Analysis and Studies - Studies
CRIFBÜRGEL: Insolvency risk in the travel industry
February 17th 2021
Insolvency risk in the travel industry increased significantly - number of insolvencies already higher in 2020
In the Corona crisis, travel agencies and tour operators are among the hardest hit industries in Germany. In June 2020, 85% of the travel agencies and tour operators surveyed saw their existence threatened.
An analysis by the information service provider CRIFBÜRGEL has now shown that the consequences of the pandemic have significantly increased the risk of insolvency in the travel industry. Compared with February 2020, the number of travel agencies and tour operators that are financially weak and therefore at risk of insolvency has risen by 31.3 percent. A total of 8 percent or 1,810 companies from the travel industry are currently considered to be at risk of insolvency (as of January 2021). In February 2020, the figure was 1,379 (6.1 percent). For the evaluation, CRIFBÜRGEL examined the financial situation of a total of 22,600 travel agencies and tour operators throughout Germany.
"In 2021, every tenth company in the travel industry could be at risk of insolvency," says CRIFBÜRGEL Managing Director Dr. Frank Schlein. "Since insolvency statistics primarily reflect the past, they are in a sense a look in the rear-view mirror, the effects from last year will be most noticeable in the 2021 insolvency statistics," Schlein explains of the forecast.
A look at the regional figures shows that the insolvency risk from companies in the travel industry has increased in all German states. Particularly markedly in Saxony (plus 48.8 percent), Rhineland-Palatinate (plus 47 percent), Bremen (plus 42 percent) and in Schleswig-Holstein (plus 40 percent).
More companies from the travel industry already had to file for insolvency in 2020. Thus, bankruptcies of travel agencies and tour operators increased from 83 (2019) to 150 cases.
For the study, CRIFBÜRGEL evaluated information on the financial situation of companies that provides information on solvency. This includes information in balance sheets, profit and loss statements, employee and sales figures or payment experiences. Negative court features such as dunning procedures, debt collection monitoring or general entries in the debtors' register were also included.