Ukraine's Join UP! company preparing to launch operations in Czech Republic, Slovakia

MOSCOW. Aug 14 (Interfax) - Join UP!, one of the largest Ukrainian tour operators, is preparing to launch operations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia starting this winter season, Join UP! Product Marketing Head Katerina Artyukh said in an interview with Ukrainian media.

"We are further considering the northern regions of Europe in our scaling strategy," Artyukh said.

The company also plans to intensify the development of the franchise chain of the Join UP! to Travel agencies. Over 130 franchise agencies have already been operating under this brand in Ukraine. The franchise agencies have operated in Moldova since 2017, and the first one in Poland's Katowice was opened a few months ago.

Currently, Join UP! is working in eight markets, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Poland, Moldova, and Kazakhstan. The majority of customers in each country is local, Artyukh said.

"In particular, a very low number of Ukrainian tourists fly to Baltic countries, so more than 90% of clients there are locals. Poles definitely dominate with over 65% in the Polish branch. But exactly in Rzeszow Ukrainians account for 90%. We have special partnership agreements with this airport specifically for Ukrainian tourists. This means that every step we take definitely expands options for Ukrainian tourists, and this is important, and we are developing as a local tour operator on all markets, developing each market for the local target audience," she said.

Departures are also scheduled taking into account the local specifics, she said. "For example, the vast majority of flights from Chisinau are operated by our partner, Moldova's FlyOne airline. We cooperate with Air Astana in Kazakhstan, where we have been working since 2022. As for strategic partnership, the number one partners are certainly Sky Up, Turkey's Pegasus and Turkish Airlines, as well as WizzAir," Artyukh said.

The Join UP! company was established in 2013 with its authorized capital of UAH 72.671 million. The ultimate beneficiaries are Yury and Alexander Alba. The income grew to UAH 16.639 million in 2023, which is a 230% growth year-on-year. The company's net loss grew 180% to UAH 234.120 million from UAH 129.486 million a year earlier.