Nearly Two Thirds of German Agencies Augur More Travel for the Next Six Months

German travel agencies are upbeat about their own business expectations for 2004 after the good sale numbers posted during the past Easter holiday season.

According to a research study put out by FVW, an online specialized publication that gathers information from over 500 travel agencies in Germany, approximately 47 percent of those firms have clinched more bookings for the summer of 2004 than for the same span of time last year. The survey also shows that 29 percent of those tour operators are keeping the same levels of 2003, while sales have skidded in little less than a quarter of those companies.

As a result of this, 38 percent of polled agencies said their finances are “good,” compared to less than 12 percent the year before. In its forecast for the rest of the ongoing year, roughly 60 percent of Germany-based travel agencies hope to see a hike in sales over the next six months.

The best case in point is TUI. The megabuck German tour operator has sold out its reservations for the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands. Overall, Spanish destinations took the lion’s share of TUI’s travel offers.