donau touristik

What donau touristik does

Donau Touristik GmbH is an Austrian private tour operator founded in 1996 in Linz by Manfred Traunmüller and Jörg Preimesberger, specialising in cycling holidays and river cruises across Europe. The company sells package holidays — distance cycle tours, star (single-centre) tours, and guided tours along rivers including the Danube, Elbe, Moselle, Main, Drau, Adige, and Lake Constance — as well as classic river cruises and combined bike-and-ship itineraries (Radkreuzfahrten). Pricing per person ranges from approximately €119 for a short Danube day-cruise to €1,450 for a 12-day premium cruise, with revenue generated under the Pauschalreisegesetz (Package Travel Act) framework. The core proprietary asset is the MS Primadonna, the world's only river cruise catamaran (2,175 tonnes, 165-170 passengers), operated through wholly-owned subsidiary DSGL-Donau-Schifffahrts-Gesellschaft mbH; its double-hull design reduces fuel consumption by approximately 25% versus comparable vessels.

The go-to-market is predominantly direct-to-consumer via the donaureisen.at website (booking engine by WinTourS AG), a physical travel agency office at Lederergasse 4-12 in Linz, and free print catalogues, supplemented by cooperative distribution with OÖ Nachrichten Reisen and Kurier Reisen and a unified gift voucher programme spanning Donau Touristik, partner Trauni's Radferien, and DSGL. The company employs approximately 200 people including ship crew and ~90 office staff, all employed under Austrian labour law (Kollektivvertrag). It holds the Austrian Staatswappen (Federal Coat of Arms, 2003), a Klimabündnis partnership since 2004 (renewed 2024), and the 2025 klimaaktiv-Preis for sustainability initiatives including 144 new e-bikes and an electric company vehicle fleet. Operating geographies span Austria, Germany, Croatia, Italy, Hungary, Serbia, and Switzerland.

Name

donau touristik

Legal name

Donau Touristik GmbH

Website

https://donaureisen.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Donau Touristik GmbH is an Austrian private tour operator founded in 1996 in Linz, selling cycling holidays, river cruises, and combined bike-and-ship trips along European rivers, including on its owned MS Primadonna catamaran, to leisure travellers primarily in German-speaking markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cycling Holidays and River Cruises (Travel & Tourism)

NAICS

Tour Operators (56152), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (48721)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Luxury River Cruise Lines (THAEABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Hotel + Pre/Post-Cruise Land Stays (Cruisetours) (THAEAHAC)

Keywords

• Cycling holidays
• River cruises
• Bike and ship tours
• Cycle tour packages
• Danube cycling tours

Headquarters

HQ city

Linz

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Package Holiday Sales (Cycle Tours): Individually planned and organised cycle tour packages including accommodation, breakfast, luggage transport, route information, and return transfers. Sold as all-inclusive package holidays under the Pauschalreisegesetz (Package Travel Act). Revenue generated from per-person pricing across multiple tour categories including distance tours, star (single-centre) tours, and guided tours.
2. River Cruise Bookings: Sales of cabin bookings on the company-owned MS Primadonna cruise ship, operating classic Danube cruises and bike-and-ship (Radkreuzfahrt) combined holidays. Revenue from full-board cabin pricing, with prices varying by trip duration and route. All cruises include full board (Vollpension) as standard.
3. Ancillary Travel Services: Additional revenue from daily bike rental, Leihräder (rental bikes), Tagesradverleih (day bike hire), Bahnpakete (rail travel packages), transport and service flat rates, return transfer services, cancellation protection (Stornoschutz), and gift voucher sales.
4. Cooperative Travel Products: Joint travel packages sold under cooperative branding with media partners such as OÖ Nachrichten Reisen and Kurier Reisen, creating bundled travel products marketed through partner channels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Donau Touristik GmbH organises and sells cycling holidays, river cruises, and combined bike-and-ship (Radkreuzfahrt) packages across Europe's major rivers including the Danube, Elbe, Moselle, Main, and Drau. The company offers distance tours, single-centre star tours, and guided cycling trips, plus classic river cruises and bike-and-ship cruises aboard its owned 4-star superior MS Primadonna river catamaran. All package holidays include accommodation, breakfast (or full board on cruises), luggage transport, route documentation, and return transfers, and are sold under the Austrian Package Travel Act (Pauschalreisegesetz).

Product overview

Donau Touristik is a travel agency and tour operator specializing in cycling holidays and river cruises across Europe. The company operates a multi-product portfolio centered around cycling tours (Radreisen) including distance tours, star bike tours, and guided tours; combined bike-and-ship cruises (Radkreuzfahrten) aboard their owned MS Primadonna river catamaran; and classic river cruises (Flusskreuzfahrten). The MS Primadonna, the only genuine river cruise catamaran in the world, serves as both a core product and unique differentiator, offering accommodations for 165-170 passengers. The company provides complementary services including bike rentals (Leihräder), luggage transport, rail travel packages, and a customer portal. Destinations span major European rivers and regions including the Danube Cycle Path (Passau-Vienna), Lake Constance, Moselle, Elbe, and the Drau and Adige cycle paths.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Fuel consumption reduced by approximately 25% through catamaran (double-hull) ship design
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• WinTourS AGcoreTechnology or IntegrationWinTourS AG (Hainbuchenring 4, D-82061 Neuried b. München, Germany) provides the booking engine and data processing infrastructure for Donau Touristik's online booking platform. The company operates the customer portal and booking system on behalf of Donau Touristik.
• Trauni's Radferien (Radferien.com)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTrauni's Radferien is a partner company whose products can be redeemed with Donau Touristik travel vouchers. This extends the gift voucher programme to an additional cycling holiday brand.
• DSGL-Donau-Schifffahrts-Gesellschaft mbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDSGL is the 100%-owned subsidiary of Donau Touristik GmbH that operates the MS Primadonna cruise ship. It is co-listed as a data controller alongside Donau Touristik GmbH in the company's privacy policy. Travel vouchers from Donau Touristik are redeemable on DSGL/MS Primadonna cruises.
• OÖ Nachrichten ReisenminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCooperative travel products marketed under the OÖ Nachrichten Reisen brand, extending Donau Touristik's reach to the readership base of the Upper Austrian newspaper OÖ Nachrichten.
• Kurier ReisenminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCooperative travel products marketed under the Kurier Reisen brand, extending distribution reach to Kurier newspaper readers in Austria.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Gebeco (Gesellschaft für internationale Begegnung): German tour operator offering guided and self-guided cycling, hiking, and cultural tours across Europe. Overlaps directly with Donau Touristik on cycle tour packages in Central Europe, especially in Austria and Germany.
• Eurobike: Austrian/German cycling-tour operator offering multi-day cycling holidays along Europe's major rivers (Danube, Elbe, Rhine). Direct competitor in distance and star cycle tours across DACH markets with comparable all-inclusive packages.
• Boat Bike Tours: Dutch-based operator specialising in combined bike-and-boat tours across Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. Most direct competitor to Donau Touristik's Radkreuzfahrt product on smaller European waterways, serving the same active-cycling-plus-cruise customer with comparable itineraries.
• Radreisen-Welt: German cycling-tour specialist offering self-guided and guided tours along Danube, Elbe, Moselle, and other European rivers. Direct competitor in distance and star cycle tours with comparable luggage-transfer, hotel-included product positioning.
• Radweg-Reisen: German tour operator focused exclusively on cycling holidays along European river routes. Overlaps with Donau Touristik on Danube, Elbe, Moselle, Main, and Rhine cycle paths with comparable luggage-transfer and hotel-included packages.
• Hauser Exkursionen international: Munich-based adventure and cycling tour operator with guided group tours across Europe including Danube and Alpine routes. Comparable to Donau Touristik's guided tour category and overlapping customer base in German-speaking markets.

Emerging players

• Trauni's Radferien (radferien.com): Austrian cycling holiday operator affiliated with Donau Touristik via shared voucher programme. Overlaps in cycling-tour product and DACH customer base but operates at smaller scale and narrower geographic scope.

Broad incumbents

• A-ROSA Flussschiff GmbH: German river cruise line with a multi-vessel fleet on the Danube, Rhine, and Main. Competes for the same Danube cruise customer as MS Primadonna but offers broader itineraries and is part of the larger tourism group, positioning it as a broad incumbent.
• Viking River Cruises: World's largest river cruise operator with a large fleet across the Danube, Rhine, Main, and other European rivers. Competes with Donau Touristik's classic Danube cruises on the MS Primadonna but operates at much greater scale and as a broad incumbent rather than a niche Austrian player.
• Avalon Waterways: Large-suite river cruise operator with vessels on the Danube and other European rivers. Competes for premium river cruise customers on the same Danube routes as MS Primadonna but is part of the Globus family of brands and operates globally.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/donau-touristik

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 donau touristik