TUI and Ctrip, the leading Chinese online provider, have agreed on a strategic partnership. Ctrip’s 200 million monthly users will have direct access to the tours and activities offered by TUI’s subsidiary Musement.
TUI recently acquired the Milan-based technology Startup Musement and intends to expand it into the world’s leading digital platform for activities and excursions. “China, our investments in IT and further digitization and the growing field of tours and activities are important pillars of TUI’s growth strategy for further internationalization and the development of new markets. The cooperation with Ctrip shows how closely TUI’s new business areas are linked and synergies within the Group are created. Market access to 200 million Ctrip users in China offers considerable potential for growth in Asia and the activities of our Spanish subsidiary TUI Destination Experiences”, said TUI CEO Fritz Joussen.
The steadily growing number of Chinese holidaymakers will increasingly be provided with tailor-made offers at their holiday destinations. These include round trips, excursions, and activities in all the world’s major holiday destinations as well as tickets for sights and museums in over 1,900 cities. As part of the partnership between Ctrip and TUI, it is also planned to develop exclusive excursions and one-day tours in Chinese for many destinations. Musement’s overall portfolio, which is also available to customers from China, currently comprises 150,000 products.
With the acquisition of Musement in late summer 2018, TUI, as the world’s leading provider of destination experiences, further strengthened its digital business and continued its growth course. “The strategic partnership with Ctrip shows the immense opportunities the online business offers us in the area of tours and activities. We have an unbeatable portfolio of tours and activities – and we have a powerful digital platform that enables us to target customers with individual offers. We are convinced that this strong combination will enable us to consistently expand our online market share in the coming years,” says Fritz Joussen about the cooperation with Ctrip.
The Spanish subsidiary TUI Destination Experiences is one of the TUI Group’s three strategic growth pillars alongside Hotels & Resorts and Cruises. As part of the “TUI 2022” strategy, business in China and Southeast Asia is to be significantly expanded.
