Club Med achieves record-breaking first half of the year & new opening in South Africa

Monday, Sep 18, 2023 0

Business Volume of Club Med grew to €1.06 billion, representing an increase of 32% compared to that of the same period of 2022 (€802 million), and an increase of 20% compared to that of the same period of 2019.

766,000 customers visited Club Med resorts in H1, an increase of 28% compared to H1 2022 and up 2% compared to pre-pandemic levels

Today, the luxury all-inclusive travel brand, Club Med revealed their financial results for H1 2023, with the brand increasing its business volume by 32% (€1.06 billion) compared to H1 2022. The operating profit for this same time period equated to €159 million as the brand recovered to pre-pandemic levels and the adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation) represented €265 million.

The impressive results were driven by a strong recovery across all business units in Europe, Americas and Asia, with particularly a strong performance for Mountain Resorts’ winter season, representing over 40% of Club Med business volume in the first half of 2023. Resort capacity increased by 13% compared with 2022 and recovered to 99.2% of the 2019 level.

The outlook for H2 2023 also looks robust, with bookings up 6% for departures scheduled in the second half of 2023, compared to the same period last year.

Henri Giscard d’Estaing, President of Club Med, commented: “Following a strong recovery since the second semester of 2022, we have achieved record high figures for the first half of 2023, despite the macroeconomic and inflationary context. Our Business Volume increased by 32% and our operating income reached a record high level.

These results are mainly driven by the remarkable performance of our Club Med Mountain Resorts this winter, thanks to the massive investment in recent years to upgrade the mountain’s Resorts portfolio, and the opening of new Resorts in the Alps, Canada and Japan. This winter, Club Med has seen the Business Volume of its Mountain Resorts increased by more than 45% compared to that of the same period of 2022. Its number of customers increased by 30%, and its ADR was up by 10% compared to the same period of 2022.

The outlook for the second half of 2023 is showing a strong momentum in “travel revenge” in Asia. Our successful strategy and profitable business model should enable Club Med to drive future profitable growth.”

Business growth taking place across multiple regions

Europe

The business volume of Europe stood at €621 million and increased by 14.3% and 12.7% compared to the same period of 2022 and 2019 respectively, despite concerns stemming from the sensitive geopolitical and inflationary context. The capacity of resorts in EMEA increased by 12,5% as compared to the same period of 2022 and recovered to 91.4% of the levels in 2019. The number of customers amounted to over 314,000 customers, 8% more than in the same period of 2022.

The average daily rate in Europe was €253, growing by more than 9% over the first half of 2022, and by more than 32% over 2019, due to the evolution of the capacity of Premium Resorts in Europe and Africa, which represents a massive 20-point increase over 2019. Apart from the recovery of market demand, the newly opened winter Resorts in the Alps in December 2022: Club Med Tignes, and the first Exclusive Collection Mountain Resort, Club Med Val d’Isère, also contributed their upscale capacity to the significant growth in European business activity.

The Americas & Asia

During the first half of 2023, The Americas region had a strong growth with the Business Volume increasing by 35%, as compared to the first half of 2022, and increased by 65% compared to the same period of 2019. The North America region benefited from the Canada rebound, as pandemic travel restrictions were maintained until February 2022. In South America, Club Med seized the opportunity of the strong recovery of the Brazilian domestic market, and the solid momentum of ski vacations in the Alps.

After a prolonged impact from the Covid-19 pandemic, Asia has seen a strong recovery with the easing of travel restrictions. The Business Volume in Asia increased by 247% compared to the first half of 2022 and recovered to 92.7% of the same period in 2019. This increase is due to several reasons: the “Revenge Travel” phenomenon in Asia-Pacific, ongoing momentum in domestic travel in China, and the success of the new Club Med Kiroro Peak, the third mountain Resort in Hokkaido, Japan.

Upscaling increases global ADR

The Global ADR (average daily rate: average price per day) amounted to €234, representing an increase of about 11% and 32% as compared with the same period of 2022 and 2019.

This increase is mainly due to the implementation of upscaling and massive investments in recent years, which have upgraded the portfolio of Club Med Resorts, with 97% of capacity (+11 points vs 2019) now in the high-end (Premium) and very high-end (Exclusive Collection) categories. Club Med Exclusive Resorts Collection portfolio, one of the strategic product ranges of Club Med, has seen its Business Volume increased by 35% and its number of customers by 22% compared to the same period of 2022. This increase has been driven by the successful first winter season of Club Med Val d’Isère, the first Club Med Exclusive Collection Resort in the Alps, and the recent renovation of the legendary Club Med 2 sailing yacht.

Continued Investment in new Resorts

In the second half of 2023, Club Med will continue to strengthen its upscale positioning with the opening of four new Premium & Exclusive Collection Resorts including La Rosière, Exclusive Collection Space in the French Alps, with its 43 luxury Suites-Apartments and Club Med Kiroro Grand, nestled in Kiroro domain, in Hokkaido, Japan. In China, there will be two new city hotels in Najing and Taicang, under a new product line Urban Oasis by Club Med.

In total, Club Med will open 17 new Resorts, and deliver more than 10 extensions or renovations of existing Resorts between 2023 and 2025 period, with a focus on Middle East and Southeast Asia.

A strong outlook for the second half of 2023

The trends for the second half of 2023 are positive, driven by a continued demand for Club Med in the Americas and Europe and the “travel revenge” phenomenon in Asia-Pacific. Bookings for departures in H2 23 (to 6th of August 2023), are up 6% compared to H2 22 and 21% compared to H2 19.