Dubai: The recent acquisitions of UK-based travel companies, Elegant Resorts and Gold Medal Travel Group, by regional travel groups, could attract more inbound travellers from the UK to the Gulf, according to industry experts.
Dnata travel services company, a part of Emirates Group, said on Tuesday it has acquired a part of travel company Thomas Cook Group for £45 million. The acquisition includes Gold Medal Travel Group, its online travel agency Netflights.com and Pure Luxury, a provider of tailor-made holiday packages.
In a similar deal, Al Tayyar Travel Group (ATG), a joint-stock company based in Riyadh, said earlier this month that it had acquired tour operator Elegant Resorts for £14.3 million. UK-based Elegant Resorts is also owned by Thomas Cook.
“It will help market the region and create greater exposure to different packages and destinations,” said Christopher Hewett, senior consultant at TRI Hospitality Consulting.
Echoing his views is Chiheb Ben Mahmoud, head of hotels and hospitality for the Middle East and Africa at Jones Lang LaSalle. “For Dnata, the acquisition of Gold Medal is a step towards strengthening Emirates [and] Dnata’s strategic relays and footprint in the UK tour operating market as a key feeder market for the Dubai destination and for Emirates as a carrier,” he said.
The acquisition is expected to enhance Dnata’s proposition to its customers, according to Iain Andrew, Divisional Senior Vice President of Dnata’s travel business. “Dnata’s growth strategy aligns well with Gold Medal Travel Group — its comprehensive travel services complement dnata’s established international travel offering,” Andrew said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Bin Mahmoud said that ATG’s acquisition is a “large diversification move both geographically and businesswise as the acquisition takes Al Tayyar further in the tour operating business.”
ATG organises holiday packages and owns a corporate car rental service.
The value of ATG’s deal is “broken up into £10.3 million as the company value and £4 million to support the operating capital of the company,” according to a statement. It added that the deal was financed by ATG.
The acquisitions could help ATG and Dnata have a stronger presence in the UK, according to Hewett.
The UK is among Dubai’s top source markets. The emirate attracted 535,284 visitors from the UK in the first nine months of 2013, according to Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
Dubai International, currently the world’s second busiest airport for international passengers, recorded double-digit passenger traffic growth in 2013 with 66.4 million passengers passing through the airport.
