Club Med plans to add seven resorts in China by 2020 following its sale to Fosun at EUR24.6 per share. The 18-month bidding war over Club Med finally ended when Andrea Bonomi’s Global Resorts conceded.
In the bid for Club Med, Fosun specifically created investment company Gaillon Invest II with 62.6% stake owned by Fosun and 8.7% held by Utour.
Club Med has sought local travel industry partnerships since entering the Chinese market in 2003. Last week, it launched a resort product in conjunction with travel company Caissa. “Club Med has many forms of collaboration with Chinese travel companies and we welcome more partnerships and product development in China’s resort market,” Club Med’s brand distribution manager Lifei Ma said.
Established in 1950 in France, Club Med is the largest global resort group with more than 80 resorts in 30 countries in five continents. It operates three resorts in China in Dong Ao Island in Guangdong, Yabuli in Heilongjiang and Guilin in Guangxi. Club Med is approaching major regional real estate owners in Sanya and Yunnan while adhering to its strict project selection criteria such as the availability of a golf course and family-friendly activity facilities. Its projects will also take a certain length of time to develop.
Chinese guests at Club Med have increased four-fold from 2013 to 2009, with its “all-inclusive” model favored by upper-middle class holidaymakers.
National Tourism Administration of China planning expert Xingbin Wang said: “Club Med is in the luxury resort sector. Although the numbers of resort guests are continually increasing, they are still just a niche market.”
Popular vacation destinations like Sanya have developed resort hotels that attract a growing number of guests yearly. Resorts holidays appeal mostly to upper-middle class customers and that makes it an attractive market with great potential.(Translation by David)
