Germany: travel agencies close first half with 0.4% drop in June sales

German travel agencies aren't exactly celebrating. According to Hosteltur, June closed with a 0.4% drop in total sales compared to the same month last year. And this isn't an isolated figure: the first half of 2026 overall brought very little joy for the German retail channel.

So what's going on? The German market, traditionally one of Europe's strongest, appears to be in a wait-and-see mode. Consumer spending is slowing, uncertainty is weighing in, and agencies, especially brick-and-mortar ones, are feeling it. The June data confirms: neither last-minute bookings nor dynamic packages managed to drive significant growth.

Now, this isn't a catastrophe, but it's a signal worth heeding. If German travel agencies, the main sales channel for tour operators like TUI, DER Touristik, and FTI, slow down, the entire distribution chain suffers. My take: it's time to rethink the travel advisor's value proposition in a country where online keeps gaining share. Those who bet on specialization and real service differentiation will come out ahead. The rest? It'll be an uphill climb.