Kuoni News
Kuoni launches its first gift card
Kuoni has launched its first gift card, to make the ideal present for friends and loved ones wanting to take time out to travel.
Kuoni launches its first Latin America brochure featuring 16 countries
Travel specialist Kuoni has launched a brand new Latin America holiday brochure, valid until December 2010. The brochure which is available from Kuoni’s website, high street stores and travel agents across the country, includes 76 holiday itineraries and Kuoni Authentic Experiences, which allow travellers to do as the locals do, or learn from experts in their field.
Flight from luxury hits Kuoni
Affluent travellers pulling the reins on holiday budgets has led Kuoni to slide into the red for the first six months of 2009. The luxury tour operator has swung from profits of SFr36.5m in the first half of 2008 to losses of SFr51m in H1 2009, with revenues down 21% to SFr1.76bn. The UK market was particularly hard hit with bookings down 23%.
Kuoni starts Chinese expansion
Kuoni has marked its entry into the Chinese outbound market by acquiring a strategic stake in ET China, a South China based tour operator.The Switzerland-based tour operator has taken a 31.8% stake in ET-China from Gandhara Master Fund, a Hong Kong and London based hedge fund, for £5.3m.
Kuoni bookings slump
Kuoni has reported that bookings are 23 percent below last year’s levels. The Swiss travel giant said this was largely to weakness of the Swiss Franc, and in real terms only 12 percent lower, and also slightly ahead of last month’s bookings. Reporting ahead of today’s AGM, Kuoni said the improvement in booking over the past months is attributable to a growing tendency among consumers to book later and at shorter notice. However it warned that “booking levels also remain severely depressed by negative currency movements”.
Kuoni and Orange announce IP partnership
Kuoni has signed a five-year contract with Orange Business Services for pan-European managed IP Telephony and call centre services. The roll-out will start in the UK and Switzerland, and will run over the next 18 months.Kuoni is aiming to unify and consolidate its telephony technology and PBX systems across territories in order to be more flexible and dynamic through virtualization.
Kuoni release seven further travel videos
Kuoni, the long haul travel company, has released seven new Thailand travel videos, adding to the 75 Thailand hotel videos already available. Kuoni’s selection of Thailand travel videos has now been acknowledged as the best in the UK.
Kuoni to trim workforce as it unveils grand plan
Kuoni is embarking on a CHF106m (£67m) investment programme to combat the recession, mainly through increased marketing and staff training. It also warned that jobs would be shed, mainly through natural attrition, although with “a few exceptions” for which it would deploy “socially-acceptable solutions”.
Kuoni to reignite flagging demand with record price cuts
Kuoni has launched its Longhaul Report 2009, amid “difficult” trading conditions that have prompted it to launch the biggest sale in its 100-year history.UK managing director Nick Hughes said: “The year looked excellent, especially for destinations such as America and the Caribbean. But outside factors such as the credit crunch, devaluation of the pound, APD and a general loss of consumer confidence impacted upon the whole industry in the second half.”