Tourism : TUI will develop its own agency network in Romania, malls included

TUI Group announced its entrance in the Romanian market. The first step has already been decided in Bucharest, with the first unit of the kind in the country. Thus, the first agency will open in Sun Plaza commercial center, in August. The expansion plan also has in view other cities like Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara and Iasi. TUI will also inaugurate a new unit in Bucharest, on Nicolae Balcescu Blvd., as part of a more ample development plan including both commercial centers and the inauguration of physical agencies in Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara and Iasi as well as in other cities in Romania, where the company has expansion plans, according to a TUI Romania press release.   “Since the beginning of the year until the present day, TUI Romania has consolidated its presence in Romania by a constant extension of the partner network. In the first month of activity in the local market, we consulted partnerships with over 200 travel agencies, reaching a collaboration with over 700 partner agencies at national level in the second semester of 2026. This evolution confirms the market interest in our collaboration model and the confidence we could build at national level with our customers, through the TUI brand. At the same time,we analyse development opportunities for our own agency network, in commercial centers and big Romanian cities, where we identify a relevant potential for our customers,” said Adina Serac, Head of Sales, TUI Romania.   TUI is the largest integrated tourism group in the world, based in Germany. The group owns over 460 hotels and premium resorts like RIU, TUI Blue and Robinson and 18 cruise ships. Profit.ro announced that TUI is opening the prospect of operating hotels in Romania, in the context of expanding activity in the local market. CEO Sebastian Ebel says that the early talks start from the idea that the portfolio could include brands like RIU or TUI Blue for cities and TUI Magic Life or Robinson for holiday destinations. Operating hotels in Romania is now a topic at an early stage.   “It is my first time here, so we must develop our plans. Normally, the development of a hotel lasts at least two years and could last up to five. So we shall see,” Sebastian Ebel, CEO of TUI Group declared for Profit.ro.   Referring to brands fit for the local market, he added that “in general, they are all applicable. It could be a club type brand or a classic hotel brand. In cities, we are talking about RIU or TUI Blue. For holiday destinations, we could have TUI Magic Life or Robinson, but that has to be discussed. Usually we try to build clusters, that is having more than one brand per destination,” Sebastian Ebel mentioned.   Asked whether active talks have already been carried out, the TUI Group CEO said: “We have just started this morning: we met the premier and the economy minister and decided to keep in touch , have talks and see what is needed, what they want to do, what the masterplan is and how we could integrate in it. But this is just a starting point. We will send our development team in the country, to analyse what we have here and where we should invest”.   The development model preferred by the group does not necessarily suppose the direct ownership of hotels. “We have various investment ways. Usually, they are 'light 'investments because we work through joint ventures, with partners. We have local partners who can build hotels, but the idea comes from us – for instance a TUI Blue concept – but the operation can be achieved by a local partner,”Christian Rapp, Spokesperson Technology, Sustainability, HR TUI Group explained. He showed that the model had already been applied in other markets.   “It is not necessary to own a the hotel in order to operate it. We analyze what is available and which is the best variant for us. We sometimes build them ourselves, but very often we try to find partners for that, we bring the concept, brand and everything needed for that,” he added.   TUI hotel portfolio includes about 12 brands, in various segments, from value to luxury. In the global/flagship area we have Royalton (luxury and all-inclusive resorts, especially in the Carribeans and Mexico), RIU Hotels & Resorts (international chain partially operated in partnership), Robinson (clubs and premium resorts), TUI Blue (lifestyle brand for families, adults or mixed segmet) and TUI Magic Life (all-inclusive oriented towards active holidays and family). In the regional and value segment, the group operates brands such as TUI suneo (value-quality ratio), The Mora (modern luxury), Atlantica Hotels & Resorts ( strong presence in Greece and Cyprus), Grupotel Hotels & Resorts ( Balearic and Canary Islands), Iberotel (Egypt and UAE), Akra Hotels (premium segment) and AQI, focussed on hospitality and sustainability. Hotels are operated either directly, or through partnerships, management contracts or franchise. At global level, TUI has 463 operating hotels and intends to add another 70 in the next 5-7 years.   The Group has over 1,200 agencies at international level, is operating a fleet of 140 airplanes through its five air companies – TUI Airways, TUI Fly, TUI Fly Belgium, TUI Fly Netherlands and TUI Fly Nordic - and has 18 cruise ships under three brands, and will add another three. TUI is a world leader in the travel industry, with a business figure of over 24 billion euros and a profit of 1.4 billion euros. The group is listed at Frankfurt and Hannover exchanges and is included in the FTSE 250 index.