Hanover, 3 May 2020

After Coronavirus: TUI China resumes business and offers travel in China

TUI Group CEO Fritz Joussen: "Tourism within Europe also needs a clear perspective. Gradual return to normality with individual countries. EU and member states should develop a roadmap for travel within Europe."

TUI China resumes business operations and offers domestic tours for holidaymakers in China. Three months after the TUI Group's subsidiary had to completely stop selling tours, TUI is now offering mainly short trips to the mountains and Chinese beach resorts under the product name "TUI Selection". The portfolio also includes programmes near major cities. This means that tourism and air travel are once again taking place in China. "Our offices in Beijing and Shanghai were also in operation during the crisis, but holidays could not be sold. Now we see a clear backlog demand for holiday travel. TUI China will gradually increase its range of offers in the next few weeks," explained TUI CEO Fritz Joussen with regard to TUI subsidiary's business in Asia.

China was the first country with the coronavirus and strict restrictions on public life. Now the country is on the way back to normality and Chinese are allowed to travel within their own country. TUI China has put together travel packages for its customers including programmes near Beijing and Shanghai, but also to Sanya on the holiday island of Hainan. Destinations in well-known mountain and natural regions are also available. The safety of the guests continues to have top priority. When compiling the TUI Selection portfolio, care was taken to ensure that the hotels meet all health and safety standards for travellers. In addition, only those destinations where the epidemic has been completely brought under control were considered.

"In Germany and Europe, too, travel and holidays have considerable relevance for people. The traffic on our booking websites is 90 per cent compared to the previous year, although travel is currently not possible. Bookings for 2021 are also at a favourable level. We must now emerge well from the crisis. Tourism within Europe needs a clear perspective. The EU and the member states should develop a roadmap for travel within Europe and make holidays possible in 2020. This includes opening up with tourism and air travel to countries and regions of Europe that have made good progress and are actively promoting the return of holidaymakers, such as Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, the Balearic Islands, Austria or Bulgaria. Holidays at home are an offer, but should not be the only answer for Europe and Europeans," said Joussen.

About TUI Group

The TUI Group is one of the world's leading tourism groups and operates worldwide. The Group is headquartered in Germany. TUI shares are listed in the MDAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and in the regulated market of the Lower Saxony Stock Exchange in Hanover. TUI Group offers its 19 million customers integrated services from a single source and forms the entire tourism value chain under one roof. The Group owns over 400 hotels and resorts with premium brands such as RIU, TUI Blue and Robinson and 17 cruise ships, ranging from the MS Europa and MS Europa 2 in the luxury class and expedition ships in the HANSEATIC class to the Mein Schiff fleet of TUI Cruises and cruise ships operated by Marella Cruises in the UK. The Group also includes Europe's leading tour operator brands and online marketing platforms, for example for hotel-only or flight-only offers, five airlines with more than 130 modern medium- and long-haul aircraft and around 1,200 travel agencies. In addition to expanding its core business with hotels and cruises via successful joint ventures and activities in vacation destinations, TUI is increasingly focusing on the expansion of digital platforms. The Group is transforming itself into a global tourism platform company.  

Global responsibility for sustainable economic, environmental and social action is at the heart of our corporate culture. With projects in 25 countries, the TUI Care Foundation initiated by TUI focuses on the positive effects of tourism, on education and training and on strengthening environmental and social standards. In this way, it supports the development of vacation destinations. The globally active TUI Care Foundation initiates projects that create new opportunities for the next generation.

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