Swedish tour operator Airtours becomes part of Sunweb Group

The holiday expert Sunweb Group has acquired Sweden’s fourth-largest tour operator Airtours. The acquisition strengthens Sunweb’s position in Sweden and is in line with the ambition to be one of the largest holiday organizers in the Nordic countries.

Sunweb Group, one of Europe’s largest tour operators, sees Airtours as the perfect match for its expansion in the Nordics. Sunweb Group was founded in 1991 and helps over one million travellers a year in seven European countries. Sunweb Group is backed by the majority owner Triton, an international investment company.

Airtours, which was founded in 1998, has around 100,000 travellers every year. Through the acquisition, Sunweb Group supplements its current operations in Denmark and Sweden and becomes one of the leading players in the Nordic region.

The acquisition gives Airtours customers an opportunity to choose from a wider selection of destinations in Europe, increased flexibility and better technology.

“We are very happy that Airtours is now part of the Sunweb Group family. We not only share the same business model but also the same attitude to constantly challenge the travel industry and put the customer in focus,” says Mattijs ten Brink, CEO of Sunweb Group.

“In 2022, we have seen the result of all the hard work during the two pandemic years, which has resulted in the best financial result in our history, increased market shares in our home markets, the launch of cruises and the launch of Eliza was here in the UK and Sunweb in Sweden. In 2023, we continue to build on our improved market position and maintain our growth. In the Nordics, we are now taking an important step towards becoming one of the largest players on the market.”

The perfect match

Sunweb Group and Airtours match each other perfectly as neither company owns hotels or flights, sells directly to customers and offers customers full flexibility but with the same security as a charter trip. The product offerings also complement each other to the highest degree.

Early in the pandemic, Airtours decided to take advantage of the difficult times when opportunities in the market would arise and began looking for a partner.

“The pandemic meant changes and openings in the market, which we saw early on as an opportunity to take advantage of. We started looking for a partner and early in that process, we realised that Sunweb Group was the perfect fit. We both start from the customer perspective and we share the view that our similar business models suit the Nordic market very well, and will help us grow, challenge and become one of the largest tour operators,” says Stefan Chatzopoulos, one of Airtour’s founders.

With well-known brands such as Sunweb and Eliza, Sunweb Group has an annual turnover of over 800 million euros. The company was acquired in 2019 by the investment company Triton’s fund Triton V.

2 November 2022 12:00