Aviation Day at Worms University of Applied Sciences is establishing itself as a specialist conference on air transport and tourism
Moderator Prof. Dr. Karsten Benz (ganz links) mit den Speakern und Teilnehmern der Panel Discussion des Vormittags (v.l.n.r.): Dr. Vincent Stamer (Commerzbank), Christian Schmitt (Condor), Marco Ciomperlik (TUI Airline).
Aviation Day at Worms University of Applied Sciences is establishing itself as a specialist conference on air transport and tourism
Industry experts discuss the importance of leisure travel and the necessary transformation of tour operators and airlines
Aviation Day 2026 at Worms University of Applied Sciences impressively demonstrated the growing importance of leisure travel for the aviation industry. In an environment characterised by economic uncertainty, leisure travel is increasingly proving to be a stable driver of demand and growth.
The morning session focused on business models and value creation in leisure air travel. It became clear how differently airlines and tour operators structure their business models to stimulate demand and utilise capacity efficiently. It also became apparent that close cooperation between airlines and tour operators, as well as integrated approaches, are crucial to market success. At the same time, the use of artificial intelligence throughout the customer journey is becoming increasingly important.
In the afternoon, the focus shifted to changes in sales and distribution. The presentations also provided an outlook on the future development of this segment. Topics such as AI-supported offers, new search and booking processes, and innovative sales systems demonstrate the extent to which the industry is currently transforming. The boundaries between airlines, tour operators and technology providers are becoming increasingly blurred.
Conclusion of Aviation Day 2026: In future, success will be achieved by those who optimally combine customer access, data-driven offers and collaborative partnerships within the tourism sector. This is because the travel industry faces major challenges – ranging from sustainability to geopolitical influences. This makes an open dialogue between the media, industry, academia and the next generation of leaders all the more important.
The response beyond the university context was evident, amongst other things, in the coverage of Aviation Day by the trade journal fvw Travel Talk