CLUB Med is considering striking a deal with a UKtour operator to increase bookings.
Chairman and chief executive officer Philippe Bourguignon is concerned that the company carries only 36,000 passengers annually from the UK despite huge public awareness of the brand.
He said it was considering whether to remain as a niche player or work with an operator to achieve up to 100,000 bookings per year.
“There is no urgency, because business in the UKis growing steadily at a rate of around 8% a year,”he said.
“But I think we will decide within a year whether we want a radically different approach.
“Buying a tour operator in the UK is out of the question, so the other way is to work with a tour operator.”
But Bourguignon said its brand awareness was a huge asset and he would only work with a company if the Club Med name was on the front of the programme.
“I would hate to be sold in a brochure under someone else’s brand,” he said. “We would be abandoning one of the key elements of our business.”
Meanwhile, Bourguignon confirmed Club Med would launch low-cost sites in France for the French market next summer under a separate name.
Club Med boosted net profit by 25% to £16.54m in the six months to April 30 1999 (Travel Weekly July 5).
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