TUI Group to Zero in on Brazil, China to Step Up Growth

European travel and tourism company TUI wants to begin offering holidays to customers from such countries as China, Brazil, Spain and Italy, as the company seeks new ways to keep its hotels full and drive sales.

According to a Reuters news report quoted by Wellston Journal, TUI has been reorganizing its business to invest in more of its own hotels and cruise ships and has been selling off what it views as non-core operations, such as the Travelopia portfolio of specialist holiday brands that it agreed to sell on Monday.

Chief Executive Fritz Joussen said on Tuesday that TUI sells holidays to southern Europe but does not take customers from those countries on holiday, while emerging markets such as China and South America offer greater potential for new customers.

The Chinese market has proved a difficult proposition for foreign travel groups and TUI has previously set up a joint venture with little success, yet an increasing number of Chinese holidaymakers is changing the landscape, the report goes on to explain.

The report also indicates that TUI had reported a first-quarter loss of 66.7 million euros ($70.9 million) — a 17 percent improvement on last year — and reiterated its forecast for core earnings to rise by at least 10 percent this year.

“Tourism companies typically make losses during the winter months, and the combination of TUI’s year-on-year improvement and the Travelopia sale helped to lift its shares by 4.9 percent to 12.14 pounds,” the Wellston Journal report states.