Leading Brands in Germany’s Travel & Tourism Sector: Q1 2025 Analysis

In the ever-evolving landscape of travel and tourism, certain brands have emerged as leaders, capturing significant monthly deduplicated audiences across websites and apps. In Q1 2025, Deutsche Bahn, Google Maps, and Booking.com stood out in Germany’s Travel & Tourism category. This article explores their performance, highlighting key trends and insights from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025.

Deutsche Bahn (DB Vertrieb GmbH)

Deutsche Bahn's digital ecosystem includes several websites and the DB Navigator app, known for its comprehensive travel services.

• Audience Trends:

  • deutschebahn.com saw monthly visits peaking in January 2025 at over 5.2M, with a decline to 3.3M by March.

  • international-bahn.de maintained a stable monthly audience, with visits hovering around 1.7M to 2M.

  • s-bahn-muenchen.de and sbahn.berlin exhibited fluctuations, with visits ranging from 200K to over 1.3M.

  • zugportal.de experienced a slight increase in monthly visits from January to March 2025.

• App Engagement:

  • The DB Navigator app maintained a consistent monthly active user base, slightly fluctuating but remaining above 3.9M.

• Ad Spend & Channels:

  • Deutsche Bahn's monthly advertising spend peaked in March 2025 at over $2.4M, primarily on Facebook and Instagram, generating substantial impressions.

Google Maps

Google Maps continues to be a vital tool for travelers, available through maps.google.com and the Google Maps app, known for its reliable navigation services.

• Audience Trends:

  • Web visits remained modest, with unique monthly visits peaking at around 70K in March 2025.

  • The true monthly audience size consistently hovered around 60M, with the app significantly dominating over web usage.

• App Engagement:

  • The app maintained a strong presence with monthly active users above 10M, reflecting its importance in everyday navigation.

• Ad Spend & Channels:

  • Google Maps did not engage in monthly advertising within the Travel & Tourism category during this period.

Booking.com

Booking.com, with its extensive reach through booking.com and the Booking.com: Hotels & Travel app, remains a dominant force in travel bookings.

• Audience Trends:

  • Website visits surged, particularly in March 2025, reaching over 180M.

  • The true monthly audience size consistently exceeded 14M, with a balanced distribution between app and web users.

• App Engagement:

  • The app saw an upward trend, with monthly active users surpassing 10M by the end of Q1 2025.

• Ad Spend & Channels:

  • Booking.com maintained high monthly ad spend, peaking at nearly $9.5M in March 2025, with significant impressions on Facebook and Instagram.

Conclusion

The Travel & Tourism sector in Germany remains competitive, with Deutsche Bahn, Google Maps, and Booking.com leading the charge. Each brand showcases unique strengths across web and app platforms. Sensor Tower's comprehensive data, including Web Insights, App Performance Insights, and advertising insights from Pathmatics, provides an unparalleled view of the market dynamics, helping brands stay ahead in this vibrant industry.

By leveraging Sensor Tower’s insights, decision-makers can strategically navigate this dynamic market, ensuring sustained growth and competitive advantage.