Annual Report 2000

ANNUAL REPORT 2000

The annual report is also available in French and in German.

Le rapport annuel est également disponible en français et en allemand.

Der Geschäftsbericht ist auch in deutscher und französischer Sprache erhältlich.

Kuoni Travel Holding Ltd. Neue Hard 7 CH-8010 Zurich

Phone: (+41) 1-277 44 44 Fax: (+41) 1-271 52 82 Internet: www.kuoni.com

Impressum:

Edited and published by: Kuoni Travel Holding Ltd., Corporate Communications

Design/realisation/typesetting: Kuoni Travel Ltd., Brochure Production

Lithography: NC AG, Urdorf

Printing: Benteli Hallwag Druck AG, Berne

Photography: Blue Planet, Zurich DigitalVision, London Prisma, Zurich The Image Bank, Zurich Kuoni Bildarchiv, Zurich Katja Snozzi, Berne Zurich

New York Seoul St. Louis Tokyo Atlanta Osaka

Taipei Hong Kong Mumbai Antigua Barbados Bangkok

Singapore Nairobi

Europe in detail Stockholm

Copenhagen

London Amsterdam Dorking Cologne Paris Vienna Budapest Geneva Zurich Genoa Nice

Rome Barcelona Madrid

Head offices and Incoming offices Athens March 2001

Leisure Travel Incoming Business Travel Hotels Group Head Office CONTENTS 3

Kuoni at one glance Mission statement 5 Key figures 6 Group organisation 8

Executive and corporate bodies Board of Directors 11 Executive Board 12

Reporting Report of the Chairman and the President 17 Group 23

Reporting according to Strategic Business Units (SBU) SBU Switzerland 31 SBU United Kingdom & North America 39 SBU Europe 45 SBU Business Travel 53 SBU Incoming & Asia 57 Information Technology 61

Market environment The European travel market 65 E-commerce 68

Company Corporate Governance 71 Business activities 75 Staff 78 Environmental care 85 Social commitment 89

Addresses 92

Kuoni glossary 100 GROUP PHILOSOPHY 5

Mission statement

We are committed to creating best value for people: our customers, employees, shareholders and business partners.

We strive to be successful in our core business activities: Leisure Travel, Business Travel and Incoming.

We motivate our staff by encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation at all levels.

We think and act internationally.

We strive to enhance shareholder value.

We support environmentally friendly solutions.

Kuoni stands for reliability, best value for money, quality and fairness in business. 6 KEY FIGURES 7

Kuoni at one glance

Kuoni Travel Holding Ltd. Kuoni Group 2000 1999 (consolidated as at 31 December) 2000 1999 CHF CHF CHF m CHF m Investment in equity holdings 428,940,340 251,158,551 Turnover 4,113 3,515

By Strategic Business Unit: Net profit for the year 102,463,080 112,180,966 Switzerland 1,003 911 Information for investors United Kingdom & North America 1,091 918 Europe 1,161 1,067 Consolidated cash flow Business Travel 184 168 per registered share A 12.41 9.78 Incoming & Asia 674 451 per registered share B 62.03 48.90 By Activities: Ordinary group profit Leisure Travel 3,376 2,987 per registered share A 7.20 7.12 Business Travel 184 168 per registered share B 35.97 35.61 Incoming 553 360 Consolidated shareholders’ equity per registered share A 57.51 43.79 Earnings before interest, taxes and per registered share B 287.55 218.95 amortisation of goodwill (EBITA) 174.7 152.8

Dividend By Strategic Business Unit: per registered share A 2.401) 2.20 Switzerland 46.9 37.5 per registered share B 12.001) 11.00 United Kingdom & North America 106.7 92.2 Europe –3.3 17.1 Stock market prices Business Travel 19.2 15.5 registered share B high 970 6,7902) Incoming & Asia 22.4 5.5 low 645 5,0502) Group –17.2 –15.0 at year end 700 6,6102)

Ordinary group profit 115.1 113.9 Stock market capitalisation 31 Dec 2,240 m 2,115 m Group profit 115.1 87.1 Annual trading volume 2,083 m 1,330 m Pre-goodwill earnings 155.5 144.0 1) Proposal of the Board of Directors to Cash flow 198.5 156.5 the General Meeting of Shareholders 2) Former capital structure Investment in tangible and intangible assets 87.2 168.9 Balance sheet total 2,251 1,806 Average number of personnel 7,669 6,528 8 GROUP ORGANISATION 9

Chairman of the Board of Directors Daniel Affolter Internal auditors President of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer Corporate Assistant Human Hans Lerch* Communications to CEO Resources

Charter Specialists Specialists New Markets Business Travel Incoming Finance Information Activities United Kingdom Europe Kuoni Group Technology & North America (IT) Thomas Stirnimann* Peter Diethelm* a.i. Hans Lerch* Hans Lerch* Reto Bacher* Ibrahim Atallah** Max E. Katz* Konrad Iten**

Switzerland United Kingdom France Asia Germany Europe Kuoni Reisen AG Sue Biggs** Voyages Kuoni SA P&O Travel Ltd., BTI Euro Lloyd Kuoni Reisen AG Edelweiss Air AG Hong Kong (Euro Lloyd Incoming Services Kuoni Travel Ltd. Italy Reisebüro GmbH Manta Reisen AG P&O Travel Pte. Ltd., Voyages Jules Verne Kuoni Gastaldi Singapore &Co.KG) Greece Privat Safaris Tours S.p.A. Hellenic Tours S.A. Reisebüro AG Switzerland Caribbean India Hellenic Island PRS AG Kuoni Caribbean Netherlands SOTC BTI Kuoni Switzer- Services Ltd. Railtour Suisse SA Hotels Ltd. Special Traffic SITA World Travel land (Kuoni Geschäftsreisen AG) Reisebüro Popularis (Kuoni Travel (Kuoni Travel India Kenya USA Nederland B.V.) Ltd.) Rotunda Tours AG Austria Private Safaris Intrav, Inc. (East Africa) Ltd. Spain BTI Austria Scandinavia Viajes Kuoni S.A. (Reisebüro Kuoni USA Ges.m.b.H.) Denmark T PRO Alletiders Rejser A/S Hungary Dane Tours BTI Hungary Kisbye Rejser (Kuoni Utazási Iroda Kft.) Sweden Apollo Resor AB Novair

Austria N-U-R Neckermann Reisen AG Reisebüro Kuoni Ges.m.b.H. Restplatzbörse Ges.m.b.H Cosmos Ges.m.b.H Allround Travel Inter- national Ges.m.b.H.

Hungary *) Member of the Executive Board **) Member of the Group Management N-U-R Neckermann Utazás Kft. March 2001 EXECUTIVE AND CORPORATE BODIES 11

Board of Directors

Born 1954 1984 qualified as lawyer, University of Zurich 1988 Partner in the law practice «Bernhard, Affolter und Partner» in Uster 1990 Elected to the Board of Directors of Kuoni Reisen AG, Zurich 1995 Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kuoni Travel Holding Ltd., Zurich Daniel Affolter, Chairman 1997 Member of the Executive Committee of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) 1999 Member of the International Advisory Council for Tourism (IACT), Singapore Term expires 2003

Heinz Müller**, Vice-Chairman, Term expires 2002 former Executive Vice-President UBS

Claudia Depuoz* Term expires 2002 Senior Vice-President UTO-Insurance Companies

Hans Eisenring** Term expires 2002 dipl. Ing. ETH, former President of the SBB Executive Board

Geoffrey H. Lipman* Term expires 2003 CEO Green Globe 21

Prof. Dr. Gilbert Probst** Term expires 2002 Professor for Economic Sciences University of Geneva

Dr. iur. Roland Rasi* Term expires 2001 Lawyer and economic consultant

Tommaso Zanzotto** Term expires 2003 Partner und President of Toscana Ville & Castelli

*) Member of the Remuneration Committee **) Member of the Audit Committee 12 EXECUTIVE AND CORPORATE BODIES 13

Born 1941 Executive Board St. Gallen School of Transport Training at Swissair 1962 Entrance at Kuoni as Tour Manager 1966–74 Head of Tour Operating, Born 1950 Kuoni United Kingdom 1970 Entrance at Kuoni 1974–84 Chairman, Kuoni United Kingdom as Manager Incoming Peter Diethelm In present function since 1984 1972–85 Management functions Executive Vice-President in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore, Specialists United Kingdom & ultimately as Regional Manager for the Far East North America 1986–89 Vice-President Incoming, Kuoni Reisen AG Hans Lerch 1989–95 Vice-President Tour Operating, President of the Kuoni Reisen AG Born 1955 Executive Board and 1995 Executive Vice-President SBU Incoming, HWV Zurich Chief Executive Officer Kuoni Travel Holding Ltd. 1978 Graduated as Business Economist 1996 Executive Vice-President SBU Switzerland 1978–81 Brand Manager Unilever and Incoming, Kuoni Travel Holding Ltd. 1981–87 Regional Controller for Jacobs In present function since 1999 Suchard in several countries 1987–91 Vice-President Finance and Member of Executive Board at Effems AG Max E. Katz 1991–95 Vice-President Finance and Member of Born 1951 Executive Vice-President Executive Board at Hürlimann Holding AG 1967 Entrance at Kuoni as apprentice Chief Financial Officer 1995 Entrance at Kuoni as Chief Financial Officer 1970–71 Stay at Kuoni United Kingdom In present function since 1995 1971–81 Manager and Operational Branch Head Business Travel 1981–86 Vice-Director General Management (abroad), Kuoni Reisen AG Born 1962 1986–96 Managing Director Kuoni Reisen GmbH, 1978 Entrance at Kuoni as apprentice Reto Bacher Germany Executive Vice-President 1981–87 Travel Advisor, Kuoni Reisen AG 1989 Qualified as Bachelor Business Travel 1987 Purchaser North America, of Business Administration (B.B.A.) Kuoni Reisen AG 1996–98 Vice-President Business Travel, 1989 Product Manager Travac AG Kuoni Reisen AG 1991 Head of Marketing/Sales, In present function since 1999 Kuoni Reisen AG Thomas Stirnimann Executive Vice-President 1994 Head of Overseas division, Charter Activities Kuoni Reisen AG 1995 Head of Tour Operating Department and member of Kuoni Reisen AG’s executive management In present function since 1999 14 EXECUTIVE AND CORPORATE BODIES 15

Group Management

Born 1949 Born 1957 1974 Graduated as engineer agronomy at 1976 Completed commercial training at the University of Alexandria Schweizerische Kreditanstalt 1975–78 Sales Manager at Naggar Travel Agency 1977–79 Accountant/controller at Breves Treuhand in Cairo 1979 Qualified as accountant/controller 1979 Entrance at Kuoni as Sales Representative 1979–90 Various posts at Phibro Energy AG, Zug, Incoming ultimately as Head of Information Technology 1984 Manager Middle East Department 1983 Qualified as analyst/programmer Ibrahim Atallah 1987 Manager Middle East and India Department Konrad Iten Senior Vice-President Senior Vice-President 1990–93 Managing Director of ITCO Informatic AG, Incoming Services 1990 General Manager Kuoni Far East Chief Information Officer Baar 1997 Head of Asia/Pacific Kuoni Reisen AG, 1994 Entrance at Kuoni as Project Leader Incoming with responsibility for all Asian markets 1995 CFO, CIO and member of Incoming’s executive including Japan management In present function since 1999 1997 Vice-President Information Technology, Kuoni Reisen AG In present function since 1999 Born 1956 1978 Graduated in English and American studies at the University of Nottingham, followed by postgraduation in tourism 1979 Entrance into the travel industry at Budget Holidays, London 1982 Entrance at Kuoni United Kingdom as Product Executive USA Sue Biggs 1984 Product Manager Managing Director 1988 Senior Product Manager Kuoni United Kingdom 1989 Executive Product Director 1994 Deputy Managing Director 1999 Managing Director Tour Operating Member of the Group Management since 2001 REPORT OF THE CHAIRMAN AND THE PRESIDENT 17

With a broad spread into the future

Dear shareholders, the year 2000 will go down as another successful year in Kuoni’s history. Turnover and earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation of goodwill (EBITA) reached record levels, and the three Strategic Business Units (SBUs) – Switzerland, United Kingdom & North America and Incoming & Asia – all posted extremely good results. The SBU Business Travel can also look back on a successful year in which it exceeded our high expectations. By contrast, business in some European countries and in the SBU Europe as a whole was disappointing.

Stronger Corporate Governance, more efficient group management The year 2000 saw the Board of Directors taking further measures in the area of corporate governance (see also pages 71–73);

Daniel Affolter, (left) Chairman of the Board of Directors

Hans Lerch, (right) President of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer 18 REPORT OF THE CHAIRMAN AND THE PRESIDENT 19

these included the creation of two new committees: the Audit ting and retailing. About one half of the turnover in the tour ope- Committee and the Remuneration Committee. Both are made up of rating business comes from our specialist tour operators which, independent (non-executive) members of the Board of Directors like Kuoni UK for example, concentrate on flexible, high-value pro- and both focus in depth on the specialist areas concerned. Respon- ducts at the upper end of the market. Charter and volume business sibility remains with the Board of Directors as a whole. generates the other half. Specialist operators sometimes also make In the second half of the year, we also initiated organisational use of charter flights, so it is not changes at the group level. The new organisational structure, “The Kuoni Group’s possible to separate the two which is different to the financial reporting structure for the year activities absolutely; but specia- 2000, is now focused on activities rather than geographical regions. risk portfolio is list business involves fewer risks This allows us to manage individual and last year helped to compen- group activities even more efficiently. very well balanced.” sate for the partly disappointing Hans Lerch is the new head of the European charter business. Group Units “New Markets” (Asia and The broad geographical spread of the Group across 25 coun- India) and, ad interim, “Specialists tries has a similar effect to our diversified range of activities: suc- Europe”. Marcel Herter has switched cesses in certain markets help to smooth out difficulties in others. from heading this latter division to the The Kuoni Group’s risk portfolio is thus very well balanced overall. management team of the “Business Travel” Group Unit; in this function he Welcome consolidation is no longer a member of the Executive The pace of acquisition activity slowed slightly towards the end of Board. Thomas Stirnimann is now re- the 2000 financial year. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that sponsible for Scandinavia and Austria as acquisitions are always dependent on the opportunities that arise; well as for group activities in Switzer- on the other hand, both the Board of Directors and the Executive land. Our British colleague Sue Biggs, Board believe that the now started phase of consolidation is very Managing Director of Kuoni UK, joined Group Management on desirable. 1 January 2001. The operationally challenging integration of the companies acquired since mid-1999 into Broadly based risk the Group is in full swing. The Kuoni The Kuoni Group’s core activities are: Leisure travel, Business Group has made the following travel and Incoming services. We are convinced that this diversifica- new acquisitions over the last tion across a wide variety of travel services once again proved 12 months: its worth during the period under review, contributing greatly to • SITA World Travel of New the fact that the group was able to meet our high expectations Delhi, taken over on 1 April in what was a difficult year for Europe. 2000, has developed very well The lion’s share of group turnover, 82.1%, was generated by since the successful merger with our core business of leisure travel, which includes both tour opera- Kuoni Travel (India) Ltd. 20 REPORT OF THE CHAIRMAN AND THE PRESIDENT 21

• On 1 July 2000 Kuoni pur- Thank you very much! chased T PRO of New York, Once again all of our staff members deserve a great deal of thanks. the third largest provider in the We would also like to welcome more than 1,200 new colleagues US incoming market. This firm, who have joined the Kuoni family as a result of our acquisitions too, performed very well in the over the course of the year. New owners often have new ideas that financial year under review. inevitably bring changes, and we very much appreciate the positive • In Scandinavia, we have attitude shown by staff all over the world towards the changeover been 100% owners of the Apollo and towards Kuoni’s culture. Group only since 1 January 2001. We would like to thank our shareholders for the loyalty and The year 2000 was very difficult confidence they have shown in the company. The Board of Direc- for this company; until the end of the reporting period we only tors and the Executive Board will continue in future to do all owned a 45% stake in Apollo and thus could not influence they can to keep the Kuoni Group on a successful course and to its performance. Now that we have taken over the company com- add further value. pletely, however, we are carrying out a thorough reorganisation.

Successes in charter business and on the Web Our Swiss charter airline Edelweiss Air very successfully expanded into long-haul operations with the purchase of an Airbus A330-200. Since the beginning of November 2000 the new plane has been flying with very good seat occupancy rates. Daniel Affolter Hans Lerch E-commerce activities were taken forward pragmatically Chairman of the Board of Directors President of the Executive Board and throughout the whole group. All of the Kuoni companies now sell Chief Executive Officer many, or even all of their pro- “All of the Kuoni ducts over the Internet, though standards do vary across the companies now sell different areas. Kuoni UK’s new site at www.kuoni.co.uk has some or all of been particularly successful, their products over generating excellent turnover since the beginning of 2001. the Internet.” Customers can use the website – a first for the industry anywhere in the world – to put together and book a holiday from the entire flexible range offered in Kuoni UK’s brochure. GROUP 23

Successful activities and geographical portfolio

Despite a difficult operating environment, the Kuoni Group can look back on a year that was successful on the whole and brought new record results.Within the Strategic Business Unit Europe, however, the results posted by the individual country units varied widely. Group turnover increased by 17.0% to CHF 4.1 billion (1999: CHF 3.5 billion), while earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation of goodwill (EBITA) grew by 14.3% to CHF 174.7 million (1999: CHF 152.8 million). Pre-goodwill earnings posted an increase of 7.9% from CHF 144.0 million to CHF 155.5 million. Before deduction of extraordinary expenses, Group profit was up slightly on the prior year at CHF 115.1 million (1999: CHF 113.9 million). Net profit surged by 32.1% versus 1999 results, a year in which the Group faced an extraordinary charge to cover the merger project with First Choice. Earnings per share also reached a new high, at CHF 35.97 per registered share B (1999: CHF 27.23).The Board of Directors will propose to the General Meeting of Shareholders that the dividend per registered share B be increased to CHF 12.

The financial statements for the 2000 business year have been drawn up under the Group structure in place until the end of December 2000. This structure comprised five Strategic Business 24 GROUP 25

Percentage Share of funds. Comparative figures per Changes in Group Turnover Group Sales 2000 1996–2000 registered share B for 1999 have SBU Europe: CHF 1,161 million SBU Switzerland: CHF 1,003 million been adjusted in line with this CHF b SBU Business Travel: new structure. 4 CHF 184 million SBU United Kingdom & An analysis of turnover by 3 North America: CHF 1,091 million SBU Incoming & Asia: CHF 674 million business unit gives the follo- 2 wing results:

Percentage Share of SBU Europe: CHF –3.3 million • The SBU Switzerland 1 Group EBITA 2000 per SBU SBU Business Travel: broke the one-billion-franc bar- CHF 19.2 million 0 rier for the first time ever, and 96 97 98 99 00 SBU Switzerland: CHF 46.9 million SBU Incoming & Asia: CHF 22.4 million posted a considerable 10.1% increase on the prior year at Changes in EBITA and Group Profit SBU United Kingdom & 1996–2000 North America: CHF 106.7 million CHF 1,003 million (1999: CHF 911 million). This growth CHF m is even more gratifying gi- 175 Units, or SBUs: Switzerland, UK & North America, Europe, Busi- ven that it was achieved purely 150 ness Travel and Incoming & Asia. The data pertaining to goodwill through internal efforts. 125 was restated in the financial statements for 1999 in accordance • The SBU United Kingdom 100 with a new IAS standard. By implementing International Accoun- & North America saw strong 75 50 ting Standards (IAS) in 1997, Kuoni adopted a system which in- acquisition-driven growth 25 volves recognising the goodwill from acquisitions as an asset. As a of 11.6%. Additional growth 0 result, the goodwill arising from acquisitions dating from 1995 of 5.9% worked through 96 97 98 99 00 and 1996 had to be retroactively capitalised as an asset and subse- from the currency side, giving EBITA Profit quently amortised. Previously, this goodwill had been charged to a total increase of 18.8% to equity in accordance with the accounting standards in place at the CHF 1,091 million (1999: Changes in Group Profit time. This adjustment generated an increase in goodwill amorti- CHF 918 million). The ban im- 1996–2000 sation of CHF 3.4 million in 1999, with a concomitant reduction posed on Concorde flights per Registered Share B of Group profit to CHF 87.1 million. At the same time, some other led to a contraction in turnover CHF minor adjustments were made in respect of classifications in the at US subsidiary Intrav, and 40 income statement. this impacted Kuoni UK's 30 In June 2000, the par value of shares in Kuoni Travel Holding strong organic growth figures. Ltd. were reduced in a 10-for-1 quasi share split. The trans- • The SBU Europe conti- 20 action consisted of the payment of nine times the par value of the nued to top the turnover league 10 share, and effectively resulted in a ten times quasi share split. with CHF 1,161 million (1999: 0 This brought the Group an inflow of CHF 144 million in new CHF 1,067 million, an increase 96 97 98 99 00 26 GROUP 27

of 8.8%). Acquisition-driven growth accounted result, and this contributed significantly to Group results. Conside- for 4.1%, while internal growth amounted to rable funds were again needed to finance acquisitions in the year 7.6%. From the currency side, there was a nega- under review. The securities portfolios kept for this purpose were tive impact of –2.9%. sold at times when market conditions were favourable, and gains • At the SBU Business Travel, were realised. The proceeds from these sales were used to finance there was a strong 9.5% increase in acquisitions in Sweden, India and the United States. Non-realised turnover from CHF 168 million to capital gains on the remaining small securities portfolio were redu- CHF 184 million. ced significantly to CHF 14.6 million (1999: CHF 40.6 million). • The SBU Incoming & Asia recorded the highest growth As a result of its minority shareholdings in Apollo, Stockholm in percentage terms, with a remarkable 49.4% increase to (45%), and TUI Suisse, Zurich (49%), the Kuoni Group faced CHF 674 million (1999: CHF 451 million). Of this increase, no considerable proportional expenses for associates for the first time. less than 17.4% can be attributed to organic growth. At CHF 15,0 million, these expenses impacted the net financial In terms of percentage shares of turnover by activity, Incoming result. The figures also include goodwill amortisation resulting posted a strong increase from 10.2% to 13.4%, the result of ro- from the acquisition of these companies. The main factor behind bust organic and acquisition-driven growth in this SBU. Following the lower-than-expected result in Scandinavia is that – unlike the implementation of a new basis for defining turnover in 1999, the companies in which Kuoni has a majority stake – Apollo failed which comprises only commissions and service fees from retailing to cover the risks resulting from the of business travel, business travel generated 4.5% of total turn- US dollar and aviation fuel. over, a level almost unchanged from the prior year. Leisure travel Earnings before taxes and amorti- continued to be the main turnover contributor accounting for sation of goodwill, a figure often used 82.1% of revenues. for the purposes of international com- Earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation of good- parisons, amounted to CHF 202.8 mil- will (EBITA) grew by 14.3% from CHF 152.8 million to lion, a new record (1999: CHF 200.2 CHF 174.7 million. With the exception of Europe, all units im- million). Expressed as a percentage proved in the year under review, which helped produce this of turnover, Kuoni, with 4.9%, still strong increase. The primary factors behind the growth in EBITA tops the earnings list ahead of its nine major competitors. were the first-time consolidation of acquisitions (+10.2%) Before deduction of extraordinary items, Group profit was up and the positive currency impact from the US dollar and the British slightly on the prior year (1999: CHF 113.9 million) at a total of pound. The disappointing overall development in SBU Europe CHF 115.1 million. It should be noted that one consequence of the meant that the organic EBITA increase for the Group failed Kuoni Group’s dynamic strategy is a continual increase in the to match expectations. Margins remained at 4.3%, a level that amount required for the amortisation of goodwill. On top of this, was nonetheless still higher than the average. the tax rate rose again in the year under review as expected, going Despite a very difficult market environment worldwide, the up to 30% from 26.9%. This trend is likely to continue over coming trend in financial income was extremely satisfying. At CHF 43.1 years, albeit at a slower pace: the proportion of tax-privileged finan- million (1999: CHF 47.4 million), we posted another excellent cial income in the holding structure is contracting on an ongoing 28 GROUP 29

basis while the proportion of operating profit is increasing as a re- On 12 January 2000, Kuoni floated a bond issue on the capital sult of acquisitions, some of them in countries with higher rates market for the first time in the Group’s history. The CHF 205 mil- of taxation. Given the extraordinary expenses required in connection lion 2000–2005 convertible bond with a coupon of 1% makes it pos- with the First Choice merger project in the 1999 business year, sible for Kuoni shares to be subscribed at a price of CHF 946.19. Group profit increased by over 32% to CHF 115.1 million (1999: This attractive issue has secured the Group the funds it needs to fi- CHF 87.1 million). Organic growth accounted for a sizeable 31.8% of nance further acquisition projects at favourable conditions and, this increase, while positive currency developments generated 4.2%. at the same time, allowed the non-issued shares available to be put Pre-goodwill earnings rose by 7.9% to CHF 155.5 million to constructive use. (1999: CHF 144.0 million), which increased pre-goodwill earnings per registered share B to CHF 48.58 (pre-extraordinary expenses A promising start in 2001 in 1999: CHF 45.01). Following the purchase in the year under review of a 45% stake in At CHF 35.97, earnings per registered share B reached a new Stockholm’s Apollo Resor, one of Scandinavia's growth travel record (1999: CHF 27.23), continuing the unbroken series of companies, we acquired the remaining shares in this company on successes since 1995. Against the backdrop of Kuoni’s flexible divi- 1 January 2001. This purchase gives us considerable scope to dend policy, which envisages a distribution of 30–35% of Group shape results in the current business year. Apollo will be fully con- profit to shareholders each year, solidated for the first time in the 2001 financial statements. the Board of Directors is pro- The establishment of TRX Central Europe was announced in posing to the Annual General January of this year, with Kuoni holding 51% of the new com- Meeting of Shareholders to pany. This majority shareholding in TRX Central Europe, which be held on 15 May 2001 that the also involves US and UK partners, marks Kuoni’s entry into a dividend per registered share B new segment of the travel industry: e-logistics. There are plans to be increased to CHF 12 (1999: set up a fulfillment centre in Germany and one in Switzerland CHF 11). in spring 2001. Investment in fixed assets In our business, predicting future demand is not easy. Never- decreased sharply in the year theless, the first indications in the current financial year are en- under review, from CHF 168.9 couraging. In Switzerland, the early appearance of the most impor- million in 1999 to CHF 87.2 tant Swiss brochures and the launch of the new direct selling million, with the largest amounts brand Reisen Netto in the domestic market have had a very positive required to cover renovation impact on sales. In the UK, too, bookings for 2001 have got off work at our head office in Zurich and the purchase of additional to an excellent start, while our French and Incoming companies are office premises at head office to ensure our continued expansion. also above-budget after the first few months of the year. Once In addition, the Group continued to make significant invest- again it appears that, thanks to the broad spectrum of our activities ments in the IT area. With a record cash flow of CHF 198.5 million over a wide range of different regions, we can continue to look to (1999: CHF 156.5 million; +26.8%), our equity capital is also the future with optimism. being steadily built up from current business activities. SBU SWITZERLAND 31

Best performance all along the line

The Strategic Business Unit (SBU) Switzerland set some impressive new records in 2000 and achieved the best result in its history. Consolidated turnover improved by CHF 92 million, or +10.1%, to a new record figure of CHF 1,003 million (1999: CHF 911 million), thus moving above the billion-franc mark for the first time. Operating profit was also significantly improved for the fifth time in succession. Despite the difficult market environment, EBITA climbed to CHF 46.9 million, which represents a rise of CHF 9.4 million, or 25.1%, on the previous year (CHF 37.5 million). Charter business once again accounted for a substantial portion of the significant qualitative growth. More than any- thing else, careful planning and a strategy of sensible expansion proved their worth in a tense competitive environment.

Record results were achieved by both tour operating and retailing. In tour operating, the launch of a new, flexible price system by beach holiday brand Helvetic Tours was a complete success. This innovation further underlines the fact that Kuoni Switzerland is a market leader in technical matters, too. With over 120 sales outlets, retailing has become an indispensable function within the business unit, ensuring effective sales for the products offered by all operators and brands. With the exception of Rotunda Tours, our Group subsidiaries can look back on a successful year. 32 SBU SWITZERLAND 33

Percentage Share of SBU Switzerland SBU Switzerland Reisebüro Popularis: 6.5% non-consolidated Turnover 2000 Changes in Turnover Changes in EBITA SBU Switzerland Edelweiss Air: 5.7% CHF m CHF m Kuoni Reisen Railtour Suisse: 4.7% 1000 50 Tour operating: 44% PRS: 2.8% 40 Manta Reisen: 2.2% 750 Privat Safaris: 1.2% 30 Rotunda Tours: 0.7 % 500 20 250 10 Kuoni Reisen Retailing: 32.2% 0 0 96 97 98 99 00 96 97 98 99 00

Kuoni Reisen Kuoni Reisen Tour operating: still in pole position Retailing: a major success factor Tour operating was able to increase non-consolidated turnover by Kuoni Switzerland’s travel agency division increased its adjus- CHF 64.8 million, to a new record of CHF 819.9 million (1999: ted, non-consolidated turnover by CHF 36.9 million to an CHF 755.1 million.; +8.6%). Long-haul destinations in particular, outstanding CHF 600.3 million (1999: CHF 563.4 mil- such as the Caribbean (+19.6%) and the Indian Ocean and Arabia lion; +6.5%). The share of sales generated by (+20.1%), improved considerably. own-brand products rose once again, and On the earnings side, operating profit recorded proportionally thanks to rigorous cost management and higher growth than non-consolidated turnover, with gross margins professional product control this depart- improving further in both the overseas/city trips sector and the ment also improved its operating result. European beach holiday sector. Helvetic Tours’ innovative new Internet services were further deve- price system, which facilitates flexible price management according loped in a targeted manner, and in sum- to supply and demand, made a major contribution to this result. mer 2001 SBU Switzerland branches will Thanks to process optimisation, costs in this area fell by 4.2%. also be taking their place in the electro- We are also especially pleased about another clear improve- nic world. There is a long tradition of ment in quality; the complaints rate, which was already very low, sales through travel agents in Switzerland, fell by another 3% on the previous year. The Swiss travel industry but the amount of business done over awarded Kuoni tour operating four gold Travel Star Awards for the Internet is steadily increasing. The Inter- 2000: for best beach holiday, best Asia and best city trip operator, net turnover curve is trending steeply as well as for best ticket shop. In addition, Reader’s Digest readers upwards, though it is still at a low level. chose Kuoni as the Most Reliable Travel Brand of Switzerland. 34 SBU SWITZERLAND 35

Edelweiss Air: Manta Reisen: Joining the elite Diving holiday specialist flying high 2000 was another very eventful year in Manta Reisen, a specialist in the Maldives and diving holidays, the short history of Edelweiss Air. For had a record year. Its non-consolidated turnover went up by 19.4% the first time, SBU Switzerland’s to CHF 40.6 million (1999: CHF 34.0 million). Even more pleasing passengers were able to travel on is the fact that EBITA improved considerably. Manta Reisen plays the brand new Airbus A330-200 a vital strategic role, particularly on account of our important Mal- on long-haul flights, too, and dives business. New business areas such as wedding holidays and enjoy Edelweiss Air’s renowned India are developing very well and are set to do even better for the service. Thanks to the expansion company in future years. into long-haul business at the beginning of the 2000 winter sea- Reisebüro Popularis: son, non-consolidated turnover also rose to Activities streamlined a new record level of CHF 105.8 million (1999: Over the course of the year CHF 78.5 million; +34.8%). We are particularly happy that the 2000, Reisebüro Popularis gave Swiss travel industry voted our young and dynamic airline best up its tour operating activi- charter company, ahead of Balair and Crossair, awarding it a gold ties under the Coop extra Travel Star Award for 2000. Reisen brand and reposi- tioned itself as a pure retailing company; Helvetic Tours’ branch offices agents are part of this unit. At the same time, the Kuoni Group acquired all of the shares still held by Coop Switzerland. The firm’s head office was subsequently moved to Zurich in the first quarter of 2001. Despite its withdrawal from tour operating, Reisebüro Popu- laris was able to increase non-consolidated turnover by 5.5% to CHF 120.5 million (1999: CHF 114.2 million). EBITA is in the black despite the one-off restructuring costs associated with the withdrawal of the Coop extra Reisen brand. Under the Helvetic Tours brand, the unit has added a further three branches and has made a very good start to the business year 2001. 36 SBU SWITZERLAND 37

Privat Safaris Reisebüro: This qualitative growth was made possible by strict cost manage- Comeback of the year ment and attention to detail. The trend towards short trips is conti- The long awaited upturn in East African business finally arrived in nuing and Railtour Suisse is ideally equipped for the future. 2000. As a market leader and acknowledged specialist, Privat Safaris was able to profit more than most from the Africa boom. Rotunda Tours: Non-consolidated turnover grew by 15.7% to a satisfying Falling demand for South Africa CHF 22.9 million (1999: CHF 19.8 million). The outlook for the Even Rotunda Tours, the undisputed market leader in terms of both coming year promises a quality and quantity, could not escape the effects of falling demand further improvement. in Southern Africa business. Despite innovative measures such as Privat Safaris’ strategy of its first-ever launch of a brochure in French, non-consolidated turn- refusing to compromise on over stuck at CHF 12.6 million. The operating result fell on quality even during its dif- account of higher spending on marketing. Not least because of this ficult period has paid off. added expenditure, Rotunda Tours should benefit more than most if the market recovers in 2001; the current boom in East Afri- PRS: ca business suggests that there is some justification for this hope. Turnaround accomplished The PRS travel agencies, which operates in the Zurich region under the brands LM Reisen, Rewi Reisen and Tevy Reisen, has staged a turnaround and developed into a solid pillar of the SBU Switzerland’s business. Following new management appoint- ments, the team is now stronger and is achieving notable success. Non-consolidated turnover went up 10.3% to CHF 52.3 million (1999: CHF 47.4 million). Various branches were renovated during the year under review, and the new year has begun extremely well; there is no reason why turnover should not increase further this year.

Railtour Suisse: Success story continues For the thirteenth consecutive year, this subsidiary of Kuoni Travel Holding and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), which specialises in rail travel and short trips, posted a record result. Non-consolidated turnover increased by 12.3% to CHF 87.9 million (1999: CHF 78.3 million), while EBITA recorded above-average growth. SBU UNITED KINGDOM & NORTH AMERICA 39

The success story continues

Following the restructuring and first-time consolidation of Intrav and Voyages Jules Verne the previous year, the new enlarged Strategic Business Unit (SBU) United Kingdom & North America exceeded our own ambitious expectations for the year 2000. With turnover up from CHF 918 million to CHF 1,091 million (an 18.8% increase, and the first time the billion-franc mark has ever been reached) and an EBITA of CHF 106.7 million (a 15.7% improvement on the CHF 92.2 million of 1999), the SBU set two outstanding new records for the year and laid a solid foundation for a highly promising future.

Kuoni UK: across-the-board success The core tour operating business of Kuoni UK gained further market share in 2000. Yet it did so while still maintaining its high profit margins which are well in excess of the industry average. Increased demand is being felt for flexible long-haul holidays; and Kuoni UK’s concept of “tailor-made holidays at package-tour prices” is appealing to an ever-growing number of clients who are prepared to pay a little bit extra for a superior service and greater flexibility. The investments which our SBU has made in recent years in its people, the call centre, its information technology and its website development now enable us to provide better service more efficiently and create a genuine product and service differentiation between Kuoni and its competitors. In fact, Kuoni UK is now Europe’s most successful specialist tour operator, and uses predominantly scheduled rather than charter flights. 40 SBU UNITED KINGDOM & NORTH AMERICA 41

January 2001 saw the launch of the SBU’s pioneering new IBUs: website, www.kuoni.co.uk. The site features detailed information Different products, same back office on thousands of holidays to over 50 countries. The main feature The restructuring of Voyages Jules Verne (VJV), our largest Inde- of the new website is an interactive booking system that enables pendent Business Unit or IBU, has now been completed. While direct clients and travel agents to take advantage of the total flexi- the company distributes its holidays as an autonomous direct-sales bility that makes the Kuoni UK product so unique: day of de- organisation via its own and equally new www.vjv.com website, parture, duration of stay, airline, hotel room type and meal plan via customer mailings and through newspaper advertising, VJV also can all be changed at the click of a button to suit individual utilises the buying power and back-office support of the Kuoni preferences and needs. The site got off to an excellent start: it has UK group. The Airwaves brand has been dropped, and most of the already taken bookings from all over the world including products previously offered under the Airwaves name have been the Falkland Islands, the USA, Brazil and Portugal, and seems to included in the Kuoni be tapping into a new potential market of British residents brochures. The Travel abroad looking to book their holiday from the UK on the Kuoni Collection remains a sepa- website. rate direct sell brand of On the product side, the launch of our World Class brochure Kuoni, but to maximise the offering luxury holidays throughout the world was a similar synergies, the sales and success. Indeed, we expect this new product line to make a positive operations have been inte- profit contribution in just its second year. And to crown an grated within the Kuoni excellent 2000, Kuoni UK won – for the 19th consecutive year! – Dorking tour operation. the Golden Globe award for “Britain’s best long-haul tour opera- The Far East Travel tor” as voted by the country’s travel agents. Centre moved into its new offices, appropriately located in Lon- don’s Chinatown, from where it provides both Chinese and British clients with special air fares and individually tailored holidays to the Far East. All the other IBUs (Student Travel, Trade Fairs, Sport Abroad, Incentives and Specialist Travel) are now located under one roof in a building adjacent to Kuoni UK’s Dorking head office. SBU United Kingdom & North America SBU United Kingdom & North America Like VJV, these IBUs also enjoy the independence they are given Changes in Turnover Changes in EBITA to create and market their own products, yet can still benefit from CHF m CHF m Kuoni UK’s overall infrastructure and back-office support. 1000 100

800 80 USA: 600 60 Intrav does well despite the Concorde setback 400 40 For Intrav and Clipper Cruise Line, our US subsidiaries, 2000 was 200 20 the first full business year under Kuoni ownership. After an event- 0 0 96 97 98 99 00 96 97 98 99 00 ful but excellent first six months, Intrav suffered a material setback 42 SBU UNITED KINGDOM & NORTH AMERICA 43

when Concorde operations were suspended following the July crash programmes for both scheduled and private charter flights as soon in Paris of an Air France aircraft. Intrav is the market leader in as possible. private jet charters; and Concorde was the flagship in the com- The four small cruise ships (carrying 90 to 128 passengers) will pany’s programme, offering prestigious 17-day “around-the-world continue to operate on exclusive itineraries from Alaska to the holidays” by supersonic jet for around USD 50,000 per person. Antarctic and from US coastal cruises to the Grenadines, visiting With Concorde presenting such a unique and irreplaceable attrac- away-from-it-all places which bigger vessels cannot reach. tion, the loss of this business could not be made up for in the second half of the year. The USD 12 million in turnover lost through the cancelled Concorde flights and the corresponding decline in gross profit were reflected in the SBU’s results for the year. Nevertheless, Intrav’s management produced some excellent results from the small-ship Time to pass on the baton operations of Clipper Cruise Line and the conventional private It was 35 years ago that Jack Bolli (who was then Kuoni Group jet programmes and, despite the loss of the Concorde business, the CEO and was my mentor for many years) and I started our US subsidiaries made a very positive contribution to the SBU’s tour operation in the UK.We have come a long way since then; overall EBITA result. and at the end of 2001 I shall hand over full operational Intrav also commenced planning for the launch of “Intrav à la responsibility for all of Kuoni’s activities in the UK to my successor, Sue Biggs. During her 19 years with the company, Sue has already made carte” – an adaptation for the US market of the Kuoni UK con- a great contribution to the success of Kuoni UK; and our well-known business philo- cept for “tailor-made holidays at package-tour prices”. The Intrav sophy of ”Quality before quantity and profit before market share”, which we have à la carte Europe and Asia brochures are now available, and pursued for many years, will be in safe and experienced hands. the corresponding computer systems were due to be set up during From January 2002 I shall assume, on a part-time basis, the chairmanship of Kuoni the first quarter of 2001. We expect to see some limited sales of UK, of Intrav and Clipper Cruise Line in the USA, and of our hotels in the Carib- this new product during the current year, followed by a substantial bean. So I shall remain very much in touch with the Kuoni Group and its future development. increase in business in 2002/03. Three years ago, I said – half seriously, half jokingly – that before I reached the age A further Intrav product of 60 and handed over my executive responsibilities to my successor, I expected our innovation is the new and SBU to achieve CHF 1 billion in turnover and an EBITA of CHF 100 million.Well, those exclusive round-the-world flight results came a year early! It now only remains for me to thank all my management in a specially reconfigured and staff for their great support and for the superb results they have achieved. luxury Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet in which the usual 400 Economy Class seats have been replaced with just 100 First Class seats and two bars. Should Concorde Peter Diethelm return to service later in 2001, Executive Vice-President Specialists United Kingdom & North America Intrav plans to launch new SBU EUROPE 45

A picture of light and shadow

In the year under review, the national companies within the Strategic Business Unit (SBU) Europe performed with widely varying degrees of success. But with turnover amounting to CHF 1,161 million (1999: CHF 1,067 million; +8.8%), SBU Europe continues to remain the unit with the highest turnover. On the other hand, results were disappointing with EBITA showing a loss of CHF –3.3 million (1999: 17.1 million). In the year ended, Kuoni France and Kuoni Spain performed very well.The subsidiaries in Denmark,The Netherlands, Austria and Italy had to con- tend with difficult market conditions and a less than satisfactory profit situation.

Austria: Kuoni as retailing brand As part of operations to streamline the portfolio, Kuoni withdrew from tour operations carried in Austria under its own name at the end of the 2000/2001 winter season and closed Kuoni Reisen Veranstaltungs AG. However, with N-U-R Neckermann Reisen AG, we still succeed in having a presence in the tour operating business. In future, the Kuoni brand will concentrate its activities in Austria on selling leisure travel, which has performed highly satisfactorily. 46 SBU EUROPE 47

Percentage Share Asia specialist, Allround Travel International (ATI), saw a of Turnover 2000 9.1% drop in turnover in the year 2000 from CHF 8.8 million in SBU Europe Italy: 21.2% 1999 down to CHF 8.0 million in 2000. This was due to the weak Austria: 32.0% euro and the associated increases in flight and hotel prices. The competitive nature of market conditions to a large extent prevented any price increases. Thanks to strict cost management, however,

France: 22.2% it was still possible to achieve good results. Spain: 3.0% Retailing: continued expansion Netherlands: 5.1% Our retailing organisation, Reisebüro Kuoni Ges.m.b.H., once Denmark: 16.5% again can look back on a good financial year. Thanks to a targeted and rigorous product policy as well as continued productivity gains, the organisation saw an increase in turnover and earnings despite a continued fall in commissions. Growth in turnover of Tour operating: modest performance 3.7% to CHF 14.2 million (1999: CHF 13.7 million) was generated N-U-R Neckermann, in which Kuoni holds a majority interest of solely by organic means. 51%, increased turnover from CHF 294 million to CHF 299 mil- Including Okay Reisen, which was acquired in November lion (+1.7%) despite volatile market conditions; however, earnings 2000, Kuoni now has its own distribution network comprising failed to meet the previous year’s positive performance. The level 41 sales outlets, plus a further 28 outlets operated by franchisees of turnover recorded by N-U-R Neckermann Reisen AG – number (Kuoni Travel Partners). two on the Austrian market – was not quite in line with the number of travellers, mainly because of an increase in products such as city holidays or holidays where guests make their own travel arrangements, all being considerably cheaper on average than air travel. SBU Europe SBU Europe Changes in Turnover Changes in EBITA Of the new markets bordering Austria in which N-U-R CHF m CHF m Neckermann operates, Hungary continued to perform satisfacto- 1000 15 rily, at the same time starting to expand its sales channels. At the moment, the company has 21 of its own branch offices in Hun- 750 10 gary. After a rocky start in the previous year, activities in Slova- kia and Slovenia likewise showed positive trends in the year under 500 5 review. 250 0

0 –5 96 97 98 99 00 96 97 98 99 00 48 SBU EUROPE 49

Restplatzbörse, specialising in the sale of last-minute package France: holidays and flight tickets, continued to expand rapidly with a Above-average growth 53% growth in turnover to CHF 5.2 million (1999: CHF 3.4 mil- In a market characterised by an ongoing concentration process, lion), thus strengthening its position as the leading last-minute Kuoni France once again enjoyed considerable success in the year specialist. 2000. Whereas the market grew by around 8%, our French subsidiary succeeded in increasing turnover by 15.2% to CHF 258 mil- Denmark: lion (1999: CHF 224 million). Ongoing competitive pressure And once again, Kuoni As from 1 January 2000, the Danish scheduled flight specialist France also recorded above-aver- Dane Tours as well as the Kisbye Rejser travel agencies with age improved earnings. All di- four branch offices in the east of Denmark joined the Kuoni Group, visions had a role to play in con- whose activities in Denmark in the form of Alletiders Rejser S/A tributing to this satisfactory had previously concentrated on the chartered flight market. result. Traditional tour operating In the year under review, the market has been characterised by recorded satisfactory growth, overcapacities and price pressure. Continued competitive pres- as did the specialist business of sure had an effect on the result of Alletiders Rejser in the first six Scanditours, group sales and months. The 24.8% growth in turnover from CHF 153 million alternative sales channels via to CHF 191 million is mainly attributable to the acquisition of supermarkets. The traditional Dane Tours and Kisbye Rejser. sales network recovered from its previous year’s downturn and like- In the year 2000, Alletiders Rejser was chosen as the best wise contributed to the excellent results. Owing to the new Danish charter tour operator and Dane Tours as the best scheduled Employment Law stipulating a 35-hour week, Kuoni France saw a flight specialist. Furthermore, the tour operator won an award considerable increase in its level of staffing. for having the most comprehen- sive Thailand programme Italy: in Denmark. Expansion of product range Despite a rather modest trend on the Italian market, turnover of our Italian joint venture, Kuoni Gastaldi grew in the year 2000 by 3.8% to CHF 246 million (1999: CHF 237 million).The rise in kerosene costs and the strong US dollar had a negative effect on sales particularly in the low season and on earnings. During the year under review, Kuoni Gastaldi continued to expand its range of chartered products and included some destinations popular on the Italian market such as the Cape Verdi islands. The new product “resorts” stands for holiday villages and all-inclusive clubs especially developed by Kuoni Gastaldi and 50 SBU EUROPE 51

tailored to the needs of its customers. This market segment – The Netherlands: club holidays with individual customer care and organisation – has Reorganisation completed shown continuous growth on the Italian market for over five years. The year under review saw a vir- With the continuous growth of chartered holidays – also tual end to the restructuring available via the Internet since Summer 2000 – as well as the re- measures undertaken in 1999 organisation of the marketing and sales structure and the opening to our Dutch subsidiary up of new, alternative sales channels such as banks, supermarkets Special Traffic. Despite a delay to and insurance companies, Kuoni Gastaldi is continuing to ex- technical reorganisation, turn- pand its position on the Italian market. The company already leads over could be maintained at the level of the way in the area of à-la-carte holidays with scheduled flights, the previous year with CHF 59 million. once again establishing itself in the year 2000 as the market leader The new electronic direct sales channel, Net- for the two most popular destinations – Australia and the USA. vacations, went live in April 2000 and by the year-end had achieved sales of CHF 0.6 million. Spain: With the standardisation of products and working processes, Successful turnaround both productivity and availability for sale were hugely improved. Thanks to restructuring measures introduced in 1998, the year Alongside optimising processes throughout the entire organi- under review saw a turnaround bringing Kuoni Spain once again sation, management also carried out a review of major suppliers into the black. With rigorous marketing, product innovations, and where necessary, entered into co-operative agreements with flexible service and a highly motivated team, turnover was new partners. Special Traffic won the following awards in the year increased by more than 17% (2000: CHF 35.5 million; 1999: 2000: best specialised tour operator, best foreign travel tour CHF 30.3 million). Market share increased in all areas and destina- operator, best tour operator for North America and for the first tions such as Thailand, Indonesia, Indochina, the islands in the time, best tour operator for Asia. Indian Ocean and some destinations in South America, recorded a plus of more than 50%. Despite the strong dollar, the Spanish subsidiary even saw growth of almost 10% compa- red to the previous year for the most popular destination – the USA. And a well-known local newspaper named Kuoni Spain as the best tour operator in the year 2000. SBU BUSINESS TRAVEL 53

A changeover bearing fruit

The Strategic Business Unit (SBU) Business Travel underwent a worldwide reorganisation during the year under review.The new organisation reflects the international focus of the SBU’s business operations, and with its streamlined structures, it also takes account of the ongoing squeeze on margins in this segment. As airlines continue to reduce the commissions they pay, the SBU is having to reposition itself as a customer-financed service provider. In Germany and Switzerland in particular, the changeover to a new payment model is already well advanced and is beginning to bear fruit.

The Business Travel unit achieved a pleasing improvement in results for the year 2000. The definition of turnover was changed in the previous year to match European practices, and as a result the increase in turnover may not appear especially significant at first sight. This is deceptive: in an environment characterised by profound change, business travel is developing along a solid growth trajectory. With total invoiced sales of approximately CHF 2 billion, the unit is left with turnover – equiva- lent to gross profit – of CHF 184 million (1999: CHF 168 million) or an increase of 9.5%. The EBITA improved by a huge 23.9% from CHF 15.5 million to CHF 19.2 million, which exceeded our expectations. 54 SBU BUSINESS TRAVEL 55

Germany: SBU Business Travel SBU Business Travel More and more successful Changes in Turnover Changes in EBITA The reorganisation of 1999, and the subsequent clearer focus CHF m CHF m on activities, is now bearing fruit: turnover at the German company 200 20 Euro Lloyd Reisebüro GmbH & 150 15 Co. KG was 9.7% better at

CHF 101.7 million (1999: CHF 100 10 92.7 million). The main pillar of this success with almost 80% 50 5 of overall turnover was the 0 0 core activity of business travel, 96 97 98 99 00 96 97 98 99 00 with the brand BTI Euro Lloyd. The tourism and group tours division also developed very satis- Austria: factorily. In May 2000, sports Reduction in commissions absorbed travel activities were organised into their own separate division, Business travel in Austria developed very pleasing. The reduction and the airport offices were also brought under a single manage- in commissions paid by airlines from nine to seven percent, ment structure within a new division. The German unit has thus introduced in January 2000, could be almost completely absorbed. consistently pursued the concentration on activities: each area is to Nevertheless, turnover was slightly down on the previous year: establish its position in the market largely autonomously, a stra- it fell by 7.0% to approximately CHF 6.6 million (1999: tegy that is also reflected in the brand policy. CHF 7.1 million). Owing to certain alterations the conference travel specialist Commerz Reisen, Switzerland: which joined the BTI organisation in 2000, Undisputed number one was not able to fill the seat allocations it had For years now, BTI Kuoni Switzerland has been the leader by purchased to the extent expected. quite some distance in the Swiss business travel market. The company has not only been able to maintain this position but has Hungary: increased its lead still further: its 11.7% improvement on the pre- Holding steady vious year is far higher than the market average. Turnover went As expected, the Hungarian company Kuoni up to CHF 75.4 million (1999: CHF 67.5 million). Utazási Iroda maintained its results at the previous With retrospective effect from January 2000, Kuoni’s incentive year’s level. Turnover remained at CHF 0.5 million. and special travel department was transferred in May to the BTI organisation, where it, together with the conference travel department, will complement the range offered by BTI Event Solutions perfectly. SBU INCOMING & ASIA 57

Impressive expansion

In 2000, the SBU Incoming & Asia made a quantum leap. Together with the solid organic development of the other units, the new subsidiaries T PRO in the United States and SITA World Travel in India have contributed to the SBU’s impressive expansion.Total turnover increased by 49.4% from CHF 451 million to CHF 674 million.The CHF 16.9 million improvement in EBITA to CHF 22.4 million (+307%) was even more remarkable.

Incoming Services Europe: Strong growth Thanks to the diversification of our core Incoming Services Europe business across different markets, the unit achieved very satisfactory growth during the year under review. Turnover rose 19.5% to CHF 393 million (1999: CHF 329 million). In addition to Japan, which is traditionally the most important market for holidays to Europe, the US market was a major contributor to the positive result; this was primarily due to the famous Oberammergau Passion Plays, which take place every ten years and are very popular among Americans. Despite the stagnation of the market and more intense competition, our organisation in Japan achieved above-average results. Far Eastern source markets are recovering steadily. 58 SBU INCOMING & ASIA 59

Greece: USA: Good results Market entrance as number three Both of our Greek subsidiaries, Hellenic Tours T PRO is also active in incoming business and has been a subsi- and Hellenic Islands Services, which are also engaged diary of the Kuoni Group since July 2000; it is the third largest in incoming business, once again achieved an above- operator in the US market and has lived up to our expectations in average result. Turnover went up 14.3% full. By acquiring T PRO, the group has established a foothold to CHF 29.6 million (1999: CHF 25.9 million). in the rapidly growing American incoming market. Half-year turn- The company established itself as one of over surpassed the CHF 100 million mark, which suggests that the leading incoming operators, not only on T PRO will make a major contribution to the SBU’s results in 2001. the mainland but also on the Greek Islands. Hong Kong and Singapore: Kenya: Excellent recovery Healthy recovery The economic situation and, Our East African subsidiary Private Safaris (East Africa) Ltd., therefore, consumer sentiment which runs an incoming operation, is enjoying a marked recovery have greatly improved – especial- and achieved a very positive result in 2000. Turnover increased ly in Hong Kong. Both joint 32% to CHF 6.6 million (1999: CHF 5.0 million). venture companies, P&O Travel With Kenya re-establishing itself as an attractive destination, Hong Kong and P&O Travel we have high hopes for the future of this company. Singapore, have scored successes, especially in business travel, and have produced good overall results. Turnover rose from CHF 50.8 million to CHF 62.2 million (+22.4%).

India: SBU Incoming & Asia SBU Incoming & Asia Successful expansion Changes in Turnover Changes in EBITA The purchase of SITA World Travel has increased the size of Kuoni CHF m CHF m India almost fivefold. The merged company’s billed gross turn- 800 20 over makes Kuoni the market leader on the Indian subcontinent.

600 15 Local management has done an excellent job integrating the new firm, and the results achieved this year are better than expected.

400 10 Turnover, which includes SITA turnover from the second quarter of the year under review, came to CHF 81.5 million (1999: 200 5 CHF 40.4 million; +102%).

0 0 96 97 98 99 00 96 97 98 99 00 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 61

Fast and solutions-oriented

Following a millennium change-over that passed off without a hitch, in the year under review the Group unit Information Technology (IT) pressed ahead with its main themes of standardisation and consolidation.Work continued on the Kuoni Group's e-commerce projects, using a strategic approach which incorporated a calculated degree of risk, while we took care not to jump on the “dot.com" bandwagon, which has since turned out to be something of a short-lived phenomenon.

It was not only the information technology sector that awaited last year’s millennium changeover with a certain degree of apprehen- sion; however, the various doom scenarios prophesised failed to materialise. Thanks to careful planning, the millennium changeover passed off without a hitch the world over. For the Kuoni Group, too, the year 2000 started without any problems.

New ground-rules in e-commerce Without a doubt, the key word in the year under review – and not only for new- economy companies – was “dot.com”. Many companies caught “dot.com fever” and pumped millions into Internet projects. As reports of various dot.com outfits going bust and running into difficulties grew over the last few months of the year, however, several companies began 62 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 63

to question their ambitious projects, Grouping together of IT competencies in some cases even opting for major In the year under review, the centralised and decentralised IT units re-dimensioning projects. in the Kuoni Group intensified the level of co-operation between Kuoni’s strategy was in sharp con- them to ensure that maximum use was made of the synergies avail- trast to the approach adopted by most companies able. Today’s competitive environment is shaped by globalisation, – after careful analysis and the incorporation of a cal- rapid technological developments, severe price pressures and short culated degree of risk, we launched various realistic e-commerce time-to-market periods. Against this backdrop, grouping together projects primarily geared to country level, in light of the still strong IT competencies at Group level is crucial if we are to continue to be local dimension of the travel business. After an analysis conducted able to react quickly and in a solutions-oriented manner. by one of our project teams, we decided not to pursue the idea The dedication of the entire unit was vital in helping us of building up a global travel portal. The subsidiaries in the Group achieve our objectives in the year under review and allowing us to continued to develop their Internet sites with a view to being able increase the level of client satisfaction even further. to book the entire product online, and strengthened their leading positions in this area in their respective markets. By way of an example, since the beginning of the year 2001 it has been possible to book virtually all Kuoni UK’s com- plex brochure offerings via the Internet.

Standardisation reducing costs Efforts aimed at increasing the standardisation and consolidation of the Group’s IT operations continued during the year under review. The standards established reduced the time and effort absorbed by support activities and, as a result, brought down costs. In a further bid to reduce the time and costs required for development and training, we migrated various applications to open systems. In an open system, various products from different IT sources can run together thanks to a defined standard. This reduces the level of complexity involved, shortens the development phase and enhances quality for users and clients. THE EUROPEAN TRAVEL MARKET 65

European top ten continue to grow

The European travel market remains in flux.The merger merry- go-round continued throughout 2000, with the media showing particular interest in the competitive battles between the vertically-integrated travel groups in the British and the German markets.

Europe’s biggest travel corporations continue to expand. Not only did the travel sector post stronger growth for 2000 than the economy as a whole; results for the year were further buoyed by substantial increases in sales, themselves at least partially the product of several major takeovers, especially by the continent’s top two of Preussag and C&N. The prime reasons for these large-scale expansion policies can be found in a desire among these vertically-integrated companies to secure optimum occupancy for their high-cost capital assets such as aircraft and hotels. The European top two: Condor & Neckermann (C&N) underlined its European ambitions by acquiring Havas Voyages of France (with 380 travel agencies and 1.6 million guests) and following this with a bid for Thomson Travel. However, C&N was outbid here by Preussag (TUI Group), Europe’s overall market leader, which now owns Thomson Travel (including Britannia Air- ways, the Lunn Poly travel agency chain and Fritidresor in Scandinavia with total sales of CHF 6 billion a year). In the wake of the acquisition, Preussag shed its share in UK-based Thomas Cook, acquired the previous year, at the in- sistence of the competition authorities. 66 THE EUROPEAN TRAVEL MARKET 67

C&N then took the opportunity to acquire Thomas Cook, se- 2000 turnover in CHF of the top The UK: In addition to ten European travel companies: cure a foothold in the UK and become Europe’s second-biggest tour Thomson Travel and Thomas operator. Preussag (D) Cook, both now in German 21 b C&N now has 28,000 employees, 70 aircraft, 3,800 travel C&N (D) hands, the UK market has two agencies, 30 tour operator brands, 53,000 hotel beds and 15 mil- 13 b other members of Europe’s Airtours (UK) lion customers a year. Preussag, originally a steel company, now aims 11 b top ten in Airtours and First Rewe (D) to generate some 80 per cent of its revenue from tourism, and will 5.3 b Choice. Following a flurry have 66,000 staff, 76 aircraft, 3,200 travel agencies, 63 tour opera- First Choice (UK) of acquisition activity in the pre- 4.7 b tor brands, 96,000 hotel beds and 17.4 million customers a year. Kuoni (CH) vious year, 2000 proved a 4.1 b Germany: In Germany, which is home to Europe’s top two quieter affair for market leader Club Mediterra- travel groups, the market is led by TUI Group (28%) followed née (F) 2.9 b Airtours as it concentrated on Hotelplan (CH) jointly by Rewe and C&N (with 22% each). Alongside DER and 2.2 b stemming its own declining pro- Alltours (D) * ITS, the Rewe trading group now includes LTT, the former tourism 1.3 b fits. First Choice is now also division of the LTU group, which it recently acquired from the Alpitour (I) * active in the German market fol- 1.1 b SAirGroup. The leading three are followed – at some distance – by in CHF b 0510 15 20 lowing its acquisition of Nazar, FTI, a subsidiary of the UK’s Airtours, which has been displaced a tour operator specialising in (new investments in equity holdings included) from number two to number *estimation Turkey and Egypt. three in the pan-European Globally active: The Kuoni rankings by the rise of C&N. Group also continued to grow, with selected acquisitions in France: While one half of certain key markets. Having increased its holding in Swedish tour all German vacationers’ holi- operator Apollo Resor AB from 45 to 100 per cent and acquired days are booked as package tour operator Dane Tours and the Kisbye Rejser travel agency chain tours, only 30 per cent of in Denmark, Kuoni is now number three in the Scandinavian French travellers take their market after SLG (Airtours) and Fritidresor (Preussag). In contrast vacation in this form. Preussag to the other major European operators, Kuoni also enhanced responded to C&N’s venture its position in markets outside Europe such as the USA, where it into the French market acquired incoming operator T PRO, and India, where, with the through its new Havas holding with its own acquisition (initially purchase of SITA World Travel, it is now market leader in all busi- of 13%, though this should be gradually increased to 34.4%) ness areas (Incoming, Outgoing and Business travel). of French market leader Nouvelles Frontières, which operates 22 hotels and 236 travel agencies and has 2.4 million customers. Still independent of any major travel group is Club Méditerranée: the company, which is focusing increasingly on the leisure sector, saw a 28-per-cent increase in its turnover for the year. 68 E-COMMERCE 69

USD 13 billion of business last Kuoni on the Internet in 2000 Global net, local business year, a figure which is predicted to Turnover (CHF million) Hits (million) grow to USD 20 billion for 2001. • Group 97.8 33.5 Electronic distribution is nothing new to the travel trade. At the same time, however, • Scandinavia 72.7 5 The industry has long been comprehensively networked between questions are beginning to be • Switzerland 9.4 9.5 • Austria 6.8 14.8 airlines, tour operators and travel agencies in the business- asked about just how steep this • The UK 5.9 0.5 growth curve might be. The pun- to-business sector. But with the growing use of the Internet by • Italy 2.6 0.2 consumers, whether it’s to prepare their trip or make their dits have also detected a sizable • France 0.5 3 rise in the numbers of Americans bookings online, the role of e-commerce has grown considerably who have turned their back on the Web, which rose from 10 million over the last few years.Thanks to its early experience in the to 28 million between 1997 and 1999. field and its existing electronic infrastructure, the tourist sector It is a trend that is likely to show sizable variations from coun- is well placed to exploit the new business channels. try to country. In Scandinavia, for example, the relative rarity of travel agencies has tended to encourage greater use of the Internet than elsewhere. Hardly any sector of industry has such an Internet-friendly product In the UK, meanwhile, and now also in Germany, interactive as the travel and tourist trade. The only physical logistics involved television is showing increasing signs of emerging as a new tra- are the mailing of the various travel documents; and ticketless travel retail channel. TV Travel Shop (TVTS), in whose British parent vel should simplify both this and online reservations soon. For the company Kuoni holds a 12.5-per-cent equity stake, generated consumer, it’s not just for bookings that the Internet holds such over CHF 300 million in turnover for 2000. TVTS is already a key potential. In planning their trips, too – comparing offers, checking sales channel for the UK’s major tour operators, and accounts availability, finding out about destinations – the World Wide Web for some five per cent of their total travel turnover. offers a vast range of possibilities. Yet despite a steady increase The new medium of the Internet has also attracted providers in Internet user numbers, the personal discussion with the travel with no previous tourist business experience. With a few excep- agent still remains a service that many customers desire. tions, most of these have already disappeared again, the victims of Projections vary on how last year’s New Economy downturn. As events have shown, much leisure and business travel the traditional travel and tourism companies, being able to de- is likely to be arranged via termine the content of their own products, still hold certain the Internet in future. For Eu- trumps for their online activities. At the same time, current trends rope market research suggests are underlining the fact that, even in the age of the World Wide that the volume handled online Web, the travel business is still a strongly localised affair: in the will double from its 2000 figure package holiday sector in particular, it is those operators who of USD 3 billion to USD 6 bil- are active in the local market who enjoy the greatest confidence lion. The US online travel among Internet users. market accounted for almost CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 71

A tool for transparency

With processes accelerating all the time and changes a constant concern, managers today are under permanent pressure to analyse situations and take the decisions required.The principles of Corporate Governance provide a sound and solid framework in which to fulfil these requirements.

Corporate Governance structures the forces and influences at work at the head of an organisation, and offers a set of rules for addressing the interests of the company’s stakeholder groups. To help strengthen its Corporate Governance and the principles it provides, the Kuoni Board of Direc- tors created two new “Corporate Governance bodies – the Remunera- tion Committee and the provides an international Audit Committee – in the course of the year. benchmark for our busi- To ensure their ness activities; as those autonomy, each of the new bodies is composed continue to grow on a of non-executive Board members. Among other global stage, the impor- activities, the Remune- tance of Corporate Gover- ration Committee has already reviewed the nance is increasing, too.” salaries of the Group’s Daniel Affolter, top executives, in con- Chairman of the Board of Directors sultation with international specialists. The Audit Committee, which ensures that the company’s financial principles are properly observed, has drawn up a charter for its activities, in association with the internal and external auditors. 72 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 73

Further examples of Kuoni’s Corporate Governance include: • controlling and treasury functions are continually optimised to • the majority of the Board of Directors is composed of indepen- ensure high efficiency dent individuals • the total emoluments of the Executive Board and the Board of • appointing separate persons as Chairman of the Board (for strate- Directors are disclosed gic management) and CEO (for operational management) • employees are offered continuous training and education • providing maximum accounting transparency by compiling the • responsibility towards society and the environment consolidated financial statements in accordance with “Corporate Gover- Being active in the travel the International Accounting and tourism sector poses a Standards (IAS) nance offers a set of particular challenge. Not only • a professional risk manage- must Kuoni’s Corporate Gover- ment is in place to deal with rules for addressing nance embrace traditional the risks to which the com- the interests of stakeholders such as em- pany and its stakeholders ployees, customers and are exposed the company’s shareholders; it must also • Kuoni attaches great value extend to its service providers to competent and proactive stakeholder groups." and other parties at its destinati- communication with ons around the world. Thus, for Kuoni, Daniel Affolter, stakeholders in and outside Chairman of the Board of Directors Corporate Governance is not just a matter the company of organisational structures, corporate bodies • Group strategy is subjected to regular review and definitions of duties and obligations. Kuoni sees Corporate • the planning and budgeting systems, with their short-term, Governance as an attitude, to be adopted and experienced medium-term and long-term annual budgets, are subject to the every day; an attitude through which it pays due and full regard Board’s approval to all its stakeholders, both through and beyond its immediate business activities. BUSINESS ACTIVITIES 75

Three strong pillars

From classic beach holidays via safaris and cruises to carefully tailored group, business and incentive travel, the range of the Kuoni Group’s products is as vast as it is varied.Those products (and their production) broadly fall under three “pillars” of activity – Leisure Travel, Business Travel and Incoming. Of these, Leisure Travel (which includes Tour Operating and Retailing) is by far the biggest, accounting for 82.1% of total group turnover. Effective travel budget management is a key specialisation of our Business Travel unit, while Incoming is primarily concerned with organising inbound travel arrangements for tour operators abroad.

Leisure Travel Devising, organising and selling holidays are the core competencies of our Leisure Travel sector. First, Tour operating selects the most attractive destinations, seeks out knowledgeable local agents and works with them to conclude agreements with local hotels, transport companies and other service providers. It also buys-in the quotas it needs on charter air services, and arranges local transfers and excursions. At bigger destinations, Kuoni has its own guide organisation. And in the mid-to-high-price market, we distribute our products under the Kuoni name – a brand that enjoys an excellent image as a quality service provider, not only in its Swiss home market but also in countries such as the UK and France. Further brands are used to appeal to additional markets and customer groups. 76 BUSINESS ACTIVITIES 77

Responsibility for ensuring that the travel packages assembled Incoming are sold as effectively as possible lies with Retailing. Some 123 sales Our Incoming specialists organise group and individual land arrange- outlets perform this task in Switzerland. A further 41 outlets are ments in Europe, East Africa, India and the United States on be- provided in Austria, and 18 in France. Our subsidiaries also sell half of international tour operators. From snowmobile safaris in their products via outside travel agents and alternative distribution Lapland to the culinary delicacies of channels such as the Internet, call centres and digital TV. Ancient Rome and helicopter flights over France’s Loire Valley, each Inco- Business Travel ming product is carefully crafted to The prime focus of our Business Travel operations, which trade each client’s wishes and needs. under the BTI brand, is on providing products and services that are While the unit’s Greek and geared to the needs of our various business customers, from small Kenyan subsidiaries focus on custo- and mid-sized companies to bigger national and international cor- mers from Europe, the 526 staff at porations. Incoming Services Europe devote most Our business travel specialists are far more than travel agents, of their energies to visitors from though. Managing travel budgets – not just to keep costs low but the USA, Japan, India and other Asian to reduce them over the longer term – is a key requirement here. nations. Incoming Services Europe “Travel and entertainment” are one of the bigger cost items in also runs a network of 13 Destination a company’s accounts. Their prominence is growing, too, with the Management Companies in Europe, globalisation of the world economy and the greater need for whose clients also include travel agen- international travel and intracompany communications that this cies in South America, Eastern Europe development entails. and the Near East. This is why effecting a tangible and sustainable reduction in Alongside the “classic” tours, special-interest and incentive their clients’ travel costs is one of the prime duties of Kuoni’s tours, seminars, conferences and study trips are all in great business travel specialists. It is a task that is tackled at three distinct demand. A Japanese group, for instance, may wish to see how levels: direct travel costs (where efforts are made to enhance the pur- Swiss cheese is produced, or how the Austrians make their chasing process), structural costs (whether to run an in-house travel apple strudel. But despite the clichés, the cosiness of a chalet, the unit or outsource these activities) and process costs splendour of the glaciers and a train ride up to the Jungfraujoch (optimising the company’s remain the high points of most visitors’ European trips – the last of own processes and proce- these in the truest sense of the term! dures). These activities also make extensive use of the Internet and of system-based solutions such as online booking applications. 78 STAFF 79

The average years of ser- Motivation and innovation Management principles vice for staff in our Swiss of the Kuoni Group home market – eight – is a fur- Kuoni is convinced that a positive corporate culture can only be 1. We lead and manage by defining ther source of satisfaction. clear objectives and by measuring created and maintained if it is based on strong management The relative longevity of performance. principles which are familiar to all personnel. It is a fundamental employment can be attributed 2. We delegate and define responsibili- tenet that is all the more essential in view of the overall struc- to a flexible personnel policy, ties and competences. attractive career and develop- 3. We encourage entrepreneurship, ture of the global Kuoni Group: centrally organised, but with a support innovative action and the ment possibilities within the strongly federalist management approach. ensuing entrepreneurial risk. Group and an active training 4. We take decisions and act on them philosophy on the one hand, swiftly and decisively. The Kuoni Group employed 7,946 personnel around the world at and to the “young” working 5. Our communication is open and the end of 2000, 21.3% more than the previous year. The increase environment and open ma- frank – difficult topics included. 6. We live what we say, we are credible. is due to the Group’s continuing organic growth and the expansion nagement culture on the other. 7. We face criticism and deal with con- of its activities in India, Sweden The Group’s openness and fle- flict constructively. “We motivate our and the USA. xibility are also reflected in its 8. Our remuneration principles are fair The above-average propor- progressive working arrange- and we reward outstanding perfor- staff by encouraging tion of employees in the 20-to- ments, which include job sha- mance. 35 age group is typical of the ring and freelance models. entrepreneurship tourist sector worldwide, and And with activities in 25 countries in almost every corner of the and innovation at around two thirds of the Kuoni Earth, Kuoni can offer its staff attractive international deploy- Group’s personnel fall into ments, too. all levels.” this age category. Two thirds of Our personnel are crucial to our business success, as the follo- Kuoni employees are female, wing three portraits reveal. Each of them reflects the sense of co- too. Over the past few years, the Group has substantially increa- responsibility, the willingness to change and the love of serving our sed the percentage of women in its middle-manager ranks: customers as best we can that are both the hallmarks of our present around half the Group’s management posi- product and the key to our further success. tions around the world are now occupied by women employees. Group Manage- Job portraits: ment also saw its first female Daniela Stettler, Teamleader on Majorca appointee – Sue Biggs of The Kuoni Group has more than 250 tour guides working for it all the United Kingdom – around the world. Daniela Stettler heads Kuoni Switzerland’s ten- at the beginning of 2001. member team on Majorca. Having spent the winter “at home”, the team leader heads back to the island in March to make her first preparations for the coming summer season: familiarising herself 80 STAFF 81

with the destination, checking the excursion programmes, intro- “I see my work as more than just a job”, Daniela concludes. ducing the new tour guides to their duties and planning their work “I see it as a school for life!” rosters. The overriding aim of all these activities, of course, is to pro- Heidrun Schaffner, Manager of a Business Travel Center vide Kuoni’s guests with the best possible care and assistance. To do Having worked in the travel business for more than 30 years, so, the guides will tell their visitors as much as they can about the Heidrun Schaffner has a pretty good idea of what her customers country and its people, suggest excursions, provide advice on car want. And she has realised for some time that business travel clients and cycle rentals, and offer restaurant and shopping tips. Daniela have very special needs. coaches her team in all these areas. And she’ll be on hand to help Which may explain why the out if any difficulties arise: a trip to hospital, for instance, if a guest 51-year-old team leader at has an accident or is suddenly taken ill. Kuoni’s Business Travel Cen- During the season, Daniela and her team will go to the airport ter in Meckenbeuren, Ger- several times a week to say goodbye to departing guests and wel- many, and her 14 colleagues come the new arrivals. Needless to say, Daniela’s job also entails generate business travel turn- maintaining good relations with the local travel agency, the ho- over of some DEM 24 mil- teliers and other service providers. And – though they pose no pro- lion a year. blem for this former businesswoman – administrative tasks such A typical day for Heid- as invoicing, compiling statistics and organising schedules and ex- run will begin with current bookings: making and confirming reser- penses are all part of her work, too. vations, issuing tickets and the like. “But the telephone is rarely Every day is a new challenge for Daniela – as aspect of her quiet for long”, she adds. “The first customers tend to call when activities that she clearly enjoys. “What I like about the job is that we’re just opening up.” it’s a good mix of management duties and frontline work”, she Most business travel customers come with clear and concrete explains. “I can make use of my experience and my improvisational instructions. They know where they are going, they know skills, too. And I’ve really got to know the country and its people how long they want to stay, and they have a clear idea of what their through my work.” hotel should be like. The main assistance they need is in finding At the end of each season, Daniela out about the flights, reserving their hotel and rental car, and – of strikes camp and heads off for a new course – any advice the agent can offer on the pricing front. destination. It’s a rhythm and a lifestyle Customer profiles are a valuable worktool for Kuoni’s business that call for a lot of flexibility, strong travel teams. They can provide a host of information on the custo- self-motivation and an extrovert streak. mer’s tastes and habits, and substantially reduce the time spent making the necessary arrangements. In most cases, the booking will be entered in the reservation system along with the request, con- firmed by fax or e-mail, and passed on to the ticketing agent, who will issue the ticket and mail or courier it to the client. 82 STAFF 83

“I think what’s unique about the business travel sector is the with London, Paris, the Netherlands and Italy, all within 12 to contact you have with your customers”, Heidrun says. BTI 17 days. Meckenbeuren’s business travel customers contact the office almost “Our Indian guests are very discerning”, Stephanie explains. every week, and many of them have known Heidrun for years. “After all, many of them will have been saving up for this trip Still, today’s business travel sector is marked by a tough pricing all their lives. So they expect perfect service and the smoothest of war among both the travel operators and the airlines. Customers organisations.” Her Incoming team also arrange a special service have become more cost-conscious, too; and they know their way for their Indian visitors: most of the around the travel sector better than they did a few years ago. groups are accompanied by a travel- “Our guests do “But that’s just what makes our job so challenging”, Heidrun ex- ling kitchen to prepare their largely plains. “If we can be creative and come up with our own ideas vegetarian meals. expect a and suggestions, we can really show our customer how to make Very few hotels in Europe are their business travel management even better than before!” equipped to handle groups of this perfect service.“ size. One of the easiest destinations Stephanie Dawson, in this regard is Engelberg in Central Switzerland: Stephanie and Specialist at Incoming Services Europe her team have enjoyed an excellent collaboration for the last For Kuoni India and its European service providers, Zurich’s two years with the resort Hotel Terrace, which specialises in Indian Incoming Services have a key interface function. Stephanie Dawson, guests. a 31-year-old Malaysian, has been working with Incoming Services Needless to say, given the number of customers they look after, for eight years now, and currently organises European tours Stephanie and her team have their fair share of organisational for groups of Indian visitors with the rest of her four-person team. problems in the course of the year. Like the group in Amsterdam For Stephanie and her colleagues, preparations for the travel who were so taken by the shopping possibilities that they missed season are in full flow by early March. They need to be: before the their ferry. In situations like these, it’s improvisation and nego- first Indian visitors arrive in Europe two tiating skills that are most urgently required. “But that’s just what months later, there are itineraries makes my work so varied”, Stephanie explains. “Still”, she adds, to finalise, hotels and services to “with all the technology we can call on today, in our reservations book, prices to fix and – and our accounting, it’s certainly less hectic than it was a few together with Kuoni India – years ago!” a brochure to produce. The main travel season for this customer segment is from the end of April to October; and every year will see up to 350 groups of 50 persons travel to Europe to visit Switzerland (and its peaks) along ENVIRONMENTAL CARE 85

Committed to eco-quality

Ecological concern is a Kuoni concern.The Kuoni Group practises active environmental management at a national and an international level.We are convinced that unspoilt landscapes, clean water and good-quality air are crucial to the long-term sustain- ability of the tourist sector.

“We support environmentally friendly ideas and solutions” – our commitment to ecological care is enshrined in our Group Mission Statement. Yet we also believe that global challenges call for global solutions. That is why we attach great importance to our international collaborations on the ecological front: Kuoni is a member of Green Globe 21 and plays an active role in the organisation, with Board Chairman Daniel Affolter on its directors’ board as well as Geoffrey H. Lipman, member of the Board of Directors and CEO “We support of Green Globe 21. environmentally Founded in 1994 by the World Travel & Tourism Council, Green friendly ideas Globe 21 is dedicated to environmental management and awareness. and solutions.” Based in Bournemouth (UK), the organisation was formed in the light of Agenda 21 of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, and promotes sustainable travel and tourism around the world. It does so by working with specialists in environmental affairs and the tourist sector to devise global norms and certifications that enable consumers to be as eco-minded as possible in their travel and vacation arrangements.

2000 saw Kuoni Travel Holding Ltd. hold its first CO2-neutral Shareholders’ Meeting. This was achieved by planting trees in Swit- zerland and on Sumatra to offset the total carbon dioxide emissions 86 ENVIRONMENTAL CARE 87

caused by attendees’ travel to and extends to close collaboration with The Green Planet and from the meeting and the Award local hotels. To provide incentives for CO2 generated by electricity, ecological operations, and in view of the The Green Planet Award is the latest heating and water consumed at growing ranks of customers who in- seal of eco-approval from Kuoni Swit- the event. zerland.The award is bestowed on clude environmental considerations in Further proof of Kuoni’s hotels that meet clearly-defined their choice of travel and vacation eco-commitment was offered by ecological criteria.The first distinc- product, we have also introduced our the creation of a new Environ- tions were awarded on the strength “Green Planet Awards” to our home mental Affairs post for Switzer- of a detailed questionnaire that was Swiss market. Some 23 Mediterranean sent to hotels in summer 2000 and land in May 2000. The full- hotels with sound ecological credentials have covered areas such as: time Environment Officer is already earned the distinction and been designated as such in the • their water, energy and waste currently developing a pro- management activities relevant documentation. The award will now be extended to hotels gramme for the company’s • raising environmental awareness at our long-haul destinations. Swiss-based operations – a among guests Business ecology focuses on optimising materials cycles in our “business ecology” component • the training their personnel receive Swiss organisation. In line with our commitment to a responsible for internal activities and a on ecological issues and use of natural resources, our Zurich head office was recently refur- “product ecology” component • their future development plans. bished – at considerable expense – on sound ecological principles. Of the 335 resort hotels that received for actions aimed at outside The work, which included the installation of low-energy lighting, the questionnaire, 128 completed markets. and returned it. Of these, 23 earned less air-conditioning, water regulators and insulated glass for Product ecology begins their Green Planet Award, and were offices and sales areas, the adoption of a new waste concept and with the planning of new travel presented as such in our 2001 beach a switch to ecofriendly office materials, was completed by the products, embraces staff trai- holiday catalogue. end of 2000. ning and customer information Kuoni also adopted “green” technology for the latest addition to its Edelweiss Air fleet. With its state-of-the-art powerplants, the long-haul Airbus A330-220, which entered service in November 2000, burns 20 per cent less fuel, produces fewer pollutants and generates less noise than older-generation aircraft. SOCIAL COMMITMENT 89

A partnership for the future

In its collaboration with SOS Children’s Village, Kuoni supports a partner which has been working for over 50 years to provide abandoned or needy children with a mother, a home and an education – like the 40 youngsters from Tibet who have found a new home at the Kuoni House in Gopalpur in Northern India.

When the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959, tens of thousands of Tibetans followed. Today, some 130,000 of his people live in exile, most of them on the Indian subcontinent. Many inhabitants of Tibet today still send their children to India, hoping that they can better maintain their culture and religion in their new adopted country. After an arduous trek through the Himalayas, these youngsters often find refuge in “We strive to put one of the eight Tibetan SOS something back children’s villages just across the Indian border. into the destinations One of these is located among the green hills of we offer.” Gopalpur in the state of Himachal Pradesh, close to Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama resides. The village offers a new home and an education to some 900 youngsters, and is financed by Swiss-based donors who include the Kuoni Group. 90 SOCIAL COMMITMENT 91

28-year-old Our involvement with SOS Children’s Village Chonkyi Lhamo is The peoples, landscapes and cultures of the mother to the 40 chil- countries of the world are the raw materials of our dren aged between tour operating activities.This is why we strive to five and 17 who live in put something back into the destinations we offer. the village’s Kuoni The Kuoni Group, the Kuoni and Hugentobler Foun- House. The 30 houses dation and our national subsidiary companies have been supporting SOS Children’s Village and their work since 1997.The organisation in the Gopalpur chil- is the biggest private children’s charity in the world: with the help of its sponsors dren’s village have all and donors, it has built up a network of more than 400 villages in 131 countries. been built to the same Most villages have their own kindergarten, and some have their own school, too. basic design. The Local women are specially trained to act as ‘mothers’ in the villages’ various houses, accommodation is modest, but offers all the essentials required. each of which is home to a “family”of children. The first place the visitor comes to on entering the house is the The Kuoni Group’s involvement with SOS Children’s Village has already extended communal area, which has a small altar devoted to the Dalai Lama to major house projects in the Dominican Republic, South Africa and India. And many employees throughout the Group act as “SOS ambassadors”,organising fund- along with a few wooden raising projects and events. benches. The house also “Many employees boasts a kitchen, a wash- room with five toilets, and throughout the Group a boys’ and a girls’ dormi- tory. Each of the older chil- act as ‘SOS am- dren shares a bed with one bassadors‘, organising of their younger “siblings”. The children are taught fund-raising English alongside the Tibe- tan language from kinder- projects and events.” garten on. Hindi is taken up later, too. It all seems to offer a solid and sensible foundation: 12-year-old Tenzin Dikyi, whom we meet in the village, wants to be a doctor when she grows up. 92 ADDRESSES 93

Kuoni Travel Holding Ltd. Austria Kuoni Travel Holding Ltd. N-U-R Neckermann Reisen AG Franz Erich Tobisch Neue Hard 7 Lassallestrasse 7a / Cityplex Managing Director CH-8010 Zurich AT-1020 Vienna

Phone (+41) 1-277 44 44 Phone (+43) 1-50 202-400 Fax (+41) 1-271 52 82 Fax (+43) 1-50 202-390 e-mail [email protected] e-mail [email protected] Reisebüro Kuoni Ges.m.b.H. Dr. Gunther Hölbl Modecenterstrasse 16 Managing Director AT-1030 Vienna Countries are listed alphabetically as are the companies within each country. Phone (+43) 1-796 70 72-510 Fax (+43) 1-796 70 72-515 Asia e-mail [email protected] P&O Travel Ltd. Richard Willis Restplatzbörse Ges.m.b.H. Paul Kothbauer New T&T Centre, Unit 1307–09 Managing Director Mariahilferstrasse 77 Managing Director 13th floor AT-1060 Vienna Harbour City Phone (+43) 1-58085 TST Kowloon, Hong Kong Fax (+43) 1-58085-995 Phone (+852) 2956 6888 e-mail [email protected] Fax (+852) 2956 6789 Caribbean e-mail [email protected] Discovery Bay Beach Hotel Chetwyn Burnham P&O Travel Pte. Ltd. K.Y.Chung Holetown Resident Manager No. 200 Cantonment Road Managing Director St. James, Barbados W.I. #04–05 Southpoint Singapore 089763 Phone (+1) 246-432 13 01 Fax (+1) 246-432 25 53 Phone (+65) 224 7730 e-mail [email protected] Fax (+65) 222 7915 Hawksbill Beach Hotel Peter Ramrattan e-mail [email protected] Five Islands, P.O. Box 108 Area Manager Austria St. John’s, Antigua W.I.

Allround Travel Michael Manak Phone (+1) 268-462 03 01 International GmbH Managing Director Fax (+1) 268-462 15 15 Reisnerstrasse 18 e-mail [email protected] AT-1030 Vienna

Phone (+43) 1-712 24 666 Fax (+43) 1-713 68 38 e-mail [email protected] 94 ADDRESSES 95

Denmark Hungary Alletiders Rejser A/S Peter Kisbye Kuoni Utazási Iroda Kft. András Rónai Kongevejen 155 Managing Director Báthory utca 19 Managing Director DK-2830 Virum HU-1054 Budapest

Phone (+45) 45 95 51 26 Phone (+36) 1-269 45 84 Fax (+45) 45 95 52 81 Fax (+36) 1-353 43 50 e-mail [email protected] e-mail [email protected] N-U-R Neckermann Utazás Kft. Dr.Veronika Békefi France Dayka Gabor utca 3 Managing Director Voyages Kuoni SA Jean-Paul Veslot HU-1118 Budapest 95, rue d’Amsterdam Managing Director FR-75008 Paris Phone (+36) 1-319 69 91 Fax (+36) 1-319 66 96 Phone (+33) 1-42 85 71 22 e-mail [email protected] Fax (+33) 1-42 80 41 85 e-mail [email protected] India Kuoni Travel (India) Ltd. Ranjit Malkani Germany Vaswani Mansion Managing Director BTI Euro Lloyd GmbH & Co. KG Reto Bacher 120 Dinshaw Vachha Road Neumarkt 35–37 Executiv Vice-President Opp. K.C. College DE-50667 Cologne Business Travel Churchgate, Mumbai - 400 020 Phone (+49) 221-20 28 0 Phone (+91) 22 2839813/14/17 Fax (+49) 221-20 28 178 Fax (+91) 22 2855840 e-mail [email protected] e-mail [email protected] Greece SITA World Travel / Ranjit Malkani Kuoni Travel (India) Ltd. Managing Director Hellenic Tours S.A. George Georgopoulos 4 Malcha Marg Shopping Centre 23–25 Ermou Street Managing Director GR-10563 Athens Diplomatic Enclave New Delhi – 110 021 Phone (+30) 1-3359 700 and 3243 715 Phone (+91) 11 6111122 Fax (+30) 1-3234 947 Fax (+91) 11 6870123 or 11 6113572 and 3227 494 e-mail [email protected] e-mail [email protected] Italy Kuoni Gastaldi Tours S.p.A. Ermanno Fici Mura di Santa Chiara 1 Managing Director IT-16128 Genoa

Phone (+39) 010-5968 1 Fax (+39) 010-5968 818 e-mail [email protected] 96 ADDRESSES 97

Kenya Switzerland Private Safaris East Africa Ltd. Alexander Spiro BTI Central Europe and Reto Bacher Twinstar Bldg Managing Director Kuoni Geschäftsreisen AG Executive Vice-President Mombasa Road Postfach 252 Business Travel P.O. Box 45205 CH-8064 Zurich Nairobi Phone (+41) 1-736 58 58 Phone (+254) 2 53 06 01 Fax (+41) 1-736 58 01 Fax (+254) 2 53 38 54 e-mail [email protected] e-mail [email protected] Edelweiss Air AG Niklaus Grob Operations Center Managing Director Netherlands Postfach Special Traffic Norbert Good CH-8058 Zurich-Airport (Kuoni Travel Nederland B.V.) Managing Director Entrada 211–214 Phone (+41) 1-816 50 60 P.O. Box 3370 Fax (+41) 1-816 50 61 e-mail [email protected] NL-1001 AD Amsterdam Kuoni Reisen AG Thomas Stirnimann Phone (+31) 20-398 92 92 Neue Hard 7 Executive Vice- President Fax (+31) 20-398 92 02 CH-8010 Zurich Charter Activities e-mail [email protected] Phone (+41) 1-277 44 44 Spain Fax (+41) 1-271 52 82 Viajes Kuoni S.A. Daniel Ponzo e-mail [email protected] Paseo Infanta Isabel, 17 Managing Director Kuoni Reisen AG Ibrahim Atallah ES-28014 Madrid Incoming Services Senior Vice-President Phone (+34) 91-538 27 00 Überlandstrasse 360 Incoming Fax (+34) 91-538 27 27 CH-8051 Zurich e-mail [email protected] Phone (+41) 1-325 21 11 Sweden Fax (+41) 1-321 19 09 e-mail [email protected] Apollo Resor AB Peter Wetterstrand Sveavägen 155, 9tr Managing Director Manta Reisen AG Amy Stierli SE-11346 Stockholm Treichlerstrasse 10 Managing Director CH-8032 Zurich Phone (+46) 8-673 84 00 Fax (+46) 8-673 85 19 Phone (+41) 1-268 24 24 e-mail [email protected] Fax (+41) 1-268 24 74 e-mail [email protected] 98 ADDRESSES 99

Switzerland United Kingdom Privat Safaris Reisebüro AG Urs Bellmont Kuoni Travel Ltd. Peter Diethelm Wiesenstrasse 10, Postfach Managing Director Kuoni House Executive Vice-President CH-8034 Zurich GB-Dorking, Surrey RH5 4AZ Specialists United Kingdom & North America Phone (+41) 1-386 46 46 Phone (+44) 1306 74 08 88 Fax (+41) 1-386 46 47 Sita LONBTSR Sue Biggs e-mail [email protected] Fax (+44) 1306 74 44 88 Managing Director PRS AG Hans-Jörg Leuzinger e-mail [email protected] Seestrasse 127 Gianni Moccetti Travel Promotions Ltd. John Dawson CH-8700 Küsnacht Managing Directors Voyages Jules Verne General Manager Phone (+41) 1-914 25 30 21, Dorset Square Fax (+41) 1-914 25 35 GB-London, NW1 6QG David Pattison e-mail [email protected] Manager Products Phone (+44) 20 7 616 10 00 and Marketing Railtour Suisse SA René Keller Fax (+44) 20 7 723 86 29 Chutzenstrasse 24 Werner Schindler e-mail [email protected] CH-3000 Berne 17 Managing Directors USA Phone (+41) 31-378 01 11 Fax (+41) 31-378 02 22 Intrav, Inc. Ian Coghlan e-mail [email protected] 7711 Bonhomme Avenue Managing Director, CEO St. Louis, MO 63105 Reisebüro Popularis Rolf Bühler Löwenstrasse 66 Managing Director Phone (+1) 314 727-0500 CH-8021 Zurich Fax (+1) 314 727-2533 e-mail [email protected] Phone (+41) 1-215 10 50 Fax (+41) 1-215 10 40 T PRO Inc. Kerrin Behrend e-mail [email protected] 1500 Broadway, 32nd floor Managing Director, CEO New York, NY 10036 Rotunda Tours AG Cornel Merki Wiesenstrasse 10, Postfach Managing Director Phone (+1) 212 852-8776 CH-8034 Zurich Fax (+1) 212 302-8785 e-mail [email protected] Phone (+41) 1-386 46 66 Fax (+41) 1-386 46 88 e-mail [email protected] 100 KUONI GLOSSARY 101

Dane Tours Implant A traveller’s world from A–Z A Danish scheduled air travel specia- A travel agency which is managed by a list acquired by the Kuoni Group on business travel operator at the premises 1 January, 2000. of a key corporate customer. Agent Business Travel International (BTI) An independent travel agency that sells A global alliance of business travel Distribution Incoming Kuoni products. The term is also used companies which has an annual turn- An alternative industry term for re- The Strategic Business Unit ( SBU) for companies which act as handling over of some USD 20 billion. BTI has tailing (). providing services at the holiday desti- agents at Kuoni destinations. 78 national partners in 80 countries, nation. Incoming consists of the head employs around 30,000 personnel, Edelweiss Air office in Zurich, sales outlets overseas, Alletiders Rejser A/S operates over 3000 offices and is re- A Swiss-based charter airline local offices in Europe and A Danish-based Kuoni Group subsi- presented exclusively in each country subsidiary of the Kuoni Kuoni subsidiaries Hellenic diary acquired in autumn 1998 which by a leading business travel specialist. Group. Its aircraft Tours (), Hellenic is one of the country’s biggest tour Kuoni represents BTI in Switzerland, fleet, which is opera- Island Services (), operators, specialising in leisure travel Germany, Austria, Hungary and Liech- ted for Kuoni Swit- Private Safaris to the Mediterranean and overseas. tenstein. zerland, consists of (East Africa) () three Airbus and T PRO (). Allround Travel International GmbH Charter A320-200s that An Austrian Kuoni Group subsidiary The assumption of all the capacity on were joined in Inter Holland Travel B.V. which specialises in Asian travel ar- an aircraft (full charter) or part of autumn 2000 by A company active in rangements. the capacity available (partial charter) a brand-new Air- the incoming sector in at one’s own commercial risk. The bus A330-200 for which the Kuoni Group has Alternative distribution Kuoni Group owns two charter air- long-haul flights. held a 70-per-cent equity The direct distribution of travel pro- lines: Edelweiss Air (), which is based stake since January 2000. ducts by the operator, via channels in Switzerland, and Novair, which Hellenic Island Services such as the Internet, interactive TV or operates from Scandinavia. Kuoni’s handling agent ( Agent) on Intrav, Inc. call centres. Crete, Rhodes and Mykonos, and a A US subsidiary acquired in 1999 Clipper Cruise Line joint venture between Kuoni and Hel- which specialises in cruises, luxury safa- Apollo Resor AB A subsidiary of Intrav () specialising lenic Tours. ris and exclusive holidays by private jet. A Swedish tour operator in the mid- in luxury cruises. price-range segment which is also Hellenic Tours S.A. Kisbye Rejser active in Denmark and Norway. Ope- Commercial Kuoni’s Athens-based subsidiary, A group of four Danish travel agen- rates its own charter airline, Novair, An industry term for business which is active in the Incoming () cies acquired by the Kuoni Group on and makes extensive use of the Internet travel (). and Business Travel market. January 1, 2000. in its distribution activities. A fully- owned Kuoni Group subsidiary since Cosmos GesmbH Helvetic Tours Kuoni and Hugentobler Foundation January 2001. A long-established Vienna-based tra- A travel agency chain and Kuoni Swit- The biggest shareholder in Kuoni vel agency which was acquired by the zerland’s budget holiday brand. Travel Holding Ltd. by voting rights Kuoni Group in April 1999. (with 25 per cent of voting rights IBU and 6.25 per cent of share capital). Abbreviation for the Independent Business Units of Kuoni UK, each Kuoni Gastaldi Tours S.p.A. of which is active in its own niche A joint venture domiciled in Genoa, market. Italy, created by the merger in 1998 of Gastaldi Tours and Kuoni Viaggi. Kuoni Gastaldi Tours is Italy’s biggest long-haul travel company. 102 KUONI GLOSSARY 103

Kuoni Travel Holding Ltd. diary of N-U-R Neckermann Reisen SBU Tour operating The holding company for the Kuoni AG, which is also active in Slovenia Strategic Business Unit: the units into Selecting and buying-in products and Group. and Slovakia. which the Kuoni Group is organised services and bundling these into for financial reporting purposes. package holidays () or tailored tra- Kuoni Travel India Package holiday vel arrangements. An Indian tour operator which the A collection of holiday products and Service provider Kuoni Group acquired in 1996. In services (flight, hotel, bus transfers, Any provider of a service T PRO doing so, Kuoni, with its SOTC () local representative etc.) bundled and for travellers such as an air- A US-based Kuoni Group brand, became India’s biggest operator offered at a predetermined all-in price. line, a hotel or a restaurant. subsidiary which is num- of package holidays abroad. The Often referred to as ber three in the US inco- Kuoni Group also acquired India’s P&O Travel Ltd. Asia “suppliers” by tour ming sector. The acquisi- SITA World Travel () in April 2000. A Hong Kong-based 50:50 joint ven- operators. tion of T PRO in July ture established in 1997 between the 2000 gained Kuoni a key Manta Reisen AG UK-based Peninsular & Oriental Steam SITA World Travel foothold in the growing A 90-per-cent-owned Swiss-based sub- Navigation Company (P&O Ltd.) and A Delhi-based Kuoni US market. sidiary of the Kuoni Group which spe- the Kuoni Group. Group subsidiary acqui- cialises in travels to the Maldives and red in April 2000. Merged TV Travel Shop diving holidays. Private Safaris (East Africa) with Kuoni Travel India () A UK (and now also Ger- A Nairobi-based Kuoni Group subsi- in autumn 2000 to create India’s lea- man) TV station selling air tickets, N-U-R Neckermann Reisen AG diary servicing visitors from Europe ding company in the leisure travel, package holidays and supplementary Number two in the Austrian tour ope- and overseas in Kenya. business travel and incoming fields. products such as travel insurance rator market, and 51-per-cent-owned and car rentals 24 hours a day. Kuoni by the Kuoni Group. The remaining Privat Safaris Reisebüro AG SOS Children’s Village holds a 12.5-per-cent equity stake in 49 per cent is held by N-U-R Touristic A Swiss-based Kuoni Group subsidiary Kuoni has been a partner of SOS the UK-based parent company. GmbH, Frankfurt. Neckermann Utazás specialising in East Africa. Children’s Village, the world’s biggest Kft., Budapest (Hungary) is a subsi- private children’s charity, since 1997. Vertical integration PRS AG The organisation runs “villages” all The expansion of business activities A Swiss-based Kuoni Group subsidiary over the world providing a home and throughout the value-adding chain active in the retailing () sector. an education for children in need. within the same industry sector, e.g. a tour operator acquiring its own ser- Railtour Suisse S.A. SOTC vice providers () such as hotels, air- A Swiss rail travel operator, 87-per- A brand used by Kuoni Travel India lines or car rental companies. cent-owned by the Kuoni Group since () for leisure travel abroad. 1994. Voyages Jules Verne Special Traffic A UK-based tour operator acquired Restplatzbörse A Dutch-based subsidiary of the Kuoni by Kuoni in 1998 which offers quality A Kuoni Group subsidiary that has Group which is active in the long-haul tours and beach holidays via direct had sizable success in the Austrian travel market. sales channels. market selling last-minute seat capacity. Sport Abroad An IBU () of Kuoni UK that organi- Retailing ses travel to sports events. The process of advising on and selling leisure and business travel. The Travel Collection A brand of Kuoni UK specialising in direct sales.