As 2,000 hotels, 92 exclusive routes, four new wedding destinations and TUI river cruise itineraries, and more tours than ever go on sale for summer 2026, new managing director Neil Swanson is at pains to reassure agents that, despite commitments to transformation, it's "business as usual" for now
Going on sale on October 17th, 2024, TUI's summer 2026 range will include free kids' places to 18 hotels in Florida and multiple other destinations and 64 tours including safaris in Kenya and sailings along the Turkish Coast.
Matrimonial additions in the Maldives, Mauritius, Lake Garda and Majorca have joined the fray, plus new same-sex options in Croatia and Greece.
TUI River Cruises has introduced four new itineraries across the continent.
Phillip Iveson, commercial director at TUI UK & Ireland, noted that the schedule represents the operator's "widest range of destinations," and the impressive volume of free kids' places for 2026.
Speaking at the launch of the programme, Neil Swanson, who was announced as TUI's new managing director a fortnight ago, said the change at the top "isn't just about me. There's a whole transformation, which is really the big story, about markets and airlines and how we're going to transform the business.
"For now, one of the key messages that I want to get over is that it is business as usual for TUI. It is all about what we are doing; providing a great service and holidays for customers, and for staff, keep them doing exactly what they are doing."
"We want to work with you... it was an opportunity that we were missing"
Neil was keen to confirm that "retail is doing very nicely, which I love because I think it is really important to keep that as part of the brand.
"Third-party agents are very big for us as well... it was very clear to me when I look at retail and customers who go into retail wanting relationships with the staff we have... it is exactly the same as third-party agents.
"If we were not working with those agents, then we would be missing out on a segment of the market."
And on those concerns when TUI launched to the trade, Neil said, "Not everyone trusts us. That is something that we are working on, but hopefully, over time, if we keep doing what we are doing and giving the support that I know we can, then we will be in a better position [with third-party agents]."
www.tui.co.uk
