Advice and protection for travelers more important than ever: book your vacation now and save smartly with early booking offers.

Despite all the crises and economic challenges, Germans are still keen to travel. On the contrary: more people have already booked their vacations, especially for the summer, than in previous years - and the trend towards early booking is continuing. Travel trade fairs - such as the current CMT in Stuttgart - provide inspiration for travel destinations, while early booking offers from tour operators provide incentives to book and save.

The German Travel Association (DRV) assumes that around 85 billion euros will be spent on package tours from tour operators as well as individual and self-organized vacations booked here before departure in 2025 - according to the forecast, this is six percent more than last year. Around half of this expenditure is accounted for by package tours and modular tours offered by tour operators. And according to DRV analyses of advance bookings for this year, the popularity of these all-inclusive travel packages is particularly high - precisely because they are more flexible and individual than ever before.

High demand for flexible package tours

A package tour consists of at least two travel services from one and the same tour operator - such as flight and hotel or flight and rental car. According to the German Travel Association, these can be components specified by the tour operator or individually put together by the customer, such as a hotel stay and rental car or flight and accommodation. It is important that these components are booked with only one tour operator at the same time. This gives customers much better legal protection than if they select individual travel services from different providers.

Customers also enjoy the benefits of an attractive price-performance ratio, reliable crisis management and assistance from the tour operator in the event of an emergency, as well as financial protection in the event of insolvency. In many respects, package tours offer better protection and support for travelers before, during and after their vacation than separately booked individual services.

Growing popularity for advice and expert tips from travel agencies

According to evaluations by the German Travel Association, personal and specialized expert advice also remains in demand: even in the digital age, people continue to go to one of around 8,000 stationary travel agencies to book their vacations or seek inspiration and information about travel options from one of the several thousand mobile travel consultants. Almost all travel agencies also have an online presence. They also use social media and other digital communication channels such as WhatsApp or video advice - so vacations can also be booked digitally with the expertise of travel consultants.

The first few weeks of the year are the main booking time for summer vacations, and the early booking discounts offered by tour operators, which are usually valid until the end of February or the end of March, are the main incentive. You can often save a lot with these. Early booking discounts are particularly recommended for families with children who want to travel in the high season, e.g. during the summer vacations. The full range of offers is also available to all other travelers who book early - the earlier, the greater the chance of getting the desired offer.

The trend destinations of the 2025 travel year

Above all, beach vacations in the Mediterranean, cruises and long-haul trips have been in particularly high demand so far in 2025. Now in the winter season, long-haul trips, cruises in the Caribbean and Asia and air travel to the Canary Islands, Turkey and Egypt are particularly popular. For this year's summer season, all-inclusive flights to vacation destinations around the Mediterranean, primarily Turkey, Spain and Greece, as well as ocean cruises are in demand.