Anniversary at the Peloponnese: TUI and best travel celebrate 25 years of success!

Anniversary at the Peloponnese: TUI and best travel celebrate 25 years of success!

In a time when the discussion about package tours is becoming increasingly important, numerous industry representatives meet for the annual conference of best trips in the picturesque Kyllini, Greece. This event attracts around 550 experts, including 360 representatives from travel agencies, who will deal with the challenges and opportunities for the popular travel form by Tuesday.

The event not only offers exciting lectures-including experts such as world champion and Paralympic medalist Denise Schindler-but also a large travel fair that presents more than 90 partners. TUI, as a leading provider on the German market, is on site with 25 colleagues and celebrates the 25-year strategic partnership with best travel.

collaboration between TUI and best travel

TUI CEO Sebastian Ebel emphasized the importance of this cooperation during the conference. Of the approximately 670 travel agencies from Best-Reisen are 263 TUI Premium partners, which makes up a weighty part of the sales. In the past financial year, the company generated sales of more than 1.3 million euros, which makes up for around 40 percent of total sales. This solid basis testifies to valuable and stable cooperation, which was also able to assert itself through challenges such as the Corona crisis.

"This is not a purpose and not a romantic relationship," said Frank Winkler, a board member of Best-Reisen. "We worked on our topics and are optimistic about the future." This optimistic tone gives the participants hope, especially with regard to the necessary young talent for the industry.

call for promoting young talent and improvement in quality

Cornelius Meyer, another best board, addressed the pressing topic of the shortage of skilled workers. It is crucial to give young people the opportunity to travel themselves - because they can be convinced by the industry alone. His critical words that "people with followers are courted" while the travel media have to fight for discounts were very popular with the audience.

In addition, Meyer and other members of the industry are calling for a new orientation for the commissions for travel agencies. For example, factors such as training and continuous training should be taken into account in order to create incentives for quality of advice and sales.

Another central topic was the discussion about the amendment to the lump sum directive. Meyer made it clear that the current legislation in Brussels incorrectly interpreted consumer protection and thereby increased the package tours. "The individual services must offer appropriate protection to ensure fair rivalry with other offers," says Meyer.

The conference also serves as a platform to emphasize the need for a consumer protection portal. In order to communicate the advantages of package tours more clearly, a “travel safety for forum” is to be created. The creation of a neutral framework for the information and support of consumers could help improve the perception of package tours and to inspire more people for this form of travel.