Sabtours Touristik

What Sabtours Touristik does

Sabtours Touristik GmbH is an Austrian private tour operator headquartered in Wels, Upper Austria. Founded in 1961, the company specializes in bus-based package tours, beach holidays operated under the maresol sub-brand, cruise and flight packages, and group travel for clubs, associations, and corporate clients. It serves primarily Austrian consumers, with a concentration in Upper Austria, distributing through 11 physical travel agency offices (sabreisen), a toll-free hotline, an online booking portal, and a dedicated group sales team.

The company operates a proprietary fleet that includes modern BUSinessCLASS coaches and vintage oldtimer buses, providing direct operational control over its core bus tour product. Beyond owned-product tours, Sabtours acts as a multi-brand retailer reselling offerings from major tour operators including TUI, Dertour, MSC Cruises, AIDA, and Thurgau Travel, and offers bundled travel insurance through ERV. Its geographic footprint spans 30+ countries, with beach and resort packages concentrated in Italy, Croatia, and adjacent Mediterranean destinations.

The business model is primarily B2C retail travel with a secondary B2B/group travel segment. Revenue is generated through package margin on owned tours, agency commission on third-party operator sales, and group tour pricing. The company is privately held by managing shareholders Mag. Johannes Schierl and Prok. Bernhard Hehenberger MBA, with no disclosed funding, M&A, or public financial reporting. Operational scale is indicated by 251–500 employees and a 2025 Branchenchampion award for customer satisfaction in Austrian bus travel.

Name

Sabtours Touristik

Legal name

sabtours Touristik GmbH

Website

https://sabtours.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Sabtours Touristik GmbH is an Austrian private tour operator based in Wels, offering bus-based package tours, beach holidays (maresol), cruises, and flight packages. It serves individual Austrian travelers, corporate groups, and associations through 11 retail agency offices and a proprietary bus fleet.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tour Operator Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (56152), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Land (48711)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Escorted Coach & Bus Package Tour Operators (THAKADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Package Tour Wholesalers (Pre-Packaged FIT/Group Programs) (THAKAJAC), Private Guided Tours & Personal Tour Guides (THAJALAA), Tour Bus Leasing/Rental (Sightseeing) (TLABADAK)

Keywords

• Bus tour packages
• Group travel services
• Beach holiday packages
• River cruise booking
• Travel agency services

Headquarters

HQ city

Wels

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Package Tours: Organized group tours including bus tours, beach holidays (maresol brand), flights, river cruises, and round trips sold as all-inclusive packages.
2. Individual Travel Services: Hotels, flights, rental cars, and travel insurance sold as add-on or standalone services.
3. Bus Charter Services: Rental of company-owned buses including modern and vintage (oldtimer) vehicles to groups and organizations.
4. Group Travel Planning Services: Custom group travel organization including corporate events, club outings, and weddings with dedicated consulting team.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Sabtours Touristik GmbH is an Austrian tour operator that sells organized bus tours, beach holidays, river and ocean cruises, flight packages, and e-bike tours as bundled travel packages. It operates its own modern and vintage bus fleet and runs 11 physical travel agency offices (sabreisen) across Upper Austria, complemented by an online booking platform and a dedicated group travel division serving corporate and association clients.

Product overview

Sabtours Touristik is an Austrian travel tour operator offering a diversified portfolio of travel services centered around bus-based package holidays. The core offering consists of the BUSinessCLASS branded bus travel service using a modern coach fleet, supplemented by the maresol sub-brand for beach holiday packages to the Italian and Croatian Adriatic coast. The company provides group travel services (Gruppenreisen) for corporate and association clients, cruise booking services (Kreuzfahrten), e-bike tours with specialized trailers, and online booking for hotels, flights, and rental cars. Additional services include travel insurance, flight delay compensation via a partner (Euro Fly Refund), and the sab-Komfort plus add-on package. The company operates regional travel agencies (Reisebüros) across Upper Austria and maintains its own fleet of travel coaches including vintage buses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• maresol: Beach vacation product line offering package holidays to Italian Adriatic coast destinations including Bibione, Lignano, Caorle, and Jesolo via the sabtours 'Bäderbus' (beach bus) service. Features weekly departures from May to September.

Products and services

• maresol Beach Holidays Beach holiday package brand offering bus transport (Bäderbus) to Italian Adriatic resorts (Bibione, Lignano, Caorle, Jesolo) and Croatian destinations, with weekly departures from May to September.
• BUSinessCLASS Bus Travel Premium bus travel service featuring modern coaches with comfort amenities, professional driver teams, and on-board safety features for European tour packages.
• Gruppenreisen (Group Travel) Customized group travel services including company outings (Betriebsausflüge), club excursions (Vereinsausflüge), and incentive travel with dedicated consulting team and bus or flight group options.
• Reisebusse (Travel Bus Rental) Modern fleet of travel coaches available for hire, including standard buses and vintage/oldtimer buses for special occasions, with online price inquiry and booking.
• Kreuzfahrten (Cruises) Worldwide cruise booking services including ocean and river cruises with cruise consultation and group booking options.
• e-bike Reisen Electric bicycle tours combined with bus transport, featuring a modern bike trailer for e-bike transport, accompanied by tour guides.
• Reiseservices (Online Travel Booking) Online booking platform for package holidays, hotels, flights, and rental cars, plus travel insurance and gift vouchers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Top 3 in Austria for customer satisfaction in bus travel category (2025)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

24 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• KneissltouristikminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustrian tour operator partner offering ski and winter travel packages.
• Europäische Reiseversicherung (ERV)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExclusive travel insurance partner; ERV logo displayed prominently on partner page indicating preferred insurance provider for sabtours packages.
• TUIminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor international tour operator partnership for flight packages and holiday products.
• TUICruisesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCruise line partner for river and ocean cruise packages.
• DertourminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGerman tour operator partner for international travel packages.
• JahnreisenminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGerman tour operator partner.
• Meiers WeltreisenminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGerman tour operator partner for worldwide travel.
• ITSminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGerman tour operator partner.
• AldianaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorClub holiday brand partner.
• AlltoursminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAustrian tour operator partner.
• Schauinsland-reisenminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGerman tour operator partner specializing in flights and packages.
• Sunny CarsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCar rental partner for international destinations.
• AIDA CruisesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOcean cruise line partner.
• MSC KreuzfahrtenminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOcean cruise line partner.
• Thurgau TravelcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSwiss river cruise operator; Sabtours offers MS Thurgau Prestige Christmas Rhine cruise packages with included bus transfers from Upper Austria. Veranstalter: Thurgau Travel AG, Weinfelden, Switzerland.
• IMC FH KremsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Applied Sciences partnership for potential talent recruitment and academic collaboration.
• Landestheater LinzminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural partner for opera and theater travel packages in Linz.
• Klassik am DomminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural partner for classical music events.
• OÖ NachrichtenminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRegional newspaper partner; Hans Stoll, Sommelier of OÖ Nachrichten, accompanies Barcelona wine tours.
• LinzerieminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCultural venue partner in Linz.
• Linzer City RingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal business association partnership in Linz city center.
• KlimaaktivminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClimate protection initiative partner; sabtours participates in Austria's climate protection program.
• Nestor Gold GütesiegelminorOthersQuality seal for age-appropriate workplace practices from Austrian Federal Ministry.
• BGF GütesiegelminorOthersHealth promotion quality seal from the Austrian Network for Workplace Health Promotion.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Alltours: German/Austrian tour operator offering package beach holidays and charter flights — comparable as a wholesale tour operator partner to Sabtours, with overlapping beach holiday product.
• FTI Group: Large German tour operator with package tours, hotels, and destination services — competing in the broader DACH package tour market where Sabtours operates.
• DER Touristik (Dertour): Major German tour operator group offering package tours, cruises, and travel distribution — a sourcing partner for Sabtours that competes at a broader scale in the same DACH tour operator space.
• Schauinsland-Reisen: German package tour operator specializing in flight-inclusive holidays — a wholesale partner of Sabtours and a broader incumbent in the European package tour category.
• TUI Austria: Austrian arm of global tour operator TUI, offering package tours, cruises, and retail travel agency services — a much larger incumbent partner/distributor that partially overlaps with Sabtours' package tour and cruise offerings.

Direct peers

• Kneissltouristik: Austrian tour operator specializing in package tours, ski/winter travel, and bus-based holidays — already a listed partner of Sabtours and operating in the same Upper Austrian/DACH tour operator category.
• Mader Reisen: Austrian family-owned bus tour operator with own fleet, offering package tours and group travel across Austria — comparable business model combining owned bus fleet with tour operator and retail services.
• Verkehrsbüro Group (Ruefa): Largest Austrian travel agency and tour operator group, operating the Ruefa and Verkehrsbüro brands with packaged tours, retail travel agencies, and group travel — directly comparable to Sabtours' tour operator and sabreisen retail model.
• Eurotouristik / Dr. Augustin Reisen: Austrian tour operator offering escorted coach tours, river cruises, and themed cultural travel — directly comparable to Sabtours' escorted bus tour and cruise intermediation business.

Regional players

• AIDA Cruises: Cruise line partner of Sabtours selling ocean and river cruise packages — comparable in the cruise intermediation segment but operating from Germany as a supplier rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/sabtoursReisen
• Facebookfacebook.com/sabtours.touristik
• Instagraminstagram.com/sab.reisen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sabtours-touristik-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Sabtours Touristik