Porto/Hanover, 2 October 2023

TUI Group strengthens tech capabilities: Opening of “Digital Hub“ in Portugal

  • Delivery and quality of new digital products and services are key for transformation into global digital travel and leisure platform company
  • Strong TUI footprint in Portugal expanded: popular holiday destination and digital innovation centre
  • Future of tourism in focus: TUI Group’s work on mobile app, payments and artificial intelligence supported and driven by teams in Portugal

TUI Group has opened a “Digital Hub” in the Portuguese city of Porto. The hub will strengthen TUI´s tech capabilities which are key to its transformation towards a global digital travel and leisure platform company. 150 technology experts will work on the company’s mobile app, payment systems and drive the implementation of artificial intelligence powered technologies across its platforms. TUI CEO Sebastian Ebel welcomed the teams to TUI at the Porto office personally on Monday. The “Digital Hub Porto” is part of a network of locations offering tech talent an opportunity to work on the future of tourism, with hubs in Poland and India previously established by TUI. “Digital Hub” teams are joining the more than 2,400 technology team members working at TUI today.

“We have a longstanding and successful partnership with Portugal as a popular travel destination for our customers. Hotels, flights, cruises, tours and activities – TUI is present here with its full portfolio. Now we are expanding our footprint in Portugal by opening the “Digital Hub Porto”, with teams that bring a wealth of technology experience and creativity to TUI. They strengthen our own tech capabilities. Delivering new digital products and services for our customers while ensuring high quality standards is key for our transformation. Portugal is proving that it is not only a beautiful travel destination, but also a digital innovation center where we can help build the future of tourism,” says TUI Group´s CEO Sebastian Ebel on the occasion of the opening of the “Digital Hub Porto”.

TUI plans to hire more team members in Porto in the coming months. Current plans see up to 200 technology experts working at the “Digital Hub Porto” by the end of 2024. The tourism company has an ambitious technology roadmap to unify its platforms, increase the implementation of artificial intelligence technologies, and build new digital products for customers. All of these initiatives will be supported by teams in Porto, which are fully integrated within the global technology organisation of TUI, offering employees the chance to build industry leading products and platforms, in combination with unique development and career opportunities.

“We are delighted with TUI Group’s decision to setup its new Digital Hub in Matosinhos, (Porto, Portugal), a new investment in the tech sector supported by AICEP. The focus on innovation that the Digital Hub will bring to the IT ecosystem and to TUI Group’s global operations reflect Portugal’s commitment to strengthen its position as a leading European Tech Hub,” says Filipe Santos Costa, Chairman & CEO of AICEP – Portugal Trade & Investment Agency.

In 2017, TUI and IT service provider COCUS established a partnership to deliver a Software Development Hub in Portugal, supporting TUI’s digital transformation. Over the past 5 years, both parties have collaborated extensively to make a significant impact on the business. TUI and COCUS now agreed to transfer this hub to become a part of the TUI organisation as “Digital Hub”. The agreement has been signed recently.

TUI in Portugal

TUI has three of its hotel and club brands – TUI Blue, RIU, Robinson Club – present in Portugal today. Furthermore, travelers and locals alike in Portugal can choose from more than 1,250 experiences, including excursions, activities and attraction tickets, available via the TUI experiences and Musement platforms. TUI Airline operates regular flights to holiday hotspots in Portugal, while TUI Cruises, Marella and Hapag-Lloyd, all three of the company’s cruise brands, call at Portuguese ports throughout the year. Furthermore, to support guests and partners in destination, TUI employs a dedicated service team, with offices in Faro, Funchal, Lisbon and Ponta Delgada.

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.

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