The Spanish Grupo Viajes El Corte Inglés has decided to end its presence on the German-speaking market after three years. This means that the tour operator Tourenia, which was also active in the Netherlands, will be discontinued as of 1 April. After Germany, Tourenia also launched on the Dutch market at the end of 2022. The Spanish tour operator offered classic package holidays and dynamically curated packages to popular destinations. The travel company focused on retail sales. Tourenia was founded in 2020. The company is part of the fast-growing Spanish travel group Grupo Viajes El Corte Inglés. This travel group, with an annual turnover of approximately 5 billion euros, was formed at the beginning of 2022 from a merger of the Logitravel Group and Viajes El Corte Inglés, the travel branch of Europe’s largest department store chain. Grupo Viajes El Corte Inglés has undergone changes and repositioned itself over the past two years, the company said in a statement. With the strategic reorientation, the group aims to join forces, create synergy and strengthen its market position worldwide, including in the Spanish market. This means the withdrawal from the German, Austrian and Swiss markets, but also from the Netherlands. These markets no longer fit the long-term vision and goals in the Spanish-speaking source markets, the company says. “From this perspective, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw in an orderly and strategic manner,” says Guido Wieling, Managing Director of Tourenia. This step will be carried out on 1 April 2024. All trips already booked will be carried out without restrictions. Tourenia’s product development was in Spanish hands all the time. In Germany, there was only a sales team led by Wieling, which also focused on the Netherlands. Björn Merlet was also active for Tourenia. Merlet himself is no stranger to the Dutch market. Previously, he worked for the German ANEX Tour, where he also took care of the Dutch market. Moreover, he speaks flawless Dutch. Merlet is looking for new challenges. Given his knowledge of the Dutch market, he is also looking at the Dutch travel industry. Photo: Guido Wieling and Björn Merlet from Tourenia during TravDay in autumn 2022. (Archive photo TravMagazine).
