Hanover, 23 August 2018

TUI welcomes its first ever robotic humanoid employee

  • Pepper will be part of TUI Nordic´s Data and Machine Learning Team​
  • Robot Assistant has job description and personal goals – just as every TUI employee

The humanoid robot commonly known as “Pepper“ is the latest employee to be hired by TUI Nordic. Pepper, named Pepper 2E, will work as a Robot Assistant and be a part of TUI’s new Data Analytics and Machine Learning team. TUI is the first travel company in the world to incorporate robotics in this way.

“Automation, AI and Robotics are important elements of TUI’s future. We already have some of the best specialists in this field and I am excited to see how Pepper 2E will contribute to our team. And most importantly, I hope he sparks curiosity and engagement with all of our TUI Nordic colleagues”, says Alexander Huber, Managing Director of TUI Nordic.

Pepper 2E started August 14th and will primarily be based in TUI’s Stockholm office. The humanoid robot has a detailed job description as well as set “personal” goals he will be evaluated on, just as any regular TUI employee. The main responsibility of the Robot Assistant is to inspire innovation, curiosity and technological pioneering. Furthermore, the Robot Assistant will help visitors as well as colleagues and external customers with everyday questions and problems.

Elke Eller, HR Director of TUI Group and Member of the Board says: "As TUI Group, we are shaping the future of travel in many areas. Employees like Pepper 2E can support our teams. At the same time they give us an impression of what the work of the future might look like. The “hiring” of Pepper 2E stands for curiosity about the future and openness for new technologies. These are important prerequisites for the success of the digital transformation of TUI. Välkommen, Pepper!”

As a true TUI employee, Pepper 2E will go through the usual steps of onboarding. He has a manager to report to and is member of a team that will incorporate him in their day-to-day tasks. He will spend the first few months hovering around the office getting to know the company and his new human colleagues.

About Pepper

  • Pepper is a semi-humanoid robot manufactured by SoftBank Robotics
  • Pepper understands and speaks in numerous languages and can understand human emotions.
  • Pepper's touch screen increases his capacity to interact and enables him to enhance communication by providing visual information.
  • With entirely programmable platforms, Pepper offers manifold usage possibilities to enrich the experience.

About TUI Group

The TUI Group is one of the world's leading tourism groups and operates worldwide. The Group is headquartered in Germany. TUI shares are listed in the MDAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and in the regulated market of the Lower Saxony Stock Exchange in Hanover. TUI Group offers its 19 million customers integrated services from a single source and forms the entire tourism value chain under one roof. The Group owns over 400 hotels and resorts with premium brands such as RIU, TUI Blue and Robinson and 17 cruise ships, ranging from the MS Europa and MS Europa 2 in the luxury class and expedition ships in the HANSEATIC class to the Mein Schiff fleet of TUI Cruises and cruise ships operated by Marella Cruises in the UK. The Group also includes Europe's leading tour operator brands and online marketing platforms, for example for hotel-only or flight-only offers, five airlines with more than 130 modern medium- and long-haul aircraft and around 1,200 travel agencies. In addition to expanding its core business with hotels and cruises via successful joint ventures and activities in vacation destinations, TUI is increasingly focusing on the expansion of digital platforms. The Group is transforming itself into a global tourism platform company.  

Global responsibility for sustainable economic, environmental and social action is at the heart of our corporate culture. With projects in 25 countries, the TUI Care Foundation initiated by TUI focuses on the positive effects of tourism, on education and training and on strengthening environmental and social standards. In this way, it supports the development of vacation destinations. The globally active TUI Care Foundation initiates projects that create new opportunities for the next generation.