The tour operator Ameropa has seen a sharp increase in demand for rail packages that combine a rail journey with a hotel stay. According to managing director Tim Dunker, sales in this segment in the current financial year are 140 percent higher than last year. The company had already achieved an increase of 40 percent last year. The increasing popularity of rail travel is due, among other things, to improved planning and the expansion of Deutsche Bahn's route network.
A key factor in the growth is the ability to book train tickets much earlier since October 2024. This gives travelers more planning security. The internationalization of the offer is also contributing to the positive development. In 2025, Ameropa will include the rail network of SNCF (France) and Trenitalia (Italy) as well as the night trains of ÖBB in the program. Day trains of the Swiss SBB and the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) were already connected in 2024.
Ameropa did not disclose current sales figures. According to the Federal Gazette, the company's sales in 2022 were 51,3 million euros, while before the corona pandemic in 2019 it reached just under 97 million euros. Since 2023, Ameropa has been majority owned by the AER Group, which wants to continue to drive growth.