New initiative for package holidays: consumers should benefit!

New initiative for package holidays: consumers should benefit!

On September 13, 2025, a new association called “Initiative Pauschalreise e.V.” opened in Munich. its founding was completed. The founding force of this project are representatives of the tourism industry who have set themselves the goal of strengthening the public perception and importance of package holidays. The founding meeting took place at the Sunny Cars headquarters.

The association's board is headed by Jürgen Büchy, the former president of the German Travel Association (DRV). He is supported by Marina Ackermann, a strategy consultant, and Berend Rieckmann, an industry consultant. The auditors Sandy Horchler from Holiday Extras and Michael Gisbertz from Coral Travel also ensure the club's financial transparency. Legal support is provided by the Tour Law law firm.

Goals of the initiative

The initiative pursues three central goals to present the advantages of package holidays to consumers in a modern way. On the one hand, it is about conveying the value of the package holiday through targeted media work and campaigns. In addition, sales employees should be supported with training and argumentation aids. The dialogue with associations, training centers and the media should help to bring the package tour into greater focus as a sustainable model.

The association will not engage in political lobbying, but will focus on effective marketing. Jürgen Büchy explains in a Reise vor9 podcast that he is surprised that major tourism players have not yet taken on this task. Tourist associations also seem to be having difficulty meeting this challenge.

Challenges in the market

A central theme that emerges in the discussion about package holidays is the tension between consumers' need for peace of mind and the need to present safety and budget-relevant aspects more transparently. This problem not only challenges the initiative, but also the entire travel industry.

The association is open to members from all areas of the travel industry and plans to enter it in the association register in the next four weeks. In addition, the first information website has already been launched online, which deals with topics relating to package holidays. The discussion about the revision of the package travel directive will also play a central role at the DRV Capital Congress on October 9th and 10th in Berlin.

For the future of package holidays, it remains to be seen how effectively the initiative can implement its goals and whether it will achieve the desired changes in the perception and use of package holidays.

For more information about the initiative and its goals, please visit Travel before9 and Tourism current.