Fosun targets North America tourism

Chinese conglomerate Fosun International Ltd is looking to gain a bigger foothold in North America’s tourism and leisure market through acquisitions, as the owner of Club Med launches a new product line for China.

“We’re interested in anything related to the tourism sector, from travel agencies and resort brands to recreational content providers,” Qian Jiannong, senior vice president of Fosun International, said in an interview yesterday in Qinhuangdao, a port city three hours’ drive east of Beijing, where Club Med unveiled a new line of resorts named Joyview.

A bigger presence in North America would complement Club Med and Fosun’s tourism portfolio, which generates most of its revenue from Europe and Asia, according to Qian, who also chairs Fosun Tourism and Culture Group. Ongoing trade tensions between China and the US will not affect demand for travel and vacations, he said. “We take a long-term view when making an investment decision. If it is a good target, we will not hesitate,” Qian said, declining to name any specific targets.

Club Med is the crown jewel of a tourism and leisure empire that Fosun has been assembling, which also includes a joint venture with British travel agency Thomas Cook Group Plc, and a $1.6 billion (Dh5.8 billion) luxury hotel complex, called Atlantis, on China’s southern island of Hainan.

Unlike other Club Med resorts that are more destination-driven, Joyview retreats are mid-scale getaways typically a couple of hours drive from major cities, targeted at Chinese millennial travellers and multigenerational families, while also serving corporate functions such as conferences and team-building.