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Travel Convention: TUI chief exec interviews Iberostar president
The increasing desire to offer exclusive holidays is causing conflict between tour operators and hoteliers, TUI chief executive Peter Long has admitted.
In an interview with Miguel Fluxa, president of family-owned hotel chain Iberostar, Long played interviewer and summed up with his own feelings on the future.
“We feel that scale is important and will be in the future,” said Long. “We are number one or a reluctant number two in markets around the world.
“We want to differentiate and offer exclusivity, which is difficult because hotels will always want to sell to as many people as possible, which we understand.
“But this is an exciting time and the pace of change of technology is phenomenal.”
Fluxa predicted that tour operators will continue to control a big proportion of the business in holiday destinations, but that percentage will drop from 90 – 50% within 5-10 years as online bookings grow.
“Tour operators were slow to react when low cost carriers started,” said Fluxa. “They had airlines and control of the beds, but it was the system that needed to change to adapt to the pricing.”
Fluxa said that travel agents that continued to fight would prosper in the future.
“In retail, some of them give up, but others, the ones that are here are fighting and not giving up. Low-cost airlines and hotels together is a package that you can sell very well.”
Fluxa said that when companies expand abroad, they need to be respectful of local people and cultures.
“When we wanted to go in to Brazil, I have had maybe 25 meetings to get permission to build there. It is just the way it is and you have to be aware of it.”
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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