The global hotel firm is focusing on new holiday destinations in Asia and Africa to continue on its growth path.
Blue boom
After five successful new hotel openings in summer 2023, the TUI Blue brand is also expanding for the first time in Bali and The Gambia. Both the Indonesian island and the west African coastal country offer holidaymakers tropical flair and a variety of cultural experiences.
In addition, the portfolio in the trend destination of Vietnam is being expanded.
2024 openings
Seven openings are currently planned for the coming year in China, Cambodia, Vietnam and The Gambia. The luxury line’s Chinese pair for 2024 will be the 83-key TUI Blue Wusongkou Cruise Port just outside Shanghai and the 132-room TUI Blue Taicang in Jiangsu.
The Vietnamese push will come in the form of TUI Blue Nha Trang, bringing 316 rooms to the nation’s southern city, and just north of there, the 80-key TUI Blue Tuy Hoya. In neighbouring Cambodia, the brand will welcome another 80-room property, TUI Blue Stardream Lake, in the Botum Sakor peninsular on the country’s west coast.
In Africa, 2024’s Gambian debuts comprise the 84-key TUI Blue Kotu Point and the 140-room TUI Blue Tamala, both near Serrekunda on the Atlantic coast.
Asian future
From 2025, the brand will further expand. In Asia, four more Chinese sites are planned TUI Blue Shushan Suzhou, bringing 100 rooms to an eastern city in the country; the nearby 200-room TUI Blue Fuyang; the 150-key TUI Blue Qingchengshan near the sacred Sichuan mountain; and the 266-room TUI Blue Clearwater Bay on the southern island of Hainan.
In southeast Asia, the brand’s Balinese debut will be the 108-room TUI Blue Berawa Beach on the south of the Indonesian island. In Cambodia, the 320-key TUI Blue Koh Kong will appear in the nation’s southwest, while in neighbouring Thailand, TUI Blue Rayong will bring 250 rooms to the northern coastal city. Further east, another 250 keys will arrive in the Philippines in the shape of TUI Blue Manila Bay.
South Asian arrivals will currently comprise two sites in the Maldives, the 300 room TUI Blue Huivani and the 60-key TUI Blue Lonudhua.
Global expansion
TUI Blue will also be growing its portfolios outside Asia in future. In Africa, Senegal will welcome the 224-room TUI Blue Jalaw Beach in Q2 2025, while the Middle Eastern presence will be bolstered by the156-room TUI Blue Faralya in southwestern Türkiye.
European additions will be the 322-room TUI Blue Puerto Banus in Marbella, Spain and the 105-key TUI Blue Reutte in western Austria. Plus in the Americas, the 350-room TUI Blue Curaçao will appear in the southern Caribbean in 2025.
High pace
Erik Friemuth, MD of TUI Hotels & Resorts said: “Our hotel business is performing strongly and we are driving projects across different brands of the group at a high pace.
“With the growth of TUI Blue, we are also expanding our targeted customer base in Asia and Africa. For example, our hotels in China will primarily welcome local holidaymakers.”
International target
Artur Gerber, MD of TUI Blue, added: “TUI Blue stands for individual holiday experiences with a local touch, a trend that is well received worldwide.
“Our future partners want to make their hotels accessible to an international target group, but at the same time convey the uniqueness and culture of the respective country. TUI Blue provides the best prerequisites for this.”
