Our History
Our History
From rail ticket sales counter to one of Europe’s leading tourism groups: DER Touristik can look back on a corporate history spanning over 100 years. In October 1917, the company was founded as Deutsches Reisebüro in Berlin. With sights always firmly set on the travel needs of guests, it was destined for growth and internationalisation from the outset. We have thus continually developed, broken new ground and, thanks to acquisitions and newly founded companies, evolved into the DER Touristik Group of today.
Since 2000 we have been a 100 per cent subsidiary of REWE. Under the umbrella of REWE Group, one of the leading trading companies in Europe, we are well and securely positioned and now operate with more than 130 companies in 16 European countries. For our guests, we are – today, as in the past – a competent, reliable and dedicated partner for everything to do with travel – ensuring that holidays become the most wonderful part of the year in future, too.

DER Touristik Hotel Division launches new lifestyle hotel brand ananea and opens the first ananea hotel on the Greek Island of Kos.
DER Touristik Group fully takes over Aldiana Club Resorts.
As part of the brand sharpening, DER Touristik Hotels & Resorts is transferring the PrimaSol hotel brand to the Calimera brand.

DERTOUR Reisebüro replaces the former brand DER Reisebüro.
DER Touristik Group and DSR Hotel Holding found the joint venture DR Hospitality based in Hamburg and Rostock.
DER Touristik Group acquires D-reizen, one of the leading online travel sales and travel agency organisations in the Netherlands.
The Northern European subsidiary DER Touristik Nordic sells the airline Novair to the Danish Jet Nordic Group.

The Czech subsidiary Exim Holding acquires the tourism company Fischer in Prague.
DER Touristik Hotels & Resorts takes over the Galo Resort, Madeira. The resort will operate as Sentido Galo Resort in the future.
The hotel company of DER Touristik, DER Touristik Hotels & Resorts, merges its hotel brands lti and Sentido. Sentido becomes the new brand name.
The DER Touristik Group acquires a 50 per cent share in Aldiana Club Resorts.

The Czech subsidiary Exim Holding expands the Eastern European business and purchases Travel Brands SRL in Bucharest, which trades under the name DERTOUR.
DER Touristik sells the business travel division DER Business Travel to American Express Global Business Travel.
The DER Touristik Group takes over the Sentido hotel brand from Thomas Cook.
The DER Touristik Group is created: The tourism division of REWE Group brings together the tourism activities into a separate holding.
Kuoni Reisen AG is renamed to „DER Touristik Suisse AG“.
The business travel division FCM appears under the new DER Business Travel brand.
DER Touristik Group signs the Code of Conduct and officially commits itself to protecting children.
The management structure will be adjusted: The new organizational structure will be led by the International Board.
DER Touristik takes over Kuoni’s European tour operator and sales business in Switzerland, the UK, Scandinavia and Benelux and now ranks among the leading tourism companies in Europe.
Tjaereborg is renamed to Travelix.
DER Touristik acquires 50 per cent of the Dutch online travel portal Prijsvrij.
Germany's second largest tourism company will unite the activities of its over 60 companies and equities under a single management.
Founding of the umbrella brand DER Touristik for the still independent tour operator brands, the travel agency sales and business travel division.
The Atlasreisen offices are renamed to DER Reisebüro.
The Reisebüro Service Gesellschaft (RSG) becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of REWE Touristik.
Founding of the direct marketing company ITS Billa Travel in the Czech Republic.

Dertour takes over the website camperboerse.de.
REWE Touristik acquires the travel agency cooperation ProTours AG.

The corporate group Deutsches Reisebüro enters into a joint venture in Indonesia with the agency Agentur Go Vacation.
The tour operator clevertours.com is founded.
Affiliate inclusion of the Austrian tour operator brands ITS Billa Reisen and Jahn Reisen Österreich in the newly established REWE Austria Touristik GmbH.
LTU Touristik GmbH is renamed REWE Touristik GmbH.
REWE Group divests its shares in LTU.
DER Business Travel establishes a partnership with the Australian company FCm Travel Solutions under the company name FCm DER Travel Solutions.
LTU Touristik acquires 25.1 per cent of shares in the travel agency cooperation ProTours AG.
The hotel operating company LTU Touristik Hotels & Investments is founded.
The REWE Group takes over LTU Touristik with the tour operator brands Jahn Reisen, Tjaereborg and Meiers Weltreisen and acquires 40 per cent of shares in LTU Airways.
Launch of the Atlasreise Franchise System, acquisition of TourContact GmbH by LTU Touristik and founding of the Reisebüro Service Gesellschaft RSG.
Founding of Atlasreisen Austria and tour operator LTU Touristik in Wiener Neudorf.
DERTOUR enters the Austrian market via Dertour Austria GmbH in Salzburg.

REWE Group acquires all shares of DER from Deutsche Bahn. DER becomes a 100 percent subsidiary of REWE. With the affiliated companies ITS Reisen and Atlasreisen, the travel and tourism division of REWE Group expands its market position. Derpart cooperation partners are now also under the REWE umbrella.
Dertour purchases 51 per cent of shares in ADAC Reisen, Munich.
Deutsche Bahn becomes the sole shareholder of DER.
DER undergoes restructuring: The tour operator business and travel sales continue to be managed as separate entities. Sales are divided into the “DER Reisebüro” and “DER Business Travel” business divisions.
DER GmbH takes over 100 per cent of Reisebüro Rominger GmbH in Stuttgart and the Amtliches Bayerisches Reisebüro (abr) in each case.
Deutsche Bahn holds two thirds, Deutsche Lufthansa holds one third of shares in DER.
REWE Group acquires ITS from Kaufhof AG.
A further 300 travel agencies are integrated into the national sales network of Atlas Reisen. The first stone of the tour operator business is laid.
REWE Group acquires a stake in Atlas Reisebüro GmbH, Cologne.

Deutsche Lufthansa acquires shares in DER, additional shareholders are Deutsche Bahn, Hapag Lloyd and the abr-Reisebüro.
DER jointly founds Derpart Reisevertrieb GmbH.with medium-sized partners.
Together with Hapag Lloyd, DER founds the incoming subsidiary New World Travel in New York.

DER becomes the authorised representative of the German Federal Railway and now sells rail tickets in its own travel agencies.

From the mid-1950s, various foreign representative offices are reopened, starting with the branch in Rome. This is followed by further branches in Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Toronto, New York, Miami, Tokyo, Milan and Budapest.

Renaming of MER to Deutsches Reisebüro and relocation from Berlin to Frankfurt am Main.
The Allied Control Council expropriates the subsidiaries abroad and in Eastern Germany.
The travel agencies located in the GDR are consolidated in the state-owned "Reisebüro der DDR" (travel agency of the GDR).
During the Nazi regime, the state-owned German Reichsbahn was the majority shareholder of MER. As of 1937, the German Reichsbahn had been completely integrated into the National Socialist state. It used the MER as an official travel agency during the Nazi era. You can find more information here.

MER Travel Agency in Cologne
Founding of the first subsidiary Amerop Travel in New York.
Deutsches Reisebüro was renamed Mitteleuropäisches Reisebüro (MER).
Founding of DR Deutsches Reisebüro in Berlin by the German state railways, the Norddeutscher Lloyd and the Hamburg America Line. The state railways (since 1920 the German Reichsbahn) were majority shareholders.