We are at Future Hospitality Summit to elevate our brand presence, says, Wesam Okasha, MD, TUI BLUE
[Music] [Applause] hello I’m with Wham the Head ofu Hotels yes and results how are you doing I’m good yourself good thank you for having me here thank you for your time tell me why you are here first of all well we use these kind of conferences just to make sure that we are increasing our brand awareness we are a very young Dynamic brand which we started 2016 in uh in Turkey uh it is the core brand and the fastest growing bed of the Tui group back in the Years uh All Our Brands were not supposed to be promoted as we do right now because of the simple fact we was distributed exclusively through our mother company the tour operator the second phase of the development has started November 2001 where we decided to go into new territories where the tour operator is not contributing that much okay so this is why our strategy of of of communication has changed a little bit uh in term of uh brand awareness so we are using we are we are spending a lot of resources and and energy and and giving it time just to make sure that we bring our brand to to the to the to the audience and to the crowd uh because we are also now selling on International level correct what kind of audience and what are your key source market uh well we have a strong source market I mean we we are in the UK as a two 2 UK is very very strong Market we have all uh we have all the the German speaking Market as one source market then you have UK Poland you have Scandinavia you have we are we are we are obviously seeing here that also UAE now Market is a good source market for us which is starting to create bit by bit because obviously a lot of emirati but also a lot of experts living in the United Arab Emirates they do travel to destination where we are but they never knew about our existenc so since November 2021 we have been we have been uh we have been promoting uh verbally first of all with our partners and our friends when they go for example to Spain to Austria to Turkey we we introduced them to our hotels they went there they loved it they came back with more family so this is why we felt that UAE especially Dubai Market is a good source market which we are now also developing also exploring and what about in Saudi are you planning to develop or expand in the Saudi Market I think I think the Saudi Market when when we speak about Leisure yes the most of the business right now in Saudi are city city ledgers uh business which we are not in we are we are exclusively Leisure experts so we are in advanc discussion on some resorts yes we will and uh Saudi is of Interest not in immediate uh term but yes it’s on our Target okay and if I ask about the sustainability that’s a buzz word of today’s hospitality industry where do you fall I love this question to be honest with you because because of the simple fact that uh we have a huge agenda on a group level and on a brand level our our Target is to reduce by 48.6% the uh uh the footprint by by 20130 and when it comes to sustainability operation we have a lot of tools and uh and programs which we are which are already implemented across the Departments like Aviation Cruisers and hotels uh just to make sure that we contribute to our planet for instance in our hotels we are we are clearly using AI uh to control and avoid food waste we have another program where we stop using using a single plastic no more plastic used in the hotels we have been uh making the investment to to to swap it to uh glass bottles where the guest has his own glass bottle he can fill it all over the places and he got it refilled in his in his rooms uh other programs we’re using a lot of uh uh PV panels to use the new energy uh we have implemented Ai and further controlling mechanism to reduce the consumption of electricity and energy in general uh then we have I can you name it I mean a lot of stuff coming on because we truly believe that sustainability is one of the of the best element to make to to transfer actually the the uh the tourism to be Force for good yeah that’s very interesting one more thing about sustainability is the two We Care Foundation we have internal two We Care Foundation in the in the company which take carees actually about developing MH in the destinations a huge infrastructure around the hotels where we we we sign contracts with the different governments and uh we help we help the the the local community to be better integrated in in our infrastructure and then uh we have different uh educational program where we bring we bring for example some Farmers to produce for us sustainable uh high quality of of different type of uh vegetables uh fruits and herbs in Sal for example in the cup we do it ourself we produce meanwhile uh vegetables fruits and uh herbs and we we we give all the hotels we fill all the hotels capacity and also sell itself so this is what we do with the with the TW Care Foundation we also have a big uh part of the two Care Foundation is uh called the the future makers we give opportunities for people which uh which are uneducated and never had the chance to be educated so we give them the chance to be educated uh in the hospitality within a a a dual program that’s mean it is a program where they go to a hotel School uh uh and then uh they come to us into our hotels to do the practi Practical part of the education and then they got endorsed and this helped the people to improve their lifestyle and their life quality thank you very much for talking to travel and to thank you thank you very much
At the Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) 2024 in Dubai, Wesam Okasha, Managing Director, Head of Global Development, Asia, Greater China & EMEA Regions, TUI BLUE, shares insights into the brand’s global expansion strategy and sustainability initiatives. Established in 2016, TUI BLUE is one of the fastest-growing brands under the TUI Group, and its focus has shifted from exclusive distribution through its parent company to a more international approach.
During the interview with Apratim Ghoshal, Vice President and Senior Editor, Travel And Tour World, Wesam Okasha, Managing Director, Head of Global Development, Asia, Greater China & EMEA Regions, TUI BLUE highlights TUI BLUE’s expansion into new territories, including United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, and Scandinavia, with growing interest from travelers in the UAE. While Saudi Arabia is not yet a primary market, TUI BLUE is in advanced discussions to introduce leisure resorts in the Kingdom.
Sustainability is at the core of TUI BLUE’s operations, with the company aiming to reduce its carbon footprint by 48.6% by 2030. The brand has implemented AI-powered systems to reduce food waste, eliminated single-use plastics, and introduced glass bottles for guests. Additionally, photovoltaic (PV) panels are used to harness renewable energy, and AI systems optimize electricity and energy consumption across hotels.
TUI BLUE’s sustainability efforts are complemented by the TUI Care Foundation, which supports local communities through education programs like the Future Makers, providing hospitality education to underprivileged individuals. The foundation also supports local farmers, helping produce sustainable, high-quality food for TUI BLUE’s hotels.
As TUI BLUE continues to expand globally, the brand remains committed to its core values of sustainability and community development, offering travelers a sustainable way to explore the world while contributing to the well-being of local communities.
#TUIBLUE #SustainableTravel #HospitalityIndustry #FutureHospitalitySummit #FHS2024 #HotelExpansion #TourismTrends #Sustainability #TUIGroup #HospitalityDevelopment
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