Hanover, 31 March 2022

Peter Ulwahn joins TUI Group Executive Committee as new TUI Musement CEO, responsible for ongoing strategic growth of tours and activities area

  • Change follows successful transformation of TUI Musement into a leading digital platform for excursions, activities, attraction tickets and transfers
  • Continuity in leadership – TUI Musement can seamlessly continue its outstanding development
  • David Schelp will be active as an investor and entrepreneur in the tourism industry outside the Group

Peter Ulwahn, previously Chief Digital Officer of TUI Musement, will take over the leadership of TUI’s growth segment Tours and Activities on May1st and become a member of the TUI Group Executive Committee.

Ulwahn has been part of TUI Musement's leadership team since 2015 and has played a key role in shaping the company's transformation into a leading digital platform for tours and activities. During this time, he has been closely involved in all key strategic decisions in recent years alongside the outgoing CEO David Schelp. He has been with the Group since 1994, during which time he has gained management experience in a wide range of areas – from product management and customer service to digitalization and human resources. Originally from Sweden, Peter has worked in both European and international destinations at TUI and also knows the tour operator and airline business intimately from his time on the management board of TUI Nordic.

David Schelp has been with the Group since 2002 and in 2009 took over leadership of TUI’s tours and activities business unit, where he implemented its transformation from a traditional tour operator business into a leading provider of tours and activities in destinations around the world. Under his leadership, the tours and activities segment was developed into a strategic growth area for the Group. He successfully completed the integration of the travel-tech start-up Musement, acquired in 2018, and created a scalable digital platform for vacation experiences. In recent years, TUI Musement has added numerous leading travel portals as customers. Following his departure from the Group, David Schelp will devote himself to his own entrepreneurial ventures in the future. As an investor and entrepreneur, he will remain connected to the tourism sector, developing and implementing his own business ideas. 

Fritz Joussen, CEO of TUI Group: "I would like to thank David Schelp for the very good and trusting cooperation over the past years. With its digital platform for tours and activities, TUI Musement now plays a central role in our Group's digital strategy. David Schelp has laid the foundation for this through successfully leading the transformation of this part of the business. I have great respect for his decision to now become an entrepreneur. I am sure that with his great experience and strong entrepreneurial instinct, he will continue to drive business success. I wish him all the best for his plans. With Peter Ulwahn, TUI Musement has a well prepared and natural successor that already understands the industry and knows the company very well. From day one, Peter Ulwahn will be fully committed to further developing our digital platform business. I look forward to working closely with him on the Group Executive Committee.

Experiences are the new luxury for many guests, and the segment will continue to grow strongly. With TUI Musement, we are already active in more than 100 countries around the world and offer holidaymakers unique experiences – both for TUI guests, but also as a partner for other companies in our industry. We see further great growth potential for the future."

About TUI Musement

TUI Musement is a global Tours & Activities business that combines a highly curated product portfolio, scalable digital platforms and in-destination service by local teams, to source, develop, distribute and deliver products in three categories:

  • Experiences: Excursions, activities & attraction tickets
  • Transfers: Between airports, hotels and ports
  • Tours: Multi-day itineraries encompassing flights, hotels, experiences and transfers

Available in all major beach and city destinations, products are sourced from leading travel businesses or developed in-house by TUI teams, including the TUI Collection, the flagship experiences portfolio of TUI Group, and National Geographic Day Tours, unique and immersive small group guided experiences.

Products are distributed to customers, including the 19+ million TUI customers, through TUI websites and apps – such as the Tours & Activities dedicated TUI Musement app, as well as in-destination local teams and B2B partners, including some of the world's leading OTAs, tour operators, airlines, hotels, travel agencies and cruise lines. TUI Musement is one of the major growth areas of the TUI Group and employs approximately 7,000 people worldwide.

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.