Background of Tourism Industry Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Background of Tourism Industry - Case Study Example The four main tour operators or the Big Four in the UK include TUI, MyTravel, First Choice and Thomas Cook. However, consolidation and mergers have taken place among the Big Four as Thomas Cook and MyTravel have merged while TUI has merged with Britain’s First Choice (FVW, 2006). The growth of the British travel market has outpaced that of the rest of the developed world. The UK is an important originating market for long-haul travel and the British holidaymakers have a tendency to use tour operators when traveling long-haul. The growth of TUI can be attributed to the growing demand in the UK. This paper proposes to understand how TUI could attain leadership in the European tourism industry and how they have been able to keep the competitors at bay. The history of TUI can be traced way back to 1923, the year in which the company was formed and started operating in industry, transport and natural resources (TUI, 2009). In 1997 the organization shifted its focus to travel and tourism. The 2001 year saw a new management structure coming into place which gave a new strategic focus to the organization. Today TUI is the market leader with 11 Boeing Dreamliners and 50 next-generation 737s. It has around 200+ brands in its kitty. It operates in 180 countries worldwide serving more than 30 million customers. It employs 50,000 people and operates pan-Europe consisting 150 aircraft (TUI, 2009a). they have set up their own low-cost travel agencies across Europe and in Germany, they also sell their tour online through Touropa.com. In addition, they also sell through travel agencies, television and call centers. This strategy gave a boost to TUI’s position in Europe as they became Europe leaders in the direct sale of travel products wi th a turnover of â‚ ¬2.6bn in 2005. It then became the biggest tour operator in Europe.