Kuoni Enters Wellness Market

The company has moved into a new market segment by engaging in a partnership with Wellbeing Escapes. “It just seems to be the perfect moment; it’s on trend,” said Mark Duguid, Kuoni’s vice-president, commercial and product management. Wellbeing Escapes founder and managing director Stella Photi added: “I feel like Kuoni is our contact to the mainstream. I really think there’s a brand fit.” A small group of Kuoni Personal Travel Experts have been trained in the new product. This follows Kuoni’s recent move to train six PTEs in becoming LGBT holiday experts, and Duguid said a new approach was to look beyond destinations, to include product and customer types in training. More niches will follow, though no other launch is imminent, he added: “I’ve got a head full of ideas… it’s just tapping into the resource.” Duguid said Kuoni did not intend for third-party agents to sell its Wellbeing Escapes packages; they will be sold solely through Kuoni’s own shops and partner stores.