Sunweb package holidays can now also be booked via a link to sunweb.be on the Brussels Airlines website. Sunweb and Brussels Airlines have worked together before, but it is a first for the airline to link to Sunweb’s package holiday offer, composed and sold by Sunweb. The two companies are highlighting the far-reaching flexibility they are offering together.

Due to the continuing uncertainty caused by the coronavirus, consumers expect and value flexibility, security and guarantees. With the money-back guarantee and rebooking guarantee, Sunweb offers a package holiday that meets the demand of the customer. The money-back guarantee comes into effect when there is a negative travel advice because of COVID-19. Rebooking to another date and/or destination is possible free of charge, up to 6 weeks prior to departure.

“I am pleased that Brussels Airlines can take its longstanding strategic partner agreement with Tour Operator Sunweb to the next level. By adding a webpage “package tours” on brusselsairlines.com, which links to the Sunweb website, we can offer great added value to our customers.” Frederic Dechamps – Senior Director Sales Belgium – Lufthansa Group

Tim van den Bergh, International Director Brand & Communications of Sunweb Group: “In a market that is in a state of flux, I am proud to further strengthen our partnership with Brussels Airlines. The partnership gives Belgian holidaymakers the opportunity to discover beautiful destinations across Europe. With the far-reaching flexibility that we jointly offer, we want to give our customers the confidence to book. We believe that everyone deserves a nice vacation, because it is important to recharge, to relax and to put daily life on hold for a while’.

On the new Sunweb webpage, more than 1000 sun vacations can be found, to among others Portugal, Greece, Spain and Italy, but also ski vacations are part of the offer. The vacations offered by Sunweb are CO2-neutral and include a guarantee of repatriation.

Rotterdam, 25 March – Dutch people are craving for a holiday, according to the more than 17.000 registrations for the Sunweb and Transavia holiday pilot. Shortly after the announcement of the holiday pilot on Tuesday evening, there were already more than 6,000 curious visitors on our website www.sunweb.nl and on Wednesday we received a lot of questions through all our own channels.

Number of registrations
On Wednesday 24 March at 6pm, the registration form went live on sunweb.nl for the first vacation pilot on 12 April to the Greek island of Rhodes. In just one evening, more than 17.000 holidaymakers registered for the all-inclusive package holiday to the luxury resort Hotel Mitsis Grand Beach. 

Clarity
Mattijs ten Brink, CEO Sunweb Group, explains: “We are extremely proud to be able to take this first step together with Transavia for and on behalf of the entire travel industry. The fact that there are already so many registrations exceeds our expectations. We have already learned one thing. Namely, that as long as there is clarity, people accept the safety measures and start booking a holiday. At the same time, it is a very strong confirmation that not only the travel industry is craving for perspective, but all Dutch people can no longer wait.”

Selection
Based on all the registrations, Sunweb makes a first selection which meets the criteria set by the Dutch government for the target group. This target group consists of Dutch citizens between 18 and 70 years old, excluding people who belong to the increased risk group. After that, we look at who registered first. But since the registration form was not immediately shown to some interested holidaymakers due to the large number of visitors, a small group of people will be selected by an independent notary. The selected guests will then be contacted personally by Sunweb to go through all the information and guidelines. Ten Brink: “We want to thank all the people who have registered enormously. Unfortunately we now only have one plane to fill, but I am confident that this summer we will be able to provide beautiful holidays again together with our partners at the destinations.“

Rotterdam, 29 maart 2021 – Reisorganisatie Eliza was here, specialist in het aanbieden van kleinschalige en unieke vakantieaccommodaties, breidt haar aanbod uit met acht accommodaties in Frankrijk. Daarmee is Frankrijk het achtste land waar Eliza was here kleinschalige ‘weg van de massa’-vakanties aanbiedt. Vanaf vandaag kunnen reizigers een vakantie boeken naar acht van de mooiste plekjes van Frankrijk, waaronder een charmante wijnboerderij en een romantisch chateau.

Het liefst met de auto
De reisorganisatie was al actief in Griekenland, Italië, Cyprus, Malta, Spanje, Portugal en sinds vorig jaar Nederland, en voegt daar nu dus voor het eerst Frankrijk aan toe. Voorlopig worden deze vakanties in Frankrijk aangeboden met eigen vervoer. Reizigers kunnen dus zelf kiezen of ze met eigen auto willen reizen of met een andere manier van vervoer. Eliza was here speelt hiermee in op de wensen van de Nederlandse vakantieganger. Volgens onderzoek van GfK, in opdracht van reisbrancheorganisatie ANVR, zegt 84 procent van de consumenten deze zomer op vakantie te willen ondanks eventuele coronamaatregelen. Maar liefst 31 procent zegt daarbij te kiezen voor een autovakantie binnen Europa. Eigen onderzoek* van Eliza was here laat zien dat maar liefst de helft de auto kiest voor hun volgende zonvakantie. Met de toevoeging van de bestemming Frankrijk voorziet de reisorganisatie klanten dus zo goed mogelijk in hun behoefte.

Yuri Deutekom, director Eliza was here, vertelt: “We zijn erg blij dat we deze Franse accommodaties, in zes verschillende regio’s, aan ons aanbod kunnen toevoegen. Het is wel duidelijk dat de Nederlander snakt naar een vakantie na dit eindeloze coronajaar. We merken dat er meer behoefte is aan kleinschaligheid en dat het concept van Eliza was here populairder is dan ooit. De mogelijkheid om zelf te kunnen rijden, met de veiligheid van een eigen auto en het gemak van een eigen ritme, is een grote plus in tijden van corona. Daarnaast bieden we een geldteruggarantie en financiële zekerheid door het SGR Garantiefonds. Tot slot kunnen reizigers zelfs online doktersadvies op locatie krijgen, dankzij de Vakantiedokter-functie in onze app.”

Droombestemming
De nieuwe vakantieadressen zijn acht bijzondere accommodaties zoals een sfeervolle villa in Les Forges en een voormalig klooster in de Côte d’Azur. “Frankrijk is een lang gekoesterde droombestemming van onze klanten”, aldus Deutekom. “We zijn trots en blij om die dromen uit te kunnen laten komen vanaf vandaag.”

Deze acht accommodaties zijn vanaf vandaag te boeken:

Rotterdam, 23 March 2021 – As part of the government pilot ‘Safe and responsible travel during corona’, Sunweb and Transavia have been given the green light for a trial holiday to Rhodes. This pilot is the first step towards a perspective on how the Dutch can enjoy beautiful holidays again this summer season. The pilot aims to gain new (behavioural) insights and collect data on the conditions under which people can go on holiday safely and responsibly.

Together with trade association ANVR, the organizations have been working for some time to prepare for the first holiday pilot on April 12. The holiday includes an eight-day all-inclusive package holiday to the Greek island, Rhodes, operated by Sunweb and Transavia. Frank van Oostdam, director of ANVR, expresses his confidence in the results of this pilot. “The Dutch are eager to travel abroad again and equally, travel organizations are enthusiastic to provide those holidays. But it must be safe and ‘corona proof’. I have full confidence that this initiative will demonstrate we can go on holiday safely and with complete peace of mind.”

In a holiday bubble
In this pilot, travellers can enjoy their holiday in a “bubble” at the luxury resort Hotel Mitsis Grand Beach. This resort will be open exclusively to Sunweb and Transavia holidaymakers, meaning there will be no other guests present besides the hotel staff. All facilities at the resort will be open to ensure an entire holiday experience. In addition to respecting the existing corona measures, holidaymakers will not be allowed to leave the resort for the duration of their holiday. Throughout the booking process, as well as during, before and after the holiday, all travellers will be in close contact with the tour operator, Sunweb. Travellers will be required to take a corona test prior to their holiday and present a negative PCR test when checking into the hotel. Before their return journey, a PCR test will again be taken at the hotel. All holiday makers will be required to quarantine for ten days upon their return home, with a new PCR test taken on day five.

Confidence
Mattijs ten Brink, CEO of Sunweb Group: “Obviously I am pleased with the holiday pilot. The travel industry is craving for a concrete date on when we will be able to travel again. Holidays are high on everyone’s wish list and the need for a holiday is only increasing. Holidays are the perfect time to recharge, unwind and put your hectic life on pause. That’s why we think everyone deserves a great holiday. I remain confident that this is why we will be able to go on holiday again soon.” Marcel de Nooijer, CEO of Transavia: “We are pleased to be able to do our ‘bit’ at this time to ensure we gain experience in the travel sector and learn through cooperation to put a positive spin on this drastic period. Together with the ANVR, Corendon, TUI and Sunweb, this holiday travel pilot enables us to collect valuable data so that together we can make it possible to go on holiday safely again. And, of course, these insights will be shared with the entire sector so that all partners in the travel industry can make use of them. Together, we want nothing more than to give the entire sector and all Dutch people who want to travel again a positive outlook.”

Register for the pilot
Interested people who crave for sun, sea and sand can register via the website www.sunweb.nl from Wednesday, March 24, 18:00 hours. Based on all the registrations, Sunweb will manually select the 189 holidaymakers who meet the criteria set by the Dutch government for the target group. This target group consists of various age groups, excluding high-risk patients. The selected guests will then personally be contacted by Sunweb via telephone to discuss all information and guidelines.

The success of the pilot
The holiday pilot will be considered a success if the number of infections is zero. This does not mean that travel restrictions can necessarily be relaxed as a result of such a low number of infections. But is the first step towards achieving this. The holiday pilot will only be carried out if it is considered safe by the RIVM. The government can ‘press’ the emergency button at any time if there are extremely high numbers of infections or signs of worrying variants at the destination. The pilot holiday will then be cancelled. The Sunweb and Transavia holiday pilot is being evaluated by an independent agency.

Rotterdam, 20 March 2021 – Can we take a holiday? Anyone who opens a Dutch newspaper this weekend will find a page with huge letters splashed across it that read: magikalopvakantie.nl. It translates to CanWeTakeaHoliday.com and there’s also an English landing page for the URL. On popular radio station Qmusic, a 10-second spot set in a departure hall broadcasts the URL. The questioner is unidentified, but everyone knows the answer to the question. The website immediately makes it clear that you can’t go on holiday yet. You can, however, start counting down to your next holiday, one that that many people are eagerly looking forward to. Travel company Sunweb Group is behind the campaign. The bottom of the website is signed with all their brands, but the following text appears above it:  

Can We Take a Holiday? 
No, not yet … 

but you can start counting down to your next holiday… 

​ You can’t pack up and leave tomorrow, but you can book a holiday with your favourite travel company. You can start the clock on your own anticipation and get everyone at the destination preparing for your arrival. Everyone deserves a great holiday because it’s important to take a break… now more than ever. A holiday can help you recharge, get away from the daily grind and come home with beautiful memories that will last a lifetime. 

Mattijs ten Brink, CEO of Sunweb Group, explains the idea behind the website: “Holidays are high on everyone’s 2021 wish list, and the need for a holiday is only increasing. Holidays are a time to recharge, unwind and take a break from your daily life. We believe that everyone deserves a great holiday, and our wide portfolio means we can offer everyone a holiday that meets their personal needs. I am confident that we all will be able to go on holiday again soon. That’s another reason why we created this website: to keep everyone informed about the current travel advice.”  

Sunweb Group knows that travelling is currently extremely limited or flat out impossible. The campaign is intended to give people perspective, reminding them of the upcoming time when we can all enjoy legendary hospitality at the most beautiful holiday spots. There’s nothing so wonderful as anticipating a holiday. It’s a good idea to start planning one, especially given the flexibility, guarantees and service that travel companies are offering.  

Schiphol, 2 March 2021 – Sunweb Group and Transavia have strengthened their cooperation by signing a contract for a substantial number of seats for Sunweb holidays in the coming summer period. In addition, they are working on the development to set up a corona-free travel corridor from Schiphol Airport to Crete. The developments surrounding the vaccines and also the great desire of Dutch people to go on holiday again as soon as possible give both parties confidence that this summer travel will be possible again.

The corona-free travel corridor, to Crete in first instance, consists of a package holiday from Sunweb that involves flying with Transavia. During the holiday, travelers will be tested for the virus several times. Travelers also intend to stay mainly at their own resort where, of course, great attention is paid to distance and hygiene. Conversations with government and partners about the corona-free travel corridor are ongoing.

Both companies are confident that they can deliver beautiful holidays to their customers again this summer season and symbolize this confidence by letting a kite up. In addition to the purchase of a substantial number of seats per year, the success of the cooperation is mainly due to the total product that both companies can offer together. Particularly at this time, both parties believe that positivity and perspective are needed after a long period when hardly anything was possible and travel was often seen in a negative light because of corona. A corona-free corridor is the first step in that direction.

Mattijs ten Brink, CEO of Sunweb Group: ‘In a market that is in full swing, we are proud that our cooperation with Transavia, which has been successful for more than 20 years, offers Dutch holidaymakers the opportunity to discover beautiful destinations throughout Europe. We believe that everyone deserves a great holiday. We know how important it is to take the time to recharge, unwind and put everyday life on pause,’ said ten Brink.

Craving for travel
Marcel de Nooijer, CEO Transavia: ‘Our partners are important to us, together we can give a positive turn to this challenging period. For us, this kite is a symbol for starting to fly again soon, moreover this kite reaches higher with more headwind. We are therefore pleased that Sunweb Group has expressed its confidence in both the recovery of the travel sector as well as in our airline. We see that there is an enormous craving for travel. Passengers can’t wait to discover beautiful destinations again and to look forward to them together with their family or friends. This is also shown in research that we recently completed. Besides being able to embrace each other again, traveling is high on the wish list. It goes without saying that safe travel is an important condition, which is why we pay a lot of extra attention to this aspect.’

Safe travelling
Throughout the sector, safe travel is a top priority, and both parties are looking together how to further increase the safety around travel and the possibilities.These include more intensive testing and also continuing to call on the government for uniform European regulations. This will avoid ambiguities for passengers and prevent people from travelling via other countries. According to Transavia and Sunweb Group, this will benefit nobody, neither the traveler nor the Dutch travel sector.The call from both CEOs, is therefore to work together, throughout the industry, to ensure that we can once again offer our travelers the perspective of a holiday or other trip as soon as possible. This travel corridor to Crete will be a first beautiful and hopeful step in that direction.


Picture (can be published free of rights)
The photo shows Mattijs ten Brink, CEO Sunweb Group and Marcel de Nooijer, CEO Transavia. Together they let up a kite to symbolize their confidence in the coming summer season. In addition, both organizations want nothing more than to have their customers enjoy beautiful vacations again, if that is possible again.

Rotterdam, 1 February 2021 – Travel organization Sunweb Group has appointed Roel Wessels (37) as Director Intelligence as of February 1, 2021. In this newly created position, Wessels will contribute to the transformation of Sunweb Group into a data-driven organization where the customer will be even more central than before. Previously, Wessels was Director of Data & Insights at OYO Vacation Homes, where he worked amongst others for the international vacation home rental platform Belvilla. Before joining Belvilla in 2016, Wessels was a Data & Analytics Strategy Consultant at Deloitte Consulting in Amsterdam.

Under Wessels’ leadership, Sunweb Group’s ambition to digitally transform continues: “In the new strategy of Sunweb Group, Intelligence is a key strategic pillar and I am therefore very pleased that Roel Wessels, will join us as Director Intelligence. I am convinced that, under his leadership and with his experience, Sunweb Group will take the next steps in the field of Intelligence, so that we can realize our ambition to become the leading digital holiday expert”, says Brenda van Leeuwen, CDO of Sunweb Group.

Wessels will work with a team of data analysts, scientists and partners to develop a portfolio of strategic and operational data and analytics projects to develop cutting-edge personalized service offerings that match travelers’ behaviors and preferences. “I am thrilled to join Sunweb Group in this newly created position. Over the past four years at Belvilla, I have seen the tremendous opportunities that still exist in the travel and hospitality industry and have made an impact by developing the right analytical capabilities and learning the organization how to best utilize these. Although the global pandemic is still affecting the travel industry, I believe that the travel market will revive and we can once again take full advantage of the huge opportunities in intelligence and data science”, says Roel Wessels.

Today, tour operator Sunweb launches a campaign to draw attention to all employees at home and abroad that make holidays possible. Holidays are important to everyone. Not just for the travellers themselves, but also for the thousands of hard-working people at the destinations, who ensure everyone can enjoy an unforgettable holiday and create the greatest memories, is the reasoning behind the campaign.

Plan ahead for the summer

In today’s ‘Book your holiday with TUI’ advertisements in several newspapers in the Netherlands and Belgium, Sunweb calls on consumers to plan ahead for the summer holidays in 2021 and not mothball them. The travel and tourist industry have been hit hard by the corona pandemic and with this campaign the tour operator indicates that every booking now counts for the sector. The campaign is inspired by a recent ad by Burger King urging people to order from other fast-food chains as well.

Tim Van den Bergh, International Brand & Communications Director at Sunweb Group, comments on the campaign: “2020 was a tough year for the travel industry. Not just for Sunweb and other tour operators, but especially so for their local partners and the hard-working people at the many holiday destinations. Without them holidays are not possible and with this appeal we intend to offer them some positive prospects for the future. At the moment, travelling is simply not possible, or hardly possible, but there will be better days ahead when we are able again to enjoy their hospitality at the most wonderful destinations. There is nothing more fun than looking forward to a holiday, which is why planning your summer holiday now is not a bad idea, especially with all the flexibility currently offered by us as tour operators.”

Idea of the campaign

With full-page advertisements in several newspapers, consumers are urged to book their packaged holiday for summer 2021 with TUI, D-reizen, Zoover, Corendon, Eliza was here or another holiday specialist. In addition, social content has been developed to support the campaign online as well.

Example page full story: https://www.sunweb.be/nl/boek-bij-tui/english

Since 2016, Sunweb and the team had a partnership for indefinite time and were very close partners. Unexpectedly, the year 2020 turned out to be a crossroads. COVID-19 changed daily reality and hit the travel industry hard. To secure their future and realize their ambition to become the leading digital holiday expert, Sunweb Group needs to fully focus on their customers, business partners and employees. Therefore, Sunweb Group has made the decision that while they will remain a partner of the team as it keeps building towards its dream, after 2020 the team will no longer be named Team Sunweb.

 

Proud of their accomplishments

During the Andorra rest day of the 2016 Tour de France, Sunweb announced their new role as the team’s title partner and an ambitious goal. ‘2000 Tage zur Spitze’ was the idea of taking a new generation of young riders to the highest level of pro cycling in 2000 days. Team Sunweb succeeded. This latest season was filled with highlights from many riders who have grown through the development team to the WorldTour program. Some of them already became new stars in the peloton. Team Sunweb was an animated force in the Tour de France and stole the hearts of many fans with a racing style that combined both passion and intelligence. The Women’s program was also in winning form – who could forget the incredible double podium at the Giro d’Italia?!

 

Team Sunweb becomes Team DSM

From the 2021 season onwards, Team Sunweb will become Team DSM. Royal DSM is a globally based company active in nutrition, health and sustainable living. This team will build on the existing innovation partnership with DSM, which has grown over the past five years. “The team was and is like our child,” said Tim van den Bergh, International Director Brand & Communications of Sunweb Group. “The good news is that they will continue their journey thanks to a lead strategic partnership with Royal DSM. Sunweb, however, will also remain involved with the team. For example, we are looking into the possibility of relaunching cycling holidays with their support. ”

 

Great memories and a #keepchallenging spirit

“For many of us, it has been a privilege to work with the team and on this project,” added Mattijs ten Brink, CEO of Sunweb Group. “We have had great seasons together – and not just in terms of results and exposure. There was always a positive vibe around the whole team. We can only be proud and thankful for its great achievements. Team Sunweb contributed to the growth of Sunweb as a brand and as an organization. Their successes created great memories. We will take their ‘#keepchallenging-spirit’ with us, as well as their mantra: ‘use every day to learn in order to get better the next day’.”