In his exclusive interview Sebastian Ebel emphasizes the balance that Europe, the Parliament and the Commission need to maintain in order to have healthy competition, while the Greek tourism sector, package tours to specific destinations and the activity of the travel giant TUI are expanding. Sustainable tourism and the quality of the travel experience are key, as mentioned by Ebel, but also the concern about Thomas Cook phenomena.
- How did you feel this year in Berlin when you saw tourism returning to pre-pandemic levels and TUI back to normal with a very positive economic outlook?
The most important realisation is that travelling is still very important to people. All trends are intact, people want to travel and get to know other cultures. 2023 was a successful year and highlighted the strength of the TUI brand, our hotels and cruise companies and our tour operators in terms of distribution. It has also shown how close and collaborative our relationship is with hoteliers and the industry, including in Greece of course. TUI has largely left the effects of the pandemic behind. Now it’s all about shaping TUI for the future. As a partner and important European company, but also in terms of international expansion. The focus is now on transformation and profitable growth. Overall, we had a good first half of 2024 and are also expecting a good travel summer. Around 50% of the summer has now been sold. Overall, I am very confident that we will achieve the announced increase in underlying operating earnings of at least 25% compared to the previous year.
- You took over from Fritz Joussen at a most difficult time for TUI. Were you concerned? What was on your mind and what were your priorities? Looking back, do you feel vindicated by the results?
The team was crucial during the pandemic. Looking back, we got through the crisis very well because we worked together as a team with trust and success. We knew about the strength, commitment and motivation of our employees. And our business model and strategy are robust and sustainable and TUI is a globally strong and reliable brand. This is important to us and has always been important to us. During the pandemic, I have also always sought intensive dialogue with our partners in the destinations, of course with Greece. The first trips in Europe took place here under new hygiene precautions. Greece had excellent crisis management and, above all, a clear plan on how to get out of the coronavirus crisis and how to organise the time afterwards. Harry Theoharis and his successor Kikilias have really done a lot for tourism in Europe. Since I took over as CEO, my focus has been on the future. We need to quickly implement the strategic measures we developed together. Firstly, we have repaid the coronavirus state loans with interest to the state. And my focus is clear: we want to offer more products, acquire more and new customers and, above all, grow profitably. In Europe and also in new markets outside Europe. The brand is so strong that we can also develop many destinations into source markets.
- What are the prospects for this season and for 2025?
We are continuing our transformation swiftly and consistently. In our core business, we want to gain market share by being agile and customer-friendly, i.e. by delivering what you expect from a brand like TUI: variety, service, quality and customised products that TUI develops itself. These include TUI Cruises with Mein Schiff, Atlantica Hotels, Robinson, TUI Blue and RIU in the Western Mediterranean and the Caribbean. The second pillar of the strategy is the significant expansion of the product portfolio. The classic package holiday is becoming more diverse by combining cheap flights with currently available hotels at short notice. This will also create offers that were previously not searched and booked with TUI, such as city breaks. We want to significantly increase sales of dynamically packaged holidays and also generate more sales via the TUI app. In addition, we will also offer individual travel products separately, i.e. accommodation, flights, car hire, insurance and TUI Musement products, i.e. services ranging from excursions at the holiday destination to museum visits in the city. And thirdly, we want to attract new customers and target groups to TUI’s offering. In the long term, TUI will become a global digital tourism platform. TUI should be the first choice for anyone thinking about holidays and leisure. On holiday on the beach and in the mountains, but also for weekend activities at home.
- Do you feel intimidated by the international environment and everything that is going on? You are worried about Thomas Cook-type phenomena. Coincidentally, currently, there are also concerns about a major tourist organisation.
We are pleased that we were able to record a good economic development despite a challenging global environment. TUI is back on track and a reliable partner, we are investing in new hotels again, we are getting a new cruise ship in June and two more will follow in 2025, which underlines our confidence in the market. Of course, we recognise the challenges such as cost inflation, geopolitical conflicts, higher interest rates and exchange rate fluctuations.
I also assume that the global tourism sector will continue to grow significantly faster than the global economy in the future. The sector is healthy and global demand for travel is strong. This is based on a number of global megatrends: the middle classes are growing internationally. People are living healthier and longer. Experiences are becoming increasingly more important than possessions in all age groups. These three factors act as strong drivers for tourism.
- Do you want fewer and better tourists or lots and of all income levels?
The quality of the travel experience is more important than the number of guests. As TUI, we want to increase the range and variety of products that we offer our guests. This applies to those who book a ten-day all-inclusive holiday, to those who want to stay longer in a hotel in Alcúdia and go on excursions, or to those who can only come for a weekend. One thing remains the same: the customer’s budget awareness. Holiday destinations are chosen according to the available budget. At the same time, however, we are also seeing a trend towards choosing the destination after the activity: you first decide what you want to do and then choose the best destination for it – again, of course, taking the budget into account. This used to be the case for certain niches such as surfing, but is now being extended to wine tourism, sporting opportunities, cultural interests, etc.
- Are you continuing the transformation of TUI at a rapid pace? What is the final horizon and the final model? Hotels, cruise ships, aircraft, experiences, tours: What is the weighting and significance of each sector, and how will they evolve in the medium term?
TUI has successfully developed from a tour operator into a leading global integrated tourism group with five airlines, three cruise lines, internationally renowned hotel brands and around 400 hotels of its own, as well as a platform for experiences and activities. We are active worldwide. In the European source markets, TUI advises its customers in more than 1,200 travel agencies as well as via service centres and online sales channels. The integration of over-the-counter sales with TUI’s own travel agencies, franchise partners, independent travel agencies and online sales guarantees customers a wide range of products and equally high quality advice and personalised service. This is what TUI will continue to stand for in the future.
And TUI’s future is geared towards profitable growth, with more customers, new products and in new markets that are being tapped into. Digitalisation offers us many new opportunities here. Structures are becoming simpler and leaner where there is no impact on the customer or where customers are relieved by technical innovation and digitalisation. To many countries, where the TUI brand is already very well known, we now only take holidaymakers. However, we also want to develop these countries as local source markets for customers and utilise the awareness of the TUI brand for new growth. We are also expanding quality and service in all areas and strengthening both. This also includes the sustainable transformation of all business segments. We have set clear targets for reducing emissions for all businesses and have had these targets for 2030 reviewed and confirmed by the independent SBTi initiative.
- Although you cannot make any estimates because of the stock market, do you think that 2024, which as your financial year ends on 30 September, will be the best year in TUI’s history?
TUI’s transformation already had an impact in the past financial year. We more than doubled our operating result and achieved record sales. Our targets for 2024 are clearly defined: revenue is to grow by at least 10% and we want to increase underlying Group EBIT by at least 25%. I am very confident that we will achieve this. Our growth areas of hotels and cruises are highly profitable, we are systematically expanding our tours and activities business, particularly in the B2B segment, and the tour operator business is being restructured to make it broader, simpler and more efficient for customers. Our strategic initiatives to increase value and the current business performance suggest that 2024 will be a further improved year. But of course we also have a long road of transformation ahead of us. There is transformation and competition every day, so we should always remain alert and agile.
- How would you view your cooperation with the Greek Ministry of Tourism and the Greek government as a whole?
As an important economic factor and employer, TUI has traditionally maintained close contact with the Greek government at national and regional level, but above all at the level of the many Greek entrepreneurs with whom we maintain a partnership. We have been in Greece for more than 50 years – not only as a tour operator bringing guests. Above all as an investor and operator of hotels. In this respect, we are part of the Greek business community. I can see that tourism as an economic sector is very important. It scales on many levels. It starts with education and training, the establishment of start-ups in the tourism sector and extends to the construction industry, agriculture, viticulture and the ecological transformation through renewable energies. I can see that Prime Minister Mitsotakis attaches great importance to tourism. Our approach is just as holistic. That is why various ministries are important partners, the Ministry of Tourism as well as the Minister of Environment and Energy. Especially when it comes to sustainability and investment, the overall framework conditions play a role – it’s not just about tourism issues. Together with the government, we want to further expand and strengthen the role of the tourism sector in Greece – in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable way. We are pulling in the same direction as the government and our local partners. The CoLab on Rhodes brings together many initiatives.
9 Rhodes Co-Lab: a truly impressive project, and not just because of its size. How do you “translate” the success of the project, how would you describe your cooperation with local authorities and what would you like Rhodes Co-Lab to leave as a mark on global tourism, on TUI and on you personally?
The “Destination Co-Lab: Rhodes” is a great example of our cooperation in and with holiday destinations: The holiday island of Rhodes has been a global role model for sustainable transformation since 2022. We are working with all private and state partners on the island to make Rhodes holistically sustainable; a joint project of the Government of the South Aegean, TUI Group, the independent TUI Care Foundation and the Greek government. Tourism depends on the many partners, international companies, local hoteliers, restaurants, bus and car hire companies, traders and small local businesses. Transforming an island of this size requires all partners at the table and a common plan. Together, we want to strengthen the positive effects of tourism for the local population, reduce the ecological footprint and create experiences that are authentic and sustainable. It’s great to do this together with Governor George Hatzimarkos, who initiated the project. It is impressive to see how much public recognition we are getting together and how many local partners are rallying behind the idea.
- What does an organisation like TUI focus on and what values does it promote with its presence in so many countries on all continents?
Our guests entrust us with their best days of the year. We are allowed to design their holiday and accompany them. Our focus is on offering our customers unforgettable travel experiences. In doing so, we continue to prioritise quality and service for our guests. The key to this is our 65,000 colleagues in and around the world – they are what makes TUI what it is. They are the face of the company to our guests and partners in more than 100 holiday destinations. They make the difference. And the diversity of our employees is our strength and a strand of TUI’s DNA. “Care” is the second strand of our DNA. We care – and we love doing it. Our colleagues around the world take care of our guests every day and try to inspire them anew every day.
- There seems to be a major problem in finding staff, both in terms of quantity and quality. What do you think and how can this problem be solved?
At TUI, we benefit from our strong brand. Many of our positions in the hotels or for our airlines, for example, were filled faster than ever before this summer. Every applicant knows what TUI does and offers as an employer. In hotels, employees are often the second generation to work for TUI. Of course, we have the great advantage that we cover the entire travel value chain – you can work for us in the travel agency, with the airlines, in the hotels and with the cruise companies or in the destinations or the head offices in the markets. As a result, we offer an enormous and unique variety of career paths in tourism. Applicants come to TUI for a job and stay for a career. However, the same applies to tourism as to other sectors: In times of a shortage of skilled labour, supposedly soft factors become hard currency. These include the corporate culture, which we can actively shape as an employer, for example with more flexibility in terms of working hours or location.
- What would be the ideal tourism model that could ensure a sustainable socio-economic environment for tourism worldwide? What would your ideal tourism model be in 2030?
It’s about bringing together ecological, social and economic sustainability. Only then is tourism sustainable. This holistic understanding of sustainability is also reflected in our sustainability agenda, which we presented last year. To achieve this, tourism must minimise its ecological footprint – reduce plastic waste, cut emissions from aircraft, cruise ships and hotels. It must make a positive contribution to the economic development of the destination – buying local products, investing in local facilities, encouraging travellers to enjoy local restaurants and excursions. At the same time, it is important not to lose sight of the interests of the people in the tourist resorts. Their homeland should remain authentic, liveable and affordable for them. This also means that there must be sufficient affordable and good living space for the people whose homeland we are allowed to visit on holiday. We support that. There are two forms of tourism. Organised, you could say, managed tourism. This is the classic package holiday. Guests stay in hotels that were built for holidaymakers and where many local people work. And there are individual trips, where people often holiday in flats and apartments. In a nutshell, this involves Airbnb holiday flats. As TUI, we stand for package holidays in traditional hotels and resorts. Travelling there does not take living space away from the locals. The EU should also bear this value of package holidays in mind when revising the European Package Travel Directive. We are counting on holiday destinations such as Greece and Spain to use their influence in Brussels. Package holidays are extremely comprehensively regulated in the interests of consumers and partners in the destinations, providers invest considerable sums in securing the trips and guests and support local partners in the destinations, for example by making early advance payments in autumn and winter for the coming season. The offers of many online booking portals for individual services are hardly regulated and therefore have significantly lower costs. There is a lot for the new Parliament and the Commission in Brussels to do here. We are working on many sustainable development issues. We are also noticing an increasing interest in these topics in politics. When we were in Athens recently, I took part in various ministerial meetings and a public presentation of our Rhodes Co-Lab. Together with the Greek government, we discussed the water situation – for example, what we can do together to reduce water consumption. In our discussions, we clearly see a shift from the question of how we can win back the demand for corona to the question of how we can create and jointly expand sustainable tourism. As TUI, we are setting standards and shaping the sustainable transformation together with our partners. However, we need a level playing field when it comes to the political framework. This is a challenge for Brussels and I see a lot of common ground between TUI and the interests of the countries in southern Europe. Greece can exert influence in the Parliament and the European Council.
13 What is your main personal goal?
An economically successful and humanly approachable TUI. For our guests, of course, unforgettable moments and holidays. For the people in the destinations, it’s about acceptance and participation: It is important to me that they recognise the value of tourism for their country and have a chance to participate in our shared success. And those who work for us should feel that they are treated fairly, have a secure job and career prospects and can be who they are. Diversity is important to us in every respect.
- Does being involved in football have anything in common with running a giant business like TUI? If you had to choose between the two, which one would it be?
After the game is before the game. Never rest. You should remain curious, alert, open and agile. On the football pitch, as in business, winning is better than a draw.
- “Spanish”, “Greek” or citizen of the world?
We are a global company, I am of course European, have many local roots in my home region, but feel at home in many places around the world. Every journey opens up new horizons and you learn something from others.
- We see you travelling a lot and communicating with both TUI customers and employees from all company departments. Is that just you, Sebastian? Does this make you happy or is it just being professional?
We can all communicate much more directly via social media these days, which breaks down barriers. It’s also part of my job to represent and communicate TUI to the public. But what I find more exciting is the direct contact with customers, sales and hotel partners, especially the employees. I enjoy that and it gives me a lot of positive energy. Direct feedback is very important to me.
