“Something is happening again,” says Hannes Schierl, joint managing partner of Sabtours with Wolfgang Stöttinger. The travel agency and bus company – like the entire travel industry – suffered massively from the corona crisis. After the first cancellations in spring 2020, most of the business gradually broke away.
Now the people of Wels are back with a wide range of bus trips and organized tours. “The demand is back. Customers are still hesitant, but they want to travel again,” says Schierl. The group turnover of the family business (Sabtours, Kneissl Touristik) slumped from 88 to 37 million euros in the Corona months. The only constant was the bus business, which is carried out on behalf of the public sector and for which long-term contracts are concluded. It accounts for around 25 million euros in sales.
Fewer travel agents
The sharp downturns led to a downsizing of the structures, especially in the travel agency business. The branch network was reduced from 13 to eight locations. The number of employees fell from 410 to 365. It was painful that employees left the company because they had lost confidence in the industry. Not so the two entrepreneurs Schierl and Stöttinger: They also invested in the crisis year. The bus fleet was renewed. 15 modern coaches are on the way. There are also 160 regular buses.
For the new start, Sabtours is focusing on Austria and its neighboring countries. A special Austria catalog with culture, sport and nature trips was published. From the end of June the traditional spa buses will also be on the way to the seaside resorts of the upper Adriatic such as Bibione, Lignano and Jesolo. “Long-distance trips are currently still dead. The buses move much faster than the planes,” says Schierl.
The two entrepreneurs doubt that the crisis will bring about a change in travel behavior in the long term: “Our industry has not sold well. Holidays are not supposed to be a luxury item, but they should be worth something. We’re talking about climate protection and then there is a cheap flight abroad less than parking at the airport. “
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