Tui and Booking.com are to collaborate from this summer in a “significant expansion” of the European travel giant’s third party business in the activities sector.
The deal will see Booking.com customers gain direct access to Tui’s growing activities segment and its digital subsidiary Musement from July.
Customers will be able to access up to 70,000 options from the Musement inventory of tours, attractions, activities and experiences.
Musement will be the first third-party provider of tours, and activities’ inventory on the Booking.com travel platform, as the company seeks to expand its offering and provide customers with a more comprehensive end-to-end travel offering.
Contracts have been signed and the co-operation will start in summer 2020, Tui Group revealed as it further accelerates its transformation into a digital company.
Tui acquired Milan-based technology start-up Musement 18 months ago and plans to develop it into the world’s leading platform for tours and activities.
The next step is to grow the platform’s portfolio to encompass one million activities, experiences and excursions.
Tui Destination Experiences managing director David Schelp said: “Attractive and varied options all over the world, easy and quick for customers to book – that is what we will offer through this cooperation. The expansion of digital experience marketing is a focal point of Tui’s digital strategy.
“The purchase of Musement and the expansion of its portfolio of activities, bookable on the platform, is now being followed by the partnership with Booking.com an expert in worldwide marketing.
“We have a unique profile in the activities sector, which makes us attractive to both customers and major tourism partners.”
Booking.com attractions vice president Lawrence Hester “Seamlessly connecting travellers with the widest possible choice of great things to do is part of our long-term mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world.
“We know that people are already starting to dream of taking trips once it’s safe again, even if that’s a bit closer to home at first. We’re busy laying the foundation to make sure we can provide our customers with the best possible mix of tours, activities and unique experiences all on one platform.
“Tui and Musement have a highly-compatible technology platform, a scalable business model and a curated offering that we believe will be very appealing to our global customer base. As such, we are delighted to be taking the next steps in this journey together with them.”
More: Tui takes over Italian tours and activities tech start-up Musement
