04 March 2014
Muscat - Eng Samih Sawiris, chairman, Orascom Development Holding (ODH), the majority shareholder in Muriya Tourism Development, has announced his intention to acquire stakes in two leading German tour operators, Raiffeisen Touristik Group GmbH (RT) and FTI Touristik GmbH (FTI). 

Sawiris will acquire a 75 per cent stake in RT, a major tour operator in Germany with more than 50 years' experience, 2,000 employees and an annual turnover of more than €6bn.

He will also acquire a 30 per cent in FTI, one of the largest tour operators in Germany with over 3,500 employees and a turnover of €2.6bn. FTI offers holiday packages to 80 countries worldwide.

According to a release, the acquisition will target a new market to promote the Jebel Sifah and Salalah Beach resorts, the two largest integrated tourism complexes (ITC) in the sultanate, to tourists at over 7,000 travel bureaus in Germany, as well as utilise cooperation agreements around the world to boost tourism in the sultanate.

© Muscat Daily 2014