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SPECIAL EDITION
The Interview
Louise Bates, Tui
The UK family market continues to be ‘really robust’ despite the recent industry-wide trend towards later
bookings, says Louise Bates of Tui, sponsor of this Family Holidays special edition. Andrew McQuarrie reports
F
amily sales through Tui channels and independent agents are performing “very
well”, according to Louise Bates, brand and product director at Tui Hotels & Resorts. “The family holiday is no longer
a luxury – it’s a core part of every family’s budgeting,” she says. “When they feel more cost pressure, it doesn’t stop happening. It may be that they amend the destination or the length of the holiday, but it remains a core part of a family’s annual planning. We see the market as really robust.” The Tui brands most geared
towards the family market are Tui Blue, Holiday Village and Tui Magic Life, which together represent a “really broad range” of trips. “We also have the Tui Kids’
Club offering, where we implant an entire kids’ club into a hotel,” says Bates. “I think we’re the only UK tour operator that runs its own kids’ clubs and we run them to UK nursery standards, so we have all the
10 12 MARCH 2026
appropriate qualifications, training and safety elements. “It offers incredibly good value
to the consumer to have what they would pay for at home included in their holiday price.” In addition to the traditional
option of supervised kids’ sessions, enabling parents to have some adult-only time, an increasing number of families are embracing the ‘stay and play’ offering, while sports and other whole-family activities also remain popular. “There’s a lot of research
suggesting that if families learn something new together, it’s an incredibly bonding experience,” says Bates.
Popular activities When updating the range of activities on offer at hotels, Tui keeps a close eye on developing trends in the domestic market. “We see a rise in things like
trampoline parks, so we have aerial adventure courses in our Holiday
Village properties,” says Bates, citing padel as another growing activity. “It’s really about trying to spot
the trends of things that people are doing at home, or want to try at home but maybe don’t have the time or money to do, and giving them a taster on holiday,” she adds, noting that water-based activities have long featured in this category. “For the majority of the UK,
you’re not that close to good watersports facilities. So when you go to a beach destination, it’s a great opportunity to try stuff and see whether you like it.” Some children’s activities have
recently been adapted to help promote environmental work, adds
Bates. “We’ve introduced gardens and beach cleans to help give children a greater awareness of the planet and how they can contribute to looking after it better.” In addition to continuing
demand for multigenerational trips, an increasing number of bookings feature grandparents taking grandchildren away while the parents stay at home due to work commitments. Other groups involve grown-up siblings going on holiday with their respective families. Bates says: “In normal daily life,
people often don’t get the chance to spend quality time with their parents or siblings, so [holidays] become a really valuable way of
The family holiday is no longer a luxury – it’s a core part of every family’s budgeting. When they feel more cost
pressure, they may amend the destination or the length, but it remains a core part of a family’s annual planning
travelweekly.co.uk
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