TUI Group is moving deeper into the tours and activities
space with a partnership with travel technology provider Nezasa.
The two companies will work together to create a platform
for the “digital production of personalized multi-day tours” across all TUI
markets.
The deal is the latest step in TUI Group’s development of
its tours and activities products. In March 2018 it paid €110 million to acquire the destination
management division of Hotelbeds and the next month it acquired Italy-based Musement
for an undisclosed amount.
In September 2020 TUI Group renamed its tours and activities
businesses TUI Musement, calling it a “strategic growth area for the company.”
Also last year Booking.com
announced it would begin selling inventory from Musement, and in April Trivago
announced a similar partnership.
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TUI Group estimates that, pre-pandemic, the multi-day tours
market was worth about €96 billion, with much of it still offline and fragmented,
creating “a significant consolidation opportunity.”
“We have achieved strong growth in excursions, activities
and tickets through the Musement platform and will now leverage this experience
to drive the digitalization of the multi-day tours market,” says David
Schelp, CEO of TUI Musement.
“In Nezasa, we have partnered with one of the most advanced
travel tech providers in the industry and together we will build a multi-day
tours platform for the next era of travel.”
Development is underway on the new platform, which will
integrate with TUI’s in-house system of technologies and infrastructure.
Nezasa is known for its TripBuilder software product, which enables
travel brands to combine all planning and booking actions across various
elements of a trip – flights, hotels, car, experiences, etc.
“We strongly believe in the future of multi-day tours and in
the huge potential that digitalization provides for this segment. We are
looking forward to combining TUI’s tourism expertise with our unique technology
to deliver a best-in-class digital experience to customers and partners.” says
Manuel Hilty, CEO of Nezasa.
Nezasa’s most
recent funding was a round of $6 million in December.