Skift Travel News Blog

European-based experience gift platform Smartbox Group has acquired the Scandinavian experiences platform Truestory.

Lasse Kjær, founder of Truestory, announced the acquisition in a LinkedIn post, stating the Nordic-centred experiences platform, with some “1,000 live experiences from more than 600 hosts”, now had a “new owner who wants to invest in Truestory to redeem the long-term potential of the business.”

Skift reached out to Kjær for specific details on the sale, but he stated he was “unable to share the value of the acquisition right now.”

Truestory would continue to operate under the same brand as the site’s users know it, specifically strengthening Smartbox Group’s position in the Nordic countries of Norway and Sweden, René Drewsen, Cluster Director Nordic at Smartbox Group, said in a statement.

Founded in 2003, the Smartbox Group is present in nine European countries and claims it sells 7 million experience gifts worth an estimated $547 million annually. The company works with “40,000 European partners, distributing through 18,000 retail stores, supermarkets, websites, and online retailers.”

How are hotels doing post-pandemic? It all depends on the market and the type of hotel. In the U.S., average hotel rates nationwide have barely recovered to 2019 levels after accounting for inflation, but individual markets like New York City are performing better than before, while other individual markets, like San Francisco, are doing worse. But overall, it’s not price gouging.

In Europe, there’s a similar market-by-market dynamic at work. In the highest-demand markets for leisure travelers, especially Americans, hotels have been able to hike prices above inflation.

An article in Friday’s Financial Times had a compelling chart to make the point.

“Hotels in London, Rome, Madrid and Paris are enjoying a boom even when compared with the pre-pandemic era. Revenue per available room rose the most of the four cities in Rome, where it was 60 per cent higher in June than in the same month in 2019, according to hotel data provider STR.”

—Eri Sugiura and Robert Wright of the Financial Times

Lufthansa finally has a deal. For ITA Airways that is, and according to reports.

The Frankfurt-based carrier will initially buy 40 percent of the state-owned Italian airline for $343-354 million (€320-330 million), according to a report by Italian daily Corriere Della Sera. Lufthansa would invest a further $537 million to raise its stake in ITA to up to 95 percent at a later date. A final agreement could be signed as soon as Thursday.

The deal is the culmination of years of effort by Lufthansa to buy its way into the Italian market. The German carrier bid for a stake in ITA’s predecessor Alitalia as early as 2008, only to be out maneuvered by Air France-KLM. In the latest round of dealmaking, Lufthansa was counted out last year when a Certares-led consortium of Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines was selected as the preferred bidder. But that deal fell through and Lufthansa was back in the running by December; the group made an official offer in January. Air France-KLM has, meanwhile, shifted its interest to acquiring TAP Air Portugal.

Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr has described the group as the “natural home” for ITA. Italy is Lufthansa’s largest market outside of its home markets, which include Austria (Austrian Airlines), Germany (Lufthansa and Eurowings), and Switzerland (Swiss Air). In May, Spohr said ITA’s Rome hub could be an integral southern gateway to Africa and Latin America for the group.

Lufthansa and the Italian government will need to European Union antitrust sign off before any deal for ITA could close.

Low-cost carrier Wizz Air has launched a flight subscription program, opting for the same platform that Alaska Airlines uses.

The European airline has partnered with Caravelo, a company that builds subscription platforms for airlines. They claim the program, called MultiPass, is a first for Europe.

It will initially be available for six months for the Italian and Polish markets. Passengers will be able to fly domestic Italy and international Poland routes, booking up until five days before departure.

For a fixed monthly fee, the subscribers can choose between one way or round-trip flights, and can also customize their plan with ancillaries.

Caravelo partnered with Alaska Airlines for its Flight Pass in February last year, while Frontier Airlines also recently launched its own, called GoWild!

Barcelona-based Caravelo also raised $3 million in funding in July last year. “In the past year, the industry has finally woken up to the power of subscriptions,” CEO Inaki Uriz said at the time.

For more on subscription models in travel, read Skift’s Megatrends from 2021.

Hotel brands are well known for their marketing partnerships with influencers and celebrities, but now one rail booking platform is getting in on the act.

Trainline has decided to team up with legendary actor David Hasselhoff to launch its Chief Conductor Contest.

A grand prize includes a $5,000 travel stipend, a two-night stay in a luxury hotel, and $2,500 in Trainline vouchers to cover rail travel across Europe — in addition to signed merchandise.

The company thinks that with European travel booming, and the U.S. dollar remaining strong, now’s the time to get The Hoff (and his 326,000 Instagram followers) onboard. 

According to data by Trainline, 33 percent of Americans are looking to travel to Europe this summer and 42 percent would be excited to travel through Europe by train to take in the landscape. But even beyond trains as a desired mode of transportation, over half of Americans are somewhat or very likely to plan elements of their vacations based on where their favorite influencers/celebrities visit.

This is where Hasselhoff comes in.

Consumers will also have the opportunity to hear his train travel tips, tricks and itineraries, as well as get a sneak peek into some of the actor’s favorite destinations.

With lots of industry players competing to win bookings, Trainline is just the latest in a handful of travel companies employing celebrity partnerships to promote their brands.

Hilton, for example, collaborated with Paris Hilton on a 10-minute TikTok video. “It’s an experiment and a bit fun,” Chris Silcock, Hilton’s chief commercial officer, said at the Skift Future of Lodging Forum recently. “We’re trying to be more culturally relevant and in the stream. We’re approaching 40 million views of the video and it’s doing well.”

Eurocamp owner European Camping Group recently completed its acquisition of outdoor accommodation provider Vacanceselect Group for $1.1 billion (€1 billion). European Camping Group owns outdoor-centered accommodation brands.

The acquisition was first announced in July and was approved by the French Competition Authority in February. With the deal, European Camping Group has more than tripled its campsite portfolio and now covers 500 destinations across France, Italy, Spain, Croatia and the Netherlands. European Camping Group is targeting a turnover of $738.4 million ( €700million) this year.

Despite rising household expenses, nearly 60 percent of European travelers won’t cut back on traveling or spending on trips in the next six months, according to a survey by the European Travel Commission.

The commission surveyed over 6,000 European travelers in December 2022 who took at least 2 overnight trips during the last three years.

Europeans are worried about their rising living expenses, but they are not cutting back their spending. Even as energy costs and basic necessities rise, travel is the only discretionary expense people are determined to keep, according to the European Travel Commission. About 59 percent plan to spend the same on travel as last year in the first half of 2023 (below).

Nearly 40 percent plan to spend 4 to 6 nights at a destination, up 6 percent from a year ago. Between 500 and 1,500 euros is the most common allocated budget.

It also seems higher airfares also won’t stop travelers from flying. Around 54 percent of travelers still plan to fly, up 10 percent for the same period last year. A Skift megatrend for 2023 is that airlines will have an easy time generating revenue from higher airfares. 

At destinations, however, travelers will reallocate their spending. Nearly 20 percent will reduce their shopping, 16 percent will book cheaper accommodation and 15 percent will pay for self-catering or less pricey restaurants, according to the European Travel Commission.

About 58 percent of European travelers plan to take multiple trips and 75 percent plan to take at least one trip before June 2023. In fact, 44 percent of European travelers have fully or partly booked their upcoming trip, a 7 percent year over year increase. 

In addition, Europeans are determined to cross borders for their trips in 2023. Visiting another country is the preferred choice of 63 percent of European travelers, up 13 percent from last year. Interest in domestic tourism dropped to 25 percent— its lowest level since August 2020.

About 72 percent of Europeans will travel for leisure, while 15 percent will visit friends or relatives, 7 percent will attend an event and 5 percent will take a business trip.

The number of international visitors to the U.S. reached 4.6 million in November, up 61 percent year over year, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office. November’s volume represented 76 percent of pre-pandemic November 2019’s.

Last month, the National Travel and Tourism Office reported international visitor spending rose 57 percent year over year to $15.9 billion in November. From January to November, international visitors to the U.S. spent more than $146 billion, up more than 103 year over year.

U.S. Canada, Mexico, the UK, Brazil and Germany were the largest contributors in terms of international visitors for November. Those countries made up 69 percent of total international volume for the month. Among the U.S.’s top markets, Colombia, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic were the only countries to experience a drop in their inbound volume to the U.S.

In November, total Americans traveling abroad reached 6.7 million, up 41 percent year over year and represents 92 percent of pre-pandemic November 2019. From January to November 2022, American trips abroad totaled 73 million, up 69 percent year over year. Americans traveling abroad spent more than $15.2 billion in November, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office.

Europe continues to be a strong destination for American travelers. The number of American trips to Europe in November rose 89 percent year over year. Europe received over 14.6 million visitors throughout the first eleven months of 2022, making it the second largest market for outbound U.S. travel in that period. 

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday unveiled plans for a high-speed train route connecting their respective capitals, Paris and Berlin, beginning next year.

“As a tangible initiative illustrating our will to push forward on decarbonizing our economies and our societies, as well as our cross-border links, we support the deployment of the high-speed train route between Paris and Berlin, as well as the night train liaison, both announced for 2024,” they said in a joint statement. They did not provide additional details, for example which country’s rail operator — France’s SNCF or Germany’s Deutsche Bahn — would operate the planned service.

A direct Paris-Berlin high-speed rail service would eliminate the need for travelers to change trains in either Cologne or Frankfurt. However, as rail blogger Alon Levy noted, without additional infrastructure improvements the new direct service will likely take about the 8 hours in travel, or about the same as the current connecting services.

Flights between Paris and Berlin take roughly 1 hour and 45 minutes, according to Diio by Cirium schedules.

Deutsche Bahn and SNCF operate 24 trains between France and Germany daily, according to the latter’s website. Trains directly connect Paris and other French cities with Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart and other German cities.

Croatia will be joining the Schengen area in the new year. Starting January 1, travelers will be able to move passport-free between Croatia and the 26 member countries that make up the Schengen area.

The Schengen area comprises a pact between countries to remove border controls for those traveling between their territories. Croatia received unanimous approval to join the border-free zone from the 26 Schengen member states on December 8.

Croatian airports have until March 26 to lift their border entry measures. After March 26, flights originating from the Schengen member states arriving in Croatia will no longer be requiring border checks, according to Travel Begins at 40.

The official currency of Croatia will also be the euro on January 1. All ATMs in Croatia will dispensing euros by January 15 at the latest, according to Croatia Week.

The new Schengen membership and currency adoption are some of the latest milestones the country has completed to ease the movement of people between itself and rest of Europe. In July, Croatia opened the Pelješac Bridge, which has streamlined travel with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The European Commission invested $349 million to support the project, which amounted to 85 percent of its financing.