Schauinsland-Reisen

What Schauinsland-Reisen does

Schauinsland-Reisen is a privately held German tour operator (schauinsland-reisen GmbH) founded in 1918 and headquartered in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. The company sells package holidays (Pauschalreisen), hotel-only bookings, and cruise packages (including AIDA, Costa, and Nile cruises) primarily to German-speaking leisure travelers across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Destinations span 16+ countries across Southern Europe, North Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and the Indian Ocean, with hotel partnerships covering major chains such as Hyatt, Hilton, Iberostar, TUI-related brands, and regional operators like Barut, H10, and Lopesan. Pricing is unit-based per person, ranging from approximately €558 for entry-level package holidays to €2,379 for premium properties such as The Westin Maldives, with a €29 Flex2Relax add-on providing enhanced cancellation and rebooking flexibility.

The company's go-to-market is a hybrid distribution model. Its primary channel is direct-to-consumer booking via schauinsland-reisen.de, supported by a customer account portal (mein-schauinsland), a WhatsApp booking service, email/newsletter marketing, and seasonal digital catalogs. In May 2024, Schauinsland-Reisen acquired a majority stake in long-haul travel specialist Explorer, integrating 30 physical travel agencies into its distribution network and adding adventure and long-distance modular travel expertise. Revenue streams comprise package holiday commissions and markups, hotel-only bookings, and cruise packages, all settled on a one-time transactional basis (with the Flex2Relax tariff as an exception at €29 per adult). The company is family-led, with Gerald Kassner as Chairman of the Management Board and Steffen Kassner, Detlef Schroer, and Markus Förster as Managing Directors; there are no disclosed institutional investors or public shareholders.

Name

Schauinsland-Reisen

Legal name

schauinsland-reisen gmbh

Website

https://schauinsland-reisen.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1918

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Schauinsland-Reisen is a privately held German tour operator (founded 1918, headquartered in Duisburg) selling package holidays, hotel-only bookings, and cruises to German-speaking leisure travelers across 16+ destination countries via its website and 30 acquired retail agencies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tour Operator and Package Holiday Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Tour Operators (56152)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Package Tour Wholesalers (Pre-Packaged FIT/Group Programs) (THAKAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Group, Family & Multi-Generational Travel Planning (HSACAKAK), On-Trip Support, Rebooking & Disruption Management (HSACAKAN), Resort + Cruise Packages (All-Inclusive) (THAEAHAD)

Keywords

• Tour operator services
• Package holiday bookings
• Cruise vacation packages
• Hotel reservations
• Travel agency network

Headquarters

HQ city

Duisburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Package Holidays: Sale of package holidays (Pauschalreisen) combining flights, accommodation, and sometimes transfers. The company operates as a tour operator (Reiseveranstalter) selling its own program alongside third-party offerings.
2. Hotel Bookings: Direct hotel booking services (Nur Hotel) allowing customers to book accommodation without flights.
3. Cruise Packages: Cruise holiday packages including AIDA and Costa cruise lines, as well as Nile cruises.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Schauinsland-Reisen is a German tour operator that sells package holidays (Pauschalreisen) combining flights and hotel accommodations, standalone hotel-only bookings (Nur Hotel), and cruise packages (AIDA, Costa, and Nile cruises) to consumers primarily in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The company also offers a Flex2Relax flexible tariff add-on (€29 per adult) that enables free cancellation or rebooking up to 22 days before departure, and distributes its products through its own website, a WhatsApp booking service, and 30 acquired travel agencies under the Explorer brand.

Product overview

Schauinsland-Reisen is a German tour operator offering package holidays (Pauschalreisen) as its core product, combining flights with hotel accommodations across global destinations. The product portfolio is structured as: (1) the core Pauschalreisen package holiday platform with search and booking functionality; (2) Nur Hotel standalone hotel bookings; (3) Kreuzfahrten cruise packages via AIDA and Costa lines plus Nile cruise combinations; (4) the Flex2Relax add-on tariff module for flexible cancellation/rebooking; and (5) Explorer, an acquired brand specializing in long-haul adventure travel. The company positions itself with over 100 years of experience, offering hotels worldwide, flexible booking conditions, and certified creditworthiness (CrefoZert).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Explorer: A long-haul travel specialist brand offering adventure trips and long-distance travel packages, integrated into the Schauinsland-Reisen group following majority stake acquisition in 2024.
• Kattas-Reisewelt

Products and services

• Pauschalreisen (Package Holidays)

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ExplorercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 May 2024Schauinsland-Reisen acquired a majority stake in long-distance travel specialist Explorer. The acquisition integrates Explorer's 30 travel agencies into Schauinsland-Reisen's group and expands the portfolio to include adventure trips and long-haul modular travel expertise. Explorer's existing management remains in position.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• TUI Group: Europe's largest integrated tour operator and Germany's market leader. Overlaps directly on package holidays, hotel-only, and cruises, but operates at vastly larger scale with own-airline, cruise fleet, and global retail.
• Booking.com: Global OTA dominating online accommodation and increasingly package bookings. Indirect competitor for Schauinsland-Reisen's hotel-only and package customers, with far larger scale and marketing budget.

Direct peers

• DER Touristik (Dertour): One of Germany's largest tour operators and explicitly named alongside Schauinsland-Reisen as a major German operator. Direct overlap on package holidays, hotel, and cruise products serving German-speaking customers.
• Alltours: Privately held German tour operator focused on package holidays to Mediterranean and North African destinations. Closest scale peer to Schauinsland-Reisen with similar product mix and customer base.
• FTI Group: Major German tour operator offering package holidays, hotels, and cruises across similar Mediterranean and long-haul destinations. Competes head-to-head with Schauinsland-Reisen for German-speaking package travelers.
• Vtours: Vertically integrated German tour operator with own airline capacity, selling package holidays to similar destinations. Explicitly listed alongside Schauinsland-Reisen among major German tour operators.
• Anex Tour: International tour operator group with significant German-market presence selling package holidays to Mediterranean, North Africa, and long-haul destinations. Competes for the same German-speaking leisure traveler.
• Coral Travel: Tour operator active in German-speaking markets, listed alongside Schauinsland-Reisen as a major German tour operator with overlapping package holiday and beach destination offerings.
• Neckermann Reisen: Historic German tour operator brand (relaunched under DER Touristik) selling package holidays to Mediterranean and long-haul destinations to German-speaking customers.

Emerging players

• Check24: German price-comparison portal with a growing travel vertical competing on transparency and price for package holidays and hotels, pressuring tour operator margins and customer acquisition costs in the German market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Schauinsland-Reisen