DORKING, England, September 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ —
The Kuoni Group has announced a new operational structure following the recent acquisition of GTA. All European tour operating arms of the Kuoni Group will now operate under a new division called “Outbound Europe”.
This means that Kuoni UK is now truly embedded in a pan-European Kuoni Group structure. This new organisation supports Kuoni’s aim to offer start to end seamless service for its customers, positioning itself as a trusted travel advisor and knowledgeable destination insider. The ability to share Kuoni Group knowledge and support services means the UK arm is given even more muscle in the market.
This new division consists of: Outbound Kuoni Nordic, Outbound Kuoni Europe sales unit, a new Online/Mobile unit and procurement and production unit.
Outbound Europe is headed by Group Executive Board member Leif Vase Larsen while Outbound Kuoni Nordic is led by Mats Dahlquist. Mats’ unit consists of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland’s sales units.
The Outbound Kuoni Europe unit comprises Switzerland, UK and France’s sales units and a new Southern Europe & Benelux sub-unit, comprising Italy, Spain and Benelux. The UK division will be led by Derek Jones as new Managing Director Kuoni UK – a promotion from his previous role as VP Distribution & Operations.
The Procurement & Production unit is now headed by Joanna Edmunds who has been promoted from Managing Director Kuoni UK. This unit is the backbone of the Kuoni tour operations as it is responsible for all purchasing and production activities for both the Apollo and Kuoni brands in Europe.
Joanna Edmunds said: “By consistently bundling these activities and aligning product development initiatives more closely, we will be able to generate significant further synergies within our European tour operating business, strengthen our buying position and improve the product and service offerings to our customers.”
The newly-created Online & Mobile unit is responsible for all websites at the business-to-customer (B2C) interface. The unit is also home to Group Distribution online activities and to the B2C business of Octopus Travel, which was acquired with the purchase of GTA. Online & Mobile is additionally responsible for developing and utilising new internet and mobile communications.
“In establishing the organisation of Outbound Europe, we are striving to promptly assign the corresponding responsibilities – partly to help us focus on our day-to-day business and our annual objectives as swiftly as possible, and partly to promote the further development and refinement of our new division,” says Group Executive Board member Leif Vase Larsen. “These actions should enable us to achieve our overall aim of sustainably and profitably positioning our European tour operating business.”
