The new Neckermann, now owned by a Turkish group as is the case with Corderon or Sun Express, has opted for the Lopesan hotel chain to begin marketing vacations in the German market heading to Gran Canaria. After the Costa Meloneras and Baobab Lopesan, the company has been adding other hotels in the south of Gran Canaria until it has 300 establishments on the islands. Neckermann Reisen wants to focus mainly on families and high-spending tourists over 50 with hotels in the four-star category.
The director of Neckermann, Michael Nickel, points out that the agreements have been fluid and that "we already have more than 300 hotels in the program in the Canary Islands alone." Hotel partners include Grupo Lopesan, Hipotel Hotels & Resorts and Iberostar. Neckermann Reisen returns to the south of Gran Canaria under the umbrella of the Anex Group.
"For the restart of the tour operator, we were able to gain many long-standing partners who we know guarantee our quality standards," says Michael Nickel. Turkish group Anex acquired the rights to the Neckermann Reisen brand after tour operator Thomas Cook went bankrupt in 2019. The return was originally planned for 2020, but was later postponed due to the Covid19 pandemic.
Neckermann Reisen was founded in the early 1960s under the name Neckermann und Reisen by Josef Neckermann as an extension of his mail order company. With comparatively cheap flight packages, beach holidays in Gran Canaria became affordable for large sections of the population.