Hanover, 2 March 2023

TUI BLUE expands with 13 hotels across four continents

  • Hotel brand offers new destinations in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean
  • International partnerships support growth strategy
  • Five new openings in Summer 2023

Individual holiday experiences are very popular among travellers. TUI Group's Hotels & Resorts segment therefore contributes to the recovery of the tourism industry and achieved earnings above the pre-crisis level for the third quarter in a row. The Group is now continuing on its growth path and expanding the portfolio of the global hotel brand TUI BLUE. The expansion is driven by international partnerships in which TUI BLUE hotels are operated either under management contracts or by franchisees. Already 13 new openings across four continents are planned for the next two years. With this development, TUI BLUE is adding completely new destinations to its hotel portfolio, such as China, Senegal, Cambodia and Curaçao.

In summer 2023, TUI BLUE will initially open five hotels in popular destinations on the Balearic Islands, Cyprus, Egypt and Thailand. In addition, the construction of a new hotel will start in Reutte, Austria. The upcoming hotels in Asia are in attractive beach locations in Thailand, Cambodia and on the Chinese holiday island of Hainan. With two more hotels in the heartland, the need of Chinese tourists for holidays in popular cities such as Fuyang or Taicang will also be addressed. One hotel in Senegal and a new building on the Caribbean island of Curaçao will bring a new flavor to the portfolio in the future.

"We are growing with international partners across four continents. This milestone proves that we are serving a global trend with the TUI BLUE brand as well as the design of individual hotel experiences," says Erik Friemuth, Managing Director TUI Hotels & Resorts. "The hotels in China, Southeast Asia and Africa will also attract new customers from the region to our hotel locations in the future." Further expansion of the hotel portfolio is already on the horizon, as explained by Artur Gerber, Managing Director TUI BLUE: "We want to establish TUI BLUE as a guest magnet for exciting new holiday destinations. To this end, we have established teams of experienced hotel developers in Dubai and Hong Kong, who are currently negotiating the next growth opportunities."

Digital hotel platform improves the guest experience
The TUI BLUE model offers partners the opportunity to increase the performance and revenue of their hotels, optimise costs and make hotel operations even more efficient. In addition to TUI's operational expertise and marketing and sales power with 21 million customers per year, it also provides access to a digital hotel platform. The smart technology enables efficient hotel management and a seamless digital customer experience. For example, through the digital front office which streamlines collaboration across departments and different hotel areas in order to process the guest’s wishes faster and more efficiently. All elements of the comprehensive ecosystem are based on the long-standing know-how in designing holiday experiences as well as in hotel management and operations. The continuous development of smart hotel solutions ensures that hotel staff have more time and opportunities for personal and individual guest service.

Hotel partners and investors can find more information and contact options here.

TUI BLUE hotel pipeline

Openings Summer 2023

  • TUI BLUE Crystal Bay, Egypt
  • TUI BLUE Atlantica Sungarden Park, Cyprus
  • TUI BLUE Levante, Majorca, Spain
  • TUI BLUE Victoria Menorca, Spain
  • TUI BLUE The Passage, Thailand

Openings within the next years

  • TUI BLUE Taicang, Jiangsu, China
  • TUI BLUE Clearwater Bay, Hainan, China
  • TUI BLUE Curaçao
  • TUI BLUE Reutte, Austria
  • TUI BLUE Jalaw Beach, Senegal
  • TUI BLUE Koh Kong, Cambodia
  • TUI BLUE Rayong, Thailand
  • TUI BLUE Fuyang, Anhui, China

About TUI Blue

TUI BLUE offers experience-oriented lifestyle travellers a hotel product tailored to their individual needs – for adults, families or holidaymakers interested in local culture and authentic experiences. BLUE Guides provide great hospitality with a personal touch and the BLUE App offers guests lots of activities at their choice. The experiences are tailored for all ages and range from entertainment in a relaxed atmosphere to a holistic fitness and well-being programme as well as a variety of excursions. TUI BLUE hotels stand for food experiences with a local touch, including authentic regional dishes while also catering for all dietary needs or nutrition plans. The hotel brand has more than 90 hotels worldwide and expanding its portfolio with a strong focus on Asia, the Middle East and Africa. TUI BLUE is a global brand of TUI Hotels & Resorts‘ leading leisure hotel portfolio.

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 Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, in the regulated market of the Lower Saxony Stock Exchange in Hanover and in the FTSE 250, an index of the London Stock Exchange. 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 16 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.