities, DERTOUR Group has completed the acquisition of four of the five business units of the Hotelplan Group, an international travel group specialising in leisure and business travel.
This includes the entire travel retail and tour operator business of Hotelplan Group in Switzerland, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The holiday home specialist Interhome, which is being taken over by the HomeToGo Group, is excluded.
The popular and long-standing travel brands of Hotelplan Group will remain and are joining the tourism network of the DERTOUR Group, which is already represented in 16 source markets with over 180 companies and around 13,000 employees.
DERTOUR Group now brings together an extended selection of tour operator brands and specialist travel providers, resulting in an even broader range of travel options for guests: In Switzerland, the most iconic travel brands are under one umbrella now. In the UK, the acquisition has resulted in a total of eleven thriving specialist businesses. In Germany, vtours’ dynamic packaging strengthens DERTOUR’s B2B portfolio.
“After months of intense preparation, the acquisition has now been completed. We would like to thank all teams involved who have worked tirelessly over the past few weeks to make this step possible. We are excited to officially welcome our colleagues from Hotelplan Group to the DERTOUR Group. This marks the beginning of growing together as a team, which we are approaching with great energy and a clear vision for further profitable growth,” says Christoph Debus, CEO DERTOUR Group. “Our focus lies on travellers’ individual needs, and we want to inspire them with an even wider choice of offers. At the same time, we promise to continue to provide seamless, high-quality service. As an internationally renowned travel company and a subsidiary of REWE Group, we stand for a high level of reliability, excellence and professionalism.”
Continuity for guests and sales partners
For customers of the Hotelplan Group, the completion of the acquisition has no impact: The offers of all brands will remain and will be further developed, all booked trips will be carried out as planned, and all holidays are bookable for future travel. Furthermore, all travel agencies will continue to operate. “Our
commitment to personal advice and the retail business stands,” emphasises Dr. Ingo Burmester, CEO DERTOUR Central Europe. For sales partners, this step means continuity and growth opportunities: “All sales conditions will remain in place for the current year. The teams are also working on developing sales conditions and models for the upcoming year,” Burmester continues.
Bringing new offers to life quickly
To make the advantages of the deal tangible to customers as quickly as possible, a joint technological platform will be introduced. IT migration and the connection to shared IT systems are correspondingly high priorities. “Against the backdrop of a highly competitive environment, a close collaboration is crucial. System integration, above all the joint production and booking system in Switzerland and Germany, is a high priority. It’s an essential basis and driver for genuine cooperation. We want to operate as one team to jointly benefit from economies of scale and make even more attractive offers to customers — be it through exclusively offered trips or joint marketing campaigns,” explains Leif Vase Larsen, CEO International DERTOUR Group.
Close collaboration between the country organisations
Today’s completion of the acquisition marks the beginning of a process in which the structures and procedures of both organisations are aligned gradually. The operational business units in Switzerland will be assigned to DERTOUR Suisse, those in Germany to DERTOUR Germany, and those based in the United Kingdom to DERTOUR UK. This ensures that the country-specific needs and preferences of travellers will continue to be the focus. The goal is to further increase local guest loyalty and satisfaction. This reflects DERTOUR Group’s proven strategy, which focuses on strong local brands.
Media contact
Corporate Communications
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presse@dertour.com
Background:
DERTOUR Group has its head office in Cologne, Germany, and is REWE Group’s travel and tourism division. As one of Europe’s leading travel groups, DERTOUR Group encompasses more than 180 companies and employs around 13,000 people in 16 European countries. Every year, millions of guests travel with one of the Group’s tour operators or specialists. DERTOUR Group includes tour operators such as DERTOUR, ITS, Meiers Weltreisen, Kuoni, Helvetic Tours, ITS Coop Travel, Billa Reisen, Koning Aap, Apollo, Exim Tours and Fischer, as well as around 2,000 travel agencies (such as DERTOUR, DERPART, Kuoni, Exim, and Fischer, plus franchises and partners), the hotel brands Sentido, Aldiana, and ananea and the online travel agency Prijsvrij Vakanties. The DERTOUR Group also offers on-site support: The company runs an agency network with 71 offices in 31 travel destinations. The staff in the destination agencies assist the guests of the DERTOUR Group from their arrival at their holiday destination until their departure. For more information, go to www.dertour-group.com.