A change in the leadership of Tui Group’s Tui Musement tours and activities brand comes amid growth in B2B distribution.
Claudio Bellinzona, one of the Musement co-founders and previously chief supply officer, is leaving but will continue to support the business as an external advisor.
Former Tui Musement chief business officer Nishank Gopalkrishnan (pictured) becomes chief commercial officer, responsible for all B2B strategic partnerships for distribution and global product supply.
B2B is one of the brand’s fastest growing areas, generating about half of its revenues through distribution partnerships with some of the world’s leading travel organisations.
TUI Musement provides B2B partners with more than 88,000 experiences, more than 1,000 multi-day tour itineraries and 125,000 transfer routes in 100 countries, as well as call centre and services in destinations.
Gopalkrishnan will lead a new commercial team, unifying all stall responsible for relationships with distribution partners, such as OTAs, airlines and hotels, and those managing product supply through working with attraction and activity operators.
The commercial team will drive “efficient portfolio development of relevant own and third-party experiences, advocating for partner relationships across supply and distribution and fostering greater alignment between B2B stakeholders,” according to the company.
Commercial activities for Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services, Tui Musement’s B2B brand specialising in cruise ground handling and port operations, will continue to be led by Virginia Quintairos, director business development, and Olga Piqueras, managing director port operations.
Tui Musement chief executive Peter Ulwahn said: “Since joining Tui in 2018, Claudio has had a strong impact on our strategy and culture as a key member of our leadership team, and I am delighted he will continue to work with us as an external advisor to help drive further business growth. I am also excited to see his future entrepreneurial endeavours.
“We have recovered from the pandemic, are growing fast, the integration of Musement is complete, and Tui is established as a leading player in the tours and activities industry; now is the time to take our business to the next level, and B2B is a strategic focus area.
“By unifying our partnership experts into a single B2B commercial team, we will be more focused, agile and efficient, delivering better products, solutions and services to our entire partner ecosystem.”
Gopalkrishnan added: “When you put distribution and supply together you enable greater understanding and bring partners closer together, which ultimately always leads to better outcomes.
“Our partners, both distributors and suppliers, have exciting growth aspirations, and we are a key enabler in achieving these goals.
“Tui Musement is much more than just an aggregator of things to do – we work with partners to carefully develop and efficiently distribute great travel experiences.”