Vacation and Boating Giants Sail Into Inland Waterways

CLEARWATER, Fla., April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Le Boat, part of TUI Marine, the marine division of the Activity Sector of TUI Travel Plc, the world's largest vacation company, has signed an historic agreement with two formidable giants of the boating industry: the Beneteau Group, the world's number one sail boat builder and Seaway, the world's leading boat design and development company, based in Slovenia.

The three companies are set to shake up the inland waterways boating industry with the design, development and build of a new-style leisure motor boat, which will be exclusive to Le Boat, the world's largest operator of self-drive boating vacations and a leading brand within the TUI Marine portfolio.

"An incredible pool of talent from around the world has come together to create this exciting new venture," comments Lex Raas, TUI Marine CEO. "Over the next few years we will transform the Le Boat fleet of self-drive motor cruisers and significantly change the way boating vacations are both perceived and enjoyed."

The Beneteau Group and Seaway will use their skills and expertise in the fields of hybrid technology and solar energy to ensure the new boats meet consumer demands for environmental efficiency as well as commercial needs for cost-effectiveness on a large scale. All three companies are publicly committed to reducing the carbon footprint of their activities, products and services worldwide.

The new-style boats, which will feature low wave-making hulls to minimize river bank erosion, will also be better adapted to and comfortable for use in all climates. Le Boat customers will be consulted widely to ensure that on-board comforts – such as satellite and MP3 connectivity are installed potentially as standard.

Demand for inland waterways boating vacations is at an all time high and Le Boat (formerly Crown Blue Line and Connoisseur in Europe) plans to introduce the new-style boat in all its key cruising areas. For 2010 Le Boat customers will have the choice of over 200 self-drive cruising routes departing from 42 bases in eight European countries.

Notes

Le Boat is the largest operator of self-drive boating vacations on the waterways of Europe, operating its own fleet of 1000+ self-drive cruisers from a network of over 40 different departure bases across eight European countries. Le Boat brings together over 40 years of expertise and experience of Crown Blue Line and Connoisseur in Europe and Emerald Star in Ireland. Visit www.leboat.com for more information.

TUI Travel PLC is a leading international leisure travel group which operates in approximately 180 countries worldwide and serves more than 30 million customers in over 25 source markets. The Marine division operates some of the world's leading marine recreation and yachting brands including The Moorings, Sunsail and Le Boat. Visit www.tuitravelplc.com for more information.

The Beneteau Group is a global leader in the marine leisure industry. Its industrial expertise, capability for innovation and broad range of brands has earned it a sterling reputation across the world. The Beneteau Group is entering the third millennium with the goal of making pleasure boating accessible to an even greater number of people. The Group is currently organized into two main activities:

• Boats – encompassing Beneteau, Jeanneau, Lagoon, Prestige, Monte Carlo Yachts and CNB
• Housing – encompassing O'Hara IRM and BH.

Visit www.beneteau-group.com for more information.

Seaway is the world's leading boat development company, based on the J&J design studio created in 1983 by Jernej and Japec Jakopin. Seaway provides design, engineering and tooling to production sailboat and powerboat builders. In August 2009, Seaway launched the Greenline 33 Hybrid, which is designed to drastically reduce both the cost of and carbon emissions of boating vacations. Visit www.seaway.si for more information.

SOURCE Le Boat