TUI Travel calls through-the-line agency pitch in China

TUI Travel has been in operation in China for over five years with its head office in Beijing, but has so far been restricted to inbound travel only.

However the company gained its outbound travel licence in China this year, which has resulted in the need to engage an agency partner.

“The client did not disclose the names of participating agencies, but the final round of the pitch will take place in the end of October,” an agency source close to the pitch said. “The client’s main challenge is to attract mainland Chinese middle class holiday-makers who are not so happy with the local package tours and would like to seek other alternatives."

According to a news article in China Daily earlier this year, the Annual Report of China Outbound Tourism Development 2009-2010, released by the China Tourism Academy, estimated that 54 million tourists would go abroad this year, up from 47 million in 2009.

They are expected to spend US$6.86 billion (RMB 48 billion) overseas, up 14 per cent from a year earlier, the report said.

TUI Travel, which is headquartered in the UK and listed on the London Stock Exchan, and owns the Thomson and First Choice chains, is the world’s leading leisure travel company operating in over 180 countries with more than 30 million customers in 27 key source markets.