Review platforms overtake booking portals in German travel market

A 2026 travel market study by the agency performanceLiebe reveals a structural shift in the German travel market, where content and review platforms are outpacing traditional online travel agencies (OTAs) in organic traffic. According to the report, review and information portals attract approximately 36 percent more organic traffic than pure transaction-based OTAs, signaling a reversal of the traditional booking funnel.

Travelers are increasingly making preliminary decisions during the research phase on content-driven sites before proceeding to actual bookings. The study, which analyzed 63 providers across eight categories using Ahrefs data, found that bahn.de leads in traffic rankings, while Booking.com holds the highest authority value among all analyzed providers. Other significant players identified include TripAdvisor, TUI, and Check24.