April 2024

2023 was a record year for eSky Group: 3.3 million customers and EUR 800m in revenue

The Polish owner of global travel platform eSky has exceeded its EUR 675m sales revenue ceilings for the very first time. And it did so immediately by EUR 125 million. In 2023, eSky Group also handled more customers and bookings than ever before, selling 71% more of its dynamic package offer when compared to 2022.

The strong demand for international travel throughout 2023 meant that the travel industry experienced another boom. The World Tourism Organisation reports that globally, 2023 tourism traffic increased by a third compared to 2022, although this was still 12% lower than in 2019 – a record-breaking tourism year. The positive impact of this recovery has also been felt by eSky Group, the Polish owner of the eSky travel platform, which is ahead of the market and boasts another consecutive year of sales volume growth, growing 19% year-on-year in 2023 to EUR 801 million.

Significantly, eSky Group’s revenue increased by 32% compared to 2019, which is when the industry was at its peak. Last year, 3.3 million customers used the Group's services, 15% more than in 2022, resulting in a booking number increase of 13% year-on-year – a total of 2.2 million.

Source: eSky Group financial data

These results show that we are continuously deepening our penetration in European markets. In addition to sales growth, our increasing revenues are the result of both higher airfares throughout the market and the introduction of our City Break and Vacation dynamic package offers. These products will drive sales in the coming years. While this requires much more commitment and a different approach than flying, we see great potential in it and believe it will change the way Poles and residents of Central and Eastern European countries travel.

Łukasz Habaj, CEO of eSky Group

Last year, Western Europe accounted for 40% of the company's total revenue. The Central and Eastern European region came next with a 34% share, followed closely by Latin America with 17%. Sales in North America (the United States and Mexico) accounted for 8% in the same period, while African and Asian countries accounted for around 1% of total 2023 revenue.

Source: eSky Group financial data

Longer term investments in technology and marketing are realised

Over the years, eSky Group company has invested heavily in technology and marketing. This is reflected in EBITDA, which reached EUR 18.7 million last year (-11% year-on-year). Łukasz Habaj explains that this is a natural result of earlier decisions to accelerate company strategy.

Last year, we invested a lot in the company's technological development, as well as in building and strengthening the eSky brand – both in Poland and other CEE countries. In addition, a lot of resources were consumed in obtaining an ATOL licence for the UK market, which was a requirement in order to launch the sale of the Flight+Hotel offer in that region. We are keeping our key financial metrics in check and are constantly looking for business opportunities that will further improve the Group's performance.

Łukasz Habaj, CEO of eSky Group

Dynamic packages are a powerful boost to growth

In its strategy for 2022-2027, eSky Group assumes that it will build its position as the first-choice travel platform in Europe primarily on its dynamic packages. An important aspect of this product development is the establishment in April 2024 of a partnership with Europe's largest low-cost airline, Ryanair. The companies have signed an agreement that will not only increase sales of the Irish carrier's flights on eSky's services, but also expand the City Break and Holidays product offering through Ryanair's expanded route network.

At a Group-wide level, sales of the product, which combines flights and hotels in a single booking and is additionally covered by the Tourist Guarantee Fund (TFG) and lowest price guarantee, have skyrocketed by 71% when compared with 2022. It is predominantly Central and Eastern European customers who are most likely to book travel using the flight-plus-hotel option, with sales in this region increasing by 170% year-on-year. By contrast, Latin America and Western Europe – eSky Group’s largest markets outside of CEE – saw year-on-year growth of 14% and 11%, respectively.

We are gradually increasing the revenue share of the Flight+Hotel offer, focusing most of our attention on the City Break and Holidays products. These combine elements of a traditional tour operator offer while providing consumers with an unlimited choice of destinations and accommodation. We anticipate that the next few years will be marked by triple-digit growth rates for this product. As such, we aim to sell around three times as many packages by the end of this year as in 2023.

Łukasz Habaj, CEO of eSky Group

Airline offerings and additional services also outperformed last year's results; ticket sales volumes increased by 20% in 2023, while products such as insurance, online check-in and VIP assistance increased by 2%.

Eugene Triasun

Senior PR Specialist at eSky Group

+48 781 010 873

Deniz Rymkiewicz