Tui Travel has denied its decision to make First Choice a solely all-inclusive brand means non all-inclusive hotels in its programme will have to convert.
The UK’s biggest tour operator said the move was simply to clarify the difference between First Choice and sister brand Thomson Holidays. Non all-inclusive properties would remain as they are and switch to Thomson, the company said.
Tui Travel board member and director of communications Christian Cull insisted the furore following the First Choice announcement a week ago was largely due to a misunderstanding.
The decision to make the entire First Choice Summer 2012 programme all-inclusive was denounced by the Association of Independent Tour Operators as “a massive blow” to local economies and by campaign group Tourism Concern as “denying local people any benefit from tourism”.
Cull told Travel Weekly: “The focus [of the announcement] was on differentiation of the brand. First Choice is just part of Tui Travel – it is not as though the whole business is going to [become] all-inclusive. We are just changing the emphasis on the brands.”
He said: “You will not see a dramatic change in the number of all-inclusives. Some resorts will transfer from Thomson to First Choice and some from First Choice to Thomson. We are not turning resorts or locations into all-inclusives.”
A Tui Travel spokeswoman confirmed: “First Choice will no longer offer holidays to Florida, Croatia, Italy and selected Greek resorts because there are very few all-inclusive hotels or resorts in these destinations. But we will continue to offer holidays to these destinations. Many First Choice hotels will be offered under other Tui brands, such as Thomson or Skytours.”
Tui Travel group head of sustainable development Jane Ashton rejected claims that the First Choice move compromised the company’s commitment to sustainability.
She told Travel Weekly: “All-inclusive resorts purchase more so their overall economic footprint [in destinations] is higher. . . Lots of areas would not have tourism at all if it was not for all-inclusives because there are not the facilities for tourists, for example in areas of the Dominican Republic or Mexico.”
Ashton added: “We want to ensure every holiday is as sustainable as possible. We are measuring the impact [of resorts] and are prepared to adjust as and when we understand how to do so.”