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Kuoni buys Gullivers Travel Associates for $720m to boost its online business

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The Swiss tour operator Kuoniis to expand its online travel business by buying Gullivers Travel Associates (GTA) for $720m (£442m).

Kuoni, an upmarket holiday specialist, will fund the acquisition through new debt and credit facilities and a $270m rights issue.

GTA – which is controlled by Travelport, the private equity-owned travel group that pulled a float last year – will strengthen Kuoni's business-to-business services. GTA profits rose 42 per cent to $84m last year, on revenues of $1.9bn. Peter Rothwell, Kuoni's chief executive, said: "Kuoni is investing in one of the fastest-growing business segments of the tourism industry."

Founded in London in 1975, GTA operates in 26 cities and registered more than 12 million hotel night bookings last year. It offers tour operators and travel agents about 35,000 hotels in 130 countries, as well as transfers and sightseeing tours at destinations.

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Former regional chief of GTA makes a comeback

He retired from the travel industry when Gullivers Travel Associates (GTA) was sold to Cendant for US$1.1 billion in 2005, but the former Asia-Pacific CEO of GTA, Bernard Bialylew, is returning to the industry with the creation of a new travel company.

“I was missing the buzz (of the travel industry); I wanted to rejoin the battle,” said Bialylew, who established New Concept Travel last month as a regional wholesaler to capitalise on the influx of Asian travellers to Europe, with Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Thailand and Indonesia earmarked as focus markets.

Although the travel and tourism business has changed tremendously since his self-imposed retirement, with newer entrants like OTAs joining the fray and becoming key players, the “market has also grown 10 times since”, Bialylew noted.

Said Bialylew: “There are still many people in Asia who want to travel in groups and do traditional itineraries. There are some markets which are not confident of travelling on their own, and some which want to cover as many destinations as possible.”

And as Asia’s middle-class markets expand, Bialylew projects demand for niche experiences and returnees seeking in-depth tours in Europe to continue growing.

In Europe, New Concept Travel has established a partnership with AC Group for travel into the UK, Ireland, France and Benelux to target the leisure and corporate markets.

Bialylew is also leveraging the extensive network he has built up in Asia since the 1970s. “The owners of these agencies are from my generation. I saw them grow from infancy to where they’re today,” he said. “Asia is all about guanxi , even among the young ones.”

Even before its official launch in September, New Concept Travel already has US$1.5 million of business in the books, Bialylew told TTG Asia .

Meanwhile, he has his sights set on linking up small agencies which are not connected to the global bedbanks. “I want to connect local bedbanks, which often have thousands of good hotels, to compete with global bedbanks. Right now consolidation (in the bedbank sector) happens only at the global level.”

The company has an office in Jakarta, and representatives in Thailand and South Korea. India and Japan are next on his radar, as well as “small but interesting markets” like Myanmar and Cambodia.

He is hopeful of reaching US$300-400 million in turnover – figures achieved during his days as GTA’s regional chief – within the next 10 years. “Then I’ll retire a second time,” Bialylew quipped.

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Kuoni completes GTA takeover

Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TDM, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly

Kuoni has completed the acquisition of Gullivers Travel Associates (GTA) from Travelport. The takeover will see GTA integrated into the ‘Division Destinations’ of the Kuoni Group.

Kuoni announced its intention to acquire GTA on 7 March 2011, in a deal worth US$720 million. The Swiss company’s CEO, Peter Rothwell said the purchase was intended to “transform us into one of the leading global providers of online destination management services”.

The new CEO of GTA is Rolf Schafroth, a member of the Kuoni Group Executive Board and responsible for Division Destinations. He will also continue to serve as CEO of the Kuoni Destination Management unit.

GTA focuses on hotel reservations, coach services, transfers, city sightseeing tours and destination services for group and independent travellers, and employs some 2,400 staff.

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