The German group is accelerating its diversification strategy and announced the opening of 20 new hotels and a yacht in eleven countries in Europe, Africa and Asia in the years to come. The first ten hotels already opened their doors on May 1. The other ten will open in the coming weeks.
Sebastian Ebel, member of TUI's Executive Board and in charge of Hotels & Resorts and Cruises, explains this impetus in their development: "Hotels and resorts, cruises and destination experiences are TUI's main areas for expansion. We are constantly developing these activities, which already represent about 70% of our group's profits. The hotel sector is less cyclical than the highly competitive traditional tour operator sector, which now accounts for 30% of TUI's profits. We are constantly investing in hotels, ships and the expansion of our digital platforms for destination activities."
The hotel brands TUI Sensimar, TUI Family Life and TUI Sensatori will integrate most of these new properties. Meanwhile, TUI Magic Life, including only all-inclusive resorts, will receive three new units. TUI Group's partner brands such as Riu (based in Cyprus, Greece and Egypt) and Atlantica (93 hotels in 19 countries) will follow the same trend by making new acquisitions. For example, the latter acquired at auction the Sensimar Atlantica Belvedere Resort complex located on the island of Kos, comprising three hotels and reserved for adults (+16 years old). Mr. Ebel explains the strategy that has been developed: "We are developing both our own hotel portfolio and our concept hotel brands, in cooperation with long-standing joint ventures and other hotel partners."
TUI Group currently claims 380 hotels and 17 cruise liners. It recently announced the revision of its hotel brands to capitalize on just one: TUI Blue, which will be developed with 3 different concepts. From summer 2020 there will no longer be TUI Sensimar or TUI Family Life, by TUI Blue for Two (for couples), TUI Blue for All (local immersion) and TUI Blue for Families (club package for families). This action lies at the heart of the strategy for 2022 that includes a will to expand the hotel division. As for travel, the German operator is also strengthening its presence on the market, particularly through a strategic partnership signed with the Chinese online travel agent Ctrip last March 11.
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