MEXICO: RIU Opens 740 Riu Dunamar Hotel In Costa Mujeres

RIU Hotels & Resorts has just inaugurated the Hotel Riu Dunamar, the company’s first in Costa Mujeres and its eighteenth in Mexico.

The 5-star hotel is located on a spectacular white-sand beach with turquoise waters located 30 kilometres north of the hotel zone of Cancún.

The hotel, of new construction, offers modern facilities and fresh-looking decor in predominantly light colours. And it also has RIU’s exclusive 24-hour All-Inclusive service to make the Hotel RIU’s Riu Dunamar an excellent option for enjoying a relaxing holiday alone, as a couple or with friends or family.

The Riu Dunamar offers its guests 740 comfortable, light-filled rooms that have all the best amenities, like free WiFi, air conditioning, minibars stocked with soft drinks, water and beer, and beverage dispensers, among others.

The gastronomic offer is one of the Riu Dunamar’s strong points, as it offers gourmet, Asian and Italian options in its Kulinarium, Bamboo and Pompeya restaurants.

In addition to six different bars, the Riu Dunamar also has the Las Brasas steakhouse and its main buffet restaurant, Isla Mujeres, where local cuisine, rich in meat and fish and with indigenous influences, has a place alongside a wide variety of international dishes.

The hotel’s five outdoor swimming pools, two of them with swim-up bars, and the lovely beach they overlook, are perfect for enjoying the Caribbean weather. Another big attraction is Splash Water World, the water park that expands the hotel’s leisure options.

The RiuLand kids’ club, the daytime and nighttime entertainment programme for adults, the live shows and music, and the Pacha discotheque complete the wide range of options for enjoying every minute of your holiday.

The Hotel Riu Dunamar is also perfectly equipped for guests seeking maximum relaxation, as it has a sauna and hydromassage bath in the Renova Spa.

Hotel guests also have the option of scheduling hairdressing, beauty and massage services that send them back to their rooms feeling brand new.

RIU has just celebrated its 20th Anniversary in Mexico. It was in 1997 when the Riu Yucatan was opened in Playa del Carmen, and since then RIU’s commitment to the country has only grown, with it now representing its main international destination with 18 hotels for a total of over 9,000 rooms.

In addition to the new hotel in Costa Mujeres, RIU has hotels in Mexico located in Playa del Carmen (6), Cancún (4), Riviera Nayarit (3), Los Cabos (2), Mazatlán (1) and Guadalajara (1).


Tourism Observer

TANZANIA: RIU Hotels & Resorts Acquires Former Nungwi Resort & Spa In Zanzibar

RIU Hotels & Resorts has just added Zanzibar to the catalogue of exotic destinations the chain offers to its loyal customers.

The Riu Palace Zanzibar is a luxury hotel with 102 rooms and suites located on the northern tip of Unguja, the main island of the archipelago of Zanzibar.

The Hotel is located less than an hour from the airport and the capital, Zanzibar City, the centre of which is known as Stone Town.

RIU formalised the purchase of the hotel today, 18 April 2018, from the Emerald hotel chain, which up to now has operated the hotel as the Hideaway of Nungwi Resort & Spa.

The New Riu Palace Zanzibar will be the perfect complement to RIU’s offer in the Indian Ocean, where it offers two hotels in Mauritius and one in Sri Lanka.

The hotel belongs to the exclusive The Leading Hotels of the World collection thanks to its excellent location right on Nungwi Beach, one of the loveliest of the island, to the tasteful decoration on display in every room and space, and to its excellent service.

It has three restaurants, the main one with a buffet serving international cuisine, an Asian restaurant and a grill—as well as two bars.

The hotel has a full-service spa, a children’s club, conference rooms, a gym and a tennis court.

RIU will maintain the characteristics of the hotel for this year’s season and, in the coming 2018-2019 winter season, will introduce the RIU 24-hour, all-inclusive programme and adapt its offer to the exclusive line of Riu Palace Adults-Only hotels.

Zanzibar is the semi-autonomous zone of Tanzania that has become very popular with travellers as part of a trip that combines a safari in the Serengeti National Park with a stay on the marvellous beaches of the island.

Zanzibar has a fascinating history influenced by Persians, Arabs, Muslims, Portuguese and the African continent itself.

The historic centre of Zanzibar City, the birthplace of singer Freddy Mercury, is known as Stone Town and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

ABOUT RIU
The international RIU chain was founded in Mallorca by the Riu family in 1953 as a small holiday firm and is still owned by the family's third generation.

The company specialises in holiday resorts and over 70% of its establishments offer its acclaimed All Inclusive by RIU service.

With the inauguration of its first city hotel in 2010, RIU is expanding its range of products with its own line of city hotels called Riu Plaza.

RIU Hotels & Resorts now has 92 hotels in 19 countries which welcome over 4 million guests a year and provide jobs for a total of 28,894 employees.

RIU is currently the world's 34th ranked chain, one of the Caribbean's most popular, the third largest in Spain in terms of revenue and the fourth largest in number of rooms.



Tourism Observer

TUI Group Delivers Good Start To Financial Year 2015/16, Fritz Joussen Becomes Sole Group CEO

- Underlying EBITA up by 7.2 per cent1 in Q1 2015/16
- Turnover up by 5.4 per cent in first quarter
- Earnings guidance for full year reiterated: At least 10 per cent1 growth in underlying EBITA
- Northern Region, RIU and TUI Cruises deliver particularly strong operating performance
- 10 million euros of further merger-related synergies delivered
- Disposal process of Hotelbeds Group initiated
- Joussen: “Good start to new financial year, integrated business model demonstrates resilience and flexibility in facing the impact of external events”

TUI Group has delivered a good start to the new financial year 2015/16 with a strong first quarter performance and a year-on-year improvement in earnings.

The first quarter loss, which is always generated in any financial year due to the seasonal swing in tourism, improved versus financial year 2014/15.

On a constant currency basis, underlying EBITA improved by 7.2 per cent to a seasonal loss of 97.3 million euros (previous year -104.8 million euros) in the reporting period from October to December.

Including the impact of foreign exchange translation effects, it rose by 3.0 per cent to -101.7 million euros. Moreover, the result posted for the first quarter of 2014/15 had included a gain on disposal worth 16 million euros.

TUI Group turnover climbed by 5.4 per cent to 3.72 billion euros (previous year 3.53 billion euros) within the same period. Fritz Joussen, CEO TUI Group: We have delivered a good start to the new financial year, despite the backdrop of geopolitical turbulence in some of our destinations.

As an integrated tourism group, TUI is strategically well positioned to tackle the challenges in this turbulent market environment. Our global presence in the destinations, our existing capacity and our own hotel and cruise content enhance the resilience of our economic position.

Customers benefit from our business model thanks to comprehensive advice provided during the booking process and personal support offered in the destinations. This service has again given us a competitive edge over pure online providers, in particular during more turbulent times.

TUI has recorded a decline in demand for Turkey, with Summer 2016 bookings to that destination currently down by around 40 percent.

However, the integrated business model and own hotel content have enabled TUI to act quickly to respond to these changes and offer customers alternative destinations.

TUI’s own hotels in destinations outside Turkey such as Spain and in particular the Canaries are benefitting from this shift in demand. “Based on current trading and due to the resilience of our integrated business model, we remain convinced that we will be able to deliver the announced underlying EBITA growth of at least 10 percent1 in the full financial year 2015/16,” said Joussen.

Upon the close of Annual General Meeting, Fritz Joussen will become sole Group CEO, as agreed at the time of the merger between TUI AG and TUI Travel. Peter Long, who has been Joint CEO this far, will stand for election as a Supervisory Board member at the Annual General Meeting.

Tourism: Strong performance in Northern Region, RIU and TUI Cruises

Since the second half of the last financial year, Tourism has comprised all Source Markets, the expanded Hotels & Resorts unit, and Cruises. The seasonal loss for the Source Markets totalled 82 million euros (previous year: -78 million euros). On a constant currency basis, the seasonal loss improved to -77 million euros year-on-year. Northern Region (UK & Ireland, Nordics, Canada, Russia) benefited from strong end of Summer trading in Source Market UK & Ireland and improved margins in the Nordics. Both Source Markets improved their performance year-on-year. Central Region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland), by contrast, recorded a decline in earnings year-on-year, driven by the development in Source Market Germany, which continued to be adversely impacted by on-going challenging trading conditions and the decline in demand for Tunisia and Egypt. The operating result of Western Region (Belgium, Netherlands, France) was impacted by the additional marketing costs for the TUI rebranding in the Netherlands.

Hotels & Resorts: RIU increases occupancy / Average rate per bed +12.7%

In Q1 2015/16, Hotels & Resorts recorded underlying EBITA of 25 million euros (previous year 29 million euros, including the gain on disposal from the sale of a hotel), i.e. a very strong performance. On a constant currency basis, the operating result totalled 23 million euros. However, the result for the prior year reference quarter had included a gain on disposal from the sale of a RIU Group hotel worth 16 million euros. Excluding this non-repeat prior year one-off income, Hotels & Resorts delivered a strong operating performance. RIU, in particular, achieved an increase in occupancy of its own hotels of 2.3 percentage points. Average rate per bed even climbed by 12.7 per cent. By contrast, Robinson saw its results impacted by various factors including higher marketing costs and weaker demand for the clubs in Turkey.

Cruises with positive operating result

TUI Group’s Cruise activities generated a positive operating result in the first quarter. Underlying EBITA amounted to 8 million euros (previous year 2 million euros). TUI Cruises achieved an improvement in its operating performance due to the successful expansion of its fleet following the launch of Mein Schiff 4 in June 2015. At 101 per cent, occupancy of the currently four cruise ships of TUI Cruises remained high, while the average rate per passenger per day declined slightly as expected to 146 euros, reflecting the expansion of the fleet and the increased offering. In the current financial year, TUI Cruises will continue its growth course in the premium cruise market segment. Mein Schiff 5 will be launched in July of this year. Cruise ships Mein Schiff 6 to Mein Schiff 8 will be launched from 2017 to 2019.

At 70 per cent, occupancy of the luxury and expedition cruise ships of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises matched the prior year’s level, while the average rate per passenger per day climbed by 3 per cent to 478 euros in the period under review.

Further synergies delivered – disposal process Hotelbeds Group initiated

In the period under review, further 10 million euros in merger synergies were delivered, thereof five million from further savings at Corporate Center. The other half of the amount was delivered by TUI Destination Services, carved out from Hotelbeds Group and integrated into the Group’s Tourism activities.

Hotelbeds Group, global bedbank market leader, is managed as a stand-alone entity, outside TUI Group’s core Tourism business. In Q1 2015/16, Hotelbeds Group increased its underlying EBITA to 4 million euros excluding the share contributed by Destination Services (previous year 2 million euros). Total transaction volume (TTV) rose by 17 per cent. Turnover increased by 27.4 per cent to 217.4 million euros (previous year 170.7 million euros). With the support of the mandated banks TUI has initiated the announced disposal process for Hotelbeds and is within its own set scheme.