TUI AG and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announce joint venture to serve german cruise market
TUI AG CEO Dr. Michael Frenzel and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chairman and CEO Mr. Richard Fain, sign an agreement launching a new joint venture, TUI Cruises, which will serve the German cruise market.
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Hanover/Miami, December 10, 2007
TUI AG and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced today they will launch a new joint venture serving the German cruise market. The new company, TUI Cruises, will begin service with one ship, in early 2009, and grow quickly with two newbuilds planned for 2011 and 2012. Both partners will hold a 50 percent interest in the joint venture, which is subject to regulatory and board approvals before completion.
The first ship to operate under the TUI Cruises brand will undergo renovations before entering service. Once deployed, it will not only enhance the German cruise market, but also meet the sophisticated needs of German-speaking customers seeking a contemporary/premium cruise experience. The onboard product will be custom-tailored to German tastes, and encompass food, entertainment and amenities. German will be the language used onboard as well.
“We are very pleased by our new partnership and our new partner,” said TUI AG CEO Dr. Michael Frenzel. “Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is truly a leader in the cruise vacation industry, and TUI Cruises will greatly benefit from its expertise. By collaborating with Royal Caribbean, we gain access to a very profitable growth market, a year earlier than we had envisioned,” he added.
“We are thrilled to partner with a company as highly regarded as TUI AG,” said Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chairman and CEO Richard Fain. “The alliance greatly advances our global strategy. It also aligns us with TUI AG, the most powerful brand in European tourism,” he added.
Plans call for the new cruise line to be based in Hamburg, Germany. Industry executive Richard Vogel, who has worked extensively on the project, is expected to be named CEO of TUI Cruises after the transaction is approved.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a global cruise vacation company that operates Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur, Azamara Cruises and CDF Croisieres de France. The company has a combined total of 35 ships in service and seven under construction. It also offers unique land-tour vacations in Alaska, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin and South America and New Zealand. Additional information can be found on www.royalcaribbean.com www.celebrity.com, www.pullmantur.com www.azamaracruises.com or www.rclinvestor.com
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. The company’s consolidated revenues and number of employees for the year ended December 31, 2006 was € 20.9 billion and 54,000, respectively. With effect from September 2007 TUI AG has merged its tourism activities - with the exception of its hotel business - with the British travel group First Choice Holidays PLC into TUI Travel PLC. TUI holds 51 percent in this new entity which is listed at the London Stock Exchange.
Contacts:
RCL:
Lynn Martenstein
001 305 539-6570
lmartenstein@rccl.com
Michael Sheehan
001 305 539-6572
msheehan@rccl.com
TUI:
Uwe Kattwinkel
+49 (0) 511 566 1408
uwe.kattwinkel@tui.com
Robin Zimmermann
+49 (0) 511 566 1488
robin.zimmermann@tui.com