President of TUI: "Tourism in Spain has had two excellent years"

The president of the German tourist group TUI, Fritz Joussen, considers in an interview with EFE that "tourism in Spain has had two excellent years" in 2016 and 2017.

Düsseldorf (Germany), Nov 19 (EFE) .- The president of the German tourist group TUI, Fritz Joussen, considers in an interview with EFE that "tourism in Spain has had two years excellent "in 2016 and 2017.

" Spain is historically our strongest market, it was in 2016 and 2017, and it has benefited from the fall in Turkey ", a country that is very affected by the terrorism and the current political situation, says Joussen.

"When the business grows and prices rise, it is good for the Spanish economy, tourism and hoteliers but it is also the time to invest. produce changes in the wishes of customers in these countries of vacations in the Mediterranean that are in great demand. Investments in products, hotels, service, infrastructure, but also in an intact nature and environment make a vacation country attractive permanently ", according to Joussen.

Despite the influence of terrorism, Joussen continues, "the market grows and people want to travel, and countries like Spain benefit from this, where TUI has increased its capacities remarkably. "

" If we find that people do not want to go to Turkey, but to Spain, we must offer the necessary capabilities in Mallorca, the Canaries, but also on land firm, "explains Joussen.

The president of TUI emphasizes that" in Spain there is a good infrastructure, hotels are full and prices are higher than a couple of years ago. return Turkey, Spain must be prepared. "

The German group has been transformed under the chairmanship of Joussen from a mere travel operator into a consortium of hotels and cruises and has The TUI brand was introduced all over the world.

Joussen believes that "tourism in Spain has a high growth potential, and even in Mallorca there are many undiscovered places in which they could develop different forms of tourism. "

" If the inhabitants are asked, it would seem good to them. hint. also that "Fuerteventura has many undiscovered places, like Gran Canaria, where holiday spots on the coast are mainly known. different ideas and different client groups. "

" The people, the hotels, the governments we talk to do not send us away, but they think with us ideas for the future and that they can improve, for example, reduce the winter season, otherwise there is unemployment in winter, from November to April. of TUI.

He adds that "the prime minister (Greek), Alexis Tsipras, has encouraged us to the Greek island and if there is a desire of local hoteliers and companies in Crete, we can try. "

But Joussen knows the discussions about tourism in some regions of Spain because of the influence of political tendencies and in some cities through overnight stays through of the Airbnb platform.

TUI has a 50% stake in RIU, whose presence is very strong in Mallorca, the Canary Islands and the Caribbean.

"Spain is our destination country strong, with RIU and Grupotel we participate in significant Spanish companies ", highlights Joussen.

A third of the TUI clients travel to Spain, almost 20% of them to Mallorca, and also one third of the hotels of TUI is in Spain.

No effects of the political crisis in Catalonia for TUI, nor for tourism in that region.

"If Barcelona, �??�??the tourist does not notice it. nationally in other countries of the world and, however, tourism is the main driver of growth, "adds Joussen.

TUI has sold the hotel group Hotelsbed, the travel operator specials Travelopia, because there were no synergies, and Hapag-Lloyd Container, a stake that he wanted to part with for some time, but Joussen waited until the stock exchange It was very attractive for the company and the shareholders.

"We waited for it to go up, in the books the company accounted for 16 euros per share and we sold the shares at 29 euros," he explains. the president of TUI.

Joussen adds that the German group is in a situation it never had before. annual cash and was a candidate to reorganize or be acquired.