Kuoni Group, the leading destination management company, has acquired Gulf Dunes and Reem Tours & Travel, two UAE-based travel and tourism companies, with immediate effect.

Gulf Dunes is one of the region’s market leaders in the MICE field, while Reem Tours and Travel is a destination management company with a strong customer base in South America.

The acquisitions mark a further expansion of Kuoni’s activities in the Gulf region,  especially in the MICE sector. The Kuoni Group is already home to Desert Adventures Tourism, one of the UAE’s leading destination management companies, which was acquired in 2008.

The sale agreements covering the acquisition of Gulf Dunes and Reem Tours & Travel were formally signed yesterday. The transactions will be concluded in the next  few weeks.

Gulf Dunes and Reem Tours & Travel have been acquired in full, in collaboration with a local partner. Gulf Dunes was founded in Dubai in 1995, and Reem Tours & Travel was  established in 2003. Both companies managed to grow their business successfully in the past years.

All Gulf Dunes and Reem Tours & Travel employees will be retained, as well as their brands. Both companies will also remain under the management of its previous owner, Gamal Fathy. Gulf Dunes also maintains a branch operation in Muscat.

Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Both companies will be incorporated into the Kuoni Group’s Destination Management Arabia/Africa organisation, and their managing director will report to Yasser Noman, CEO Middle East & Africa.

“It is a great pleasure to announce these two acquisitions which took place yesterday, that give Kuoni Group a great opportunity to further develop the MICE business segment in the Middle and at the same time strengthen Kuoni's position as a leading destination management company in the Gulf region,” stated Yasser Noman.-TradeArabia News Service