Tourism giant wants to make $20 bln in revenue

TUI Group wants to restructure its cruise businesses and airline brands and focus more online bookings after its merger to create a giant. TUI Group plans to restructure its airline brands and cruise businesses and drive more online bookings now its merger to create a tourism group with annual sales of over $20 billion has completed.

"We are very clear on what we want to achieve, and we will be refining those thoughts over the next few months," Co-Chief Executive Peter Long told analysts after TUI published first quarter results Feb. 10.

The company, formed in December from the merger of London-listed TUI Travel and German majority owner TUI AG , will provide more details of strategic measures when it publishes half-year results on May 13.

Management said it was working to organize its five charter airline brands better, which have 140 planes and together would be Europe's seventh largest airline. The company also wants to modernize the British Thomson Cruises business and create new ways to boost online bookings.

In the first quarter, improving profits at its hotels and cruise divisions helped TUI narrow its underlying loss before interest, tax, and amortization (EBITA) to 107.9 million euros ($122 million) from 141.1 million a year earlier.

Shareholders have welcomed the merger as it means the combined company can cut down on overlapping functions and a costly dual-holding structure.

"Growth chances have improved thanks to the merger," said Ingo Speich, a portfolio manager at TUI shareholder Union Investment, according to comments prepared for the TUI AG annual shareholders' meeting taking place on Tuesday.

In Germany, there are fears that a combined TUI airlines business could be...