EMIRATES Holidays and TUI India, the tour-operating arm of Emirates airline and Le Passage to India respectively, have tied up to target the Indian outbound and inbound markets. Both companies signed an MOU on May 15, 2013.
As part of the tie-up, TUI India will be the preferred sales agent for Emirates Holidays for outbound business while Le Passage to India will be the exclusive destination management company for Emirates Holidays in India, Nepal and Bhutan.
Emirates Holidays destination and leisure management divisional senior vice president, Marc Bennett, said: “Through partnerships like this we are looking to establish Emirates Holidays as one of the biggest tour-operating brands in the world. At present, our India reach contributes only five per cent to our overall business.
“Overall, I would imagine that a 100 per cent growth is very achievable with the right distribution mechanism. India as a destination market contributes less than five per cent to our business and that, in my opinion, is an immense opportunity for us.”
India’s inbound travel is expected to benefit more from this alliance. Emirates Holidays is looking for strategic partnerships on similar lines across the globe in countries including the US, Angola, Indonesia and South Korea.
“In the US where the demand and interest in India is colossal, we are very close to announcing (another) partnership. There is an immense opportunity to bring more tourists from America to India, which will be handled by Le Passage to India with Emirates Holidays,” added Bennett.
TUI Travel tour operations – new markets director, Jeannette Linfoot, said: “This exclusive agreement between TUI India and Emirates Holidays in India is just the beginning of many joint initiatives which will be forthcoming on a global basis. We see great advantage from leveraging the strengths of both the Emirates Group and TUI Travel to create opportunities and add value to our respective businesses.”
The partnership will initially focus on promoting Dubai as an outbound destination in India. Emirates Holidays has launched an extensive offline and online marketing campaign, Hello Dubai, across key cities in India to promote Dubai as a destination. It is also in the process of launching a microsite for India soon.
