Club Med has reported a 29% surge in bookings from the UK market in its results for winter 2017/2018.
The all-inclusive resort operator saw its number of guests increase 6.6% globally in 2017 compared to 2016, its largest rise since 2016.
In the Europe and African market, the rise in guests was 3%. Club Med’s global business volume rose 3.8% to €1527 million, with revenue up 4.4% in the year to the end of December 2017.
Throughout 2017, Club Med invested €86 million including in new resorts such as Grand Massif in the French Alps and Tomamu Hokkaido in Japan, maintenance of existing resorts and digital channels.
“British families, couples and groups are enjoying Club Med holidays more than ever,” said Estelle Giraudeau, Club Med’s UK managing director. “In particular this winter we saw an incredible increase in bookings from the UK, up 29% on the previous winter season.
“We have an exciting pipeline of openings already underway for 2018 and more scheduled for 2019. The variety of sun and ski destinations for Club Med clients to choose from continues to go from strength to strength and I expect the momentum from the UK market’s strong 2017 performance to continue for 2018.”
In 2018, Club Med has already opened two Joyview resorts for the Chinese market, one near Beijing and the other near Shanghai.
In the Caribbean, Club Med’s Turks and Caicos resort Turkoise has undergone renovations to become a four-trident, adult-only resort.
This June, Club Med will open its five-trident Cefalu resort in Sicily – which is currently booked at 80% occupancy until October.
Mountain resort Les Arcs Panorama will open in December 2018 in the Alps, and is among the best sellers for winter 2018/19.
In 2019, a new resorts is planned in Marbella, Spain, and renovations are to take place at resorts in Mauritius and Guadeloupe.
Henri Giscard d’Estaing, president of Club Med, said: “Thanks to growth across all its global markets, a further rise in clients’ number and another sharp increase in profitability, Club Med produced a very good performance in 2017.
“This is the result of the full support of its shareholder, Fosun, and the implementation of the three-pronged strategy: upscale, global and “happy digital”. 2018 is forecast to do even better in both winter and summer seasons, for which bookings to date are significantly up.”
Club Med is a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Fosun International.