TUI AG is Europe's leading travel group comprising a controlling stake in TUI Travel (tour operating, online and high street distribution, airlines, incoming agencies), TUI Hotels & Resorts and the cruise ship business. In addition, the group holds a 43,33 per cent stake in the container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd. In the short financial year 2009 the turnover of TUI AG was €13.1 billion with total earnings of €656.6 million (underlying EBITA).1 On 30 September 2009 the headcount totalled 65,000 employees.

TUI Travel was created in 2007 when TUI Group's distribution, tour operating, airlines and incoming activities merged with the UK's former First Choice Holidays PLC. The company is listed at the London Stock Exchange. TUI AG is the biggest shareholder in the new company being represented in 27 source markets around the globe andhandling more than 30 million customers. Its business is made up of the four sectors Mainstream, Specialist & Emerging Markets, Activity and Accommodation & Destinations. TUI Travel offers a wide range of leisure travel experience, from package tours to special niche products.

TUI Hotels & Resorts, the largest holiday hotel in chain in Europe, is responsible for managing all of the World of TUI hotel subsidiaries. The TUI AG Group has 243 hotels and 154,000 beds in 28 countries around the world. The hotels of the various brands are situated at preferred locations in a variety of holiday regions, and offer guests a diverse range of hotel concepts with the highest levels of service, quality and environmental standards. The portfolio includes such famous brands as Riu, Grecotel, Grupotel, Iberotel,Dorfhotel, Robinson and Magic Life.

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is the leading operator of expedition and luxury cruises in the Germanspeaking countries. The fleet includes the cruise liners MS Europa (5-star+), MS Hanseatic (5-star), MS Bremen (4-star) and MS Columbus (3-star+). In the financial year 2008, the way for the entry into the German volume market for premium cruises was paved by the formation of the company TUI Cruises. The joint venture cruise line planned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and TUI AG will begin service with one ship. The cruise liner was christened "Mein Schiff "(which translates as "My Ship") on 15 May 2009 in Hamburg.

In March 2009 TUI AG closed the sale of Hapag-Lloyd AG to "Albert Ballin" Holding GmbH & Co. KG. The container shipping company was sold at an enterprise value of 4.45 billion euro. TUI AG holds a 43.33 per cent stake in Hapag-Lloyd. With 115 container ships the company provides a total capacity of 470,000 TEU.