TUI Travel PLC

TUI is an internationally active group that since 2005 has been concentrating on the two growth sectors of tourism and shipping. In both these sectors TUI commands a leading market position; it is namely number one among the European tourism companies and number five in the world of container shipping. In tourism TUI guarantees the highest quality by covering every stage in the integrated travel business  regardless of whether holidays are booked as an individual holiday component or as a package.

In March 2007 TUI announced the formation, together with the British travel group First Choice Holidays PLC, of TUI Travel PLC in the United Kingdom. TUI has put all its tourism activities into the joint company with the exception of its hotel subsidiaries. The shares of TUI Travel PLC were traded on the London Stock Exchange for the first time on 3 September. TUI AG has a 51 percent holding in one of the most profitable travel companies in the world.

The stay at the hotel is the most crucial part of the holiday experience and hence key to customer loyalty. With 279 hotels and some 165,000 beds TUI Hotels & Resorts is Europes largest holiday hotelier and is number 11 in the ranking of the biggest hotel chains around the world.

Part of TUI Hotels & Resorts are the hotel brands with high levels of quality and service as well as high environmental standards. The brands cover a wide range of hotel concepts at prominent and the most popular holiday regions and include such famous names as Riu, Grecotel, Grupotel, Iberotel, Dorfhotel, ROBINSON, Magic Life, Paladien and Nordotel. On the basis of optimized source market and destination strategies, TUI Hotels & Resorts carries out the planning and execution of new hotel projects in close cooperation with the Group tour operators and the respective hotel companies.

TUI Travel PLC is a new Company formed by the merger of First Choice Holidays PLC and the Tourism Division of TUI AG. TUI operates in over 180 countries worldwide serving more than 30 million customers in over 20 source markets offering a wide range of leisure travel experiences.

TUIs strategy is to be one of the worlds leading travel groups by providing their customers with a wide choice of products with the flexibility to meet their changing needs. They will deliver earnings growth and margin expansion through the combination of organic development and selected acquisitions while also delivering cost synergies across the Group through a lean and efficient business model and delivering enhanced shareholder value.

TUI aims to:

. offer a comprehensive range of travel experiences to their customers;

. increase their controlled distribution, develop their brand portfolio and improve yield management across the Group;

. maintain an efficient and flexible business model;

. make value-enhancing acquisitions in high-growth segments of the market

TUI have structured their Group to ensure that they lead the way in offering their customers the leisure travel experiences they want and to leverage the strength of their brands to deliver sustainable profitable growth and shareholder value.

Mainstream Sector is their largest Sector in the Group in terms of size, underlying operating profit and employee numbers, servicing over 24 million customers each year. It comprises a number of vertically integrated tour operators across Europe operating a fleet of 155 aircraft and 3,594 retail shops.

TUI operates within two key segments of the leisure travel market:

. Mainstream holidays which include the sale of differentiated and exclusively available content such as our Holiday Villages hotels and long-haul travel as well as more traditional mainstream holidays.

. Component which includes sales of flights, accommodation, car hire, transfers and excursions either as separate components or together as part of customer assembled mainstream holidays

TUI has 3 divisions:

Central Europe  TUIs tour operator, airlines and distribution businesses in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Eastern European markets.In 2006, combined, these businesses had a fleet of 48 aircraft, a retail estate of 1,774 shops and over 9,400employees.

Northern Europe  TUIs tour operator, airlines and distribution businesses in the UK, Ireland and the Nordic countries.In 2006, combined, these businesses had a fleet of 84 aircraft, a retail estate of 1,131 shops and over 22,000 employees. It also includes the Nordotel, Atlantica and Safeharbour hotel chains.

Western Europe- TUIs tour operator, airlines and distribution businesses in France, the Netherlands and Belgium.In 2006, combined, these businesses had a fleet of 20 aircraft, a retail estate of 689 shops and over 6,500 employees.

TUIs Specialist Sector operates in three segments: Destination, Premium and Lifestages and has businesses in the UK, Continental Europe and North America. With almost 3,000 employees it services over 2 million customers annually.

The companies within this sector operate with business models that are flexible and cost efficient with shared characteristics:

. Flexibility in aircraft and accommodation contracts; typically a reverse charter model with third party airlines (aircraft based in destination not source market) and less than 50% of seat capacity contracted

. Low overhead infrastructure; administration and management are maintained at the optimum level to support the business but maximize margins.