Hospitality

Club Med bets on Italy and opens in San Sicario

French group owned by Fosun reaches two billion in turnover and sees attendance up 5%

by Paola Dezza

6 October 2025

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

A defined strategy: focus on the upscale segment, integrate sustainability into every stage of the tourism cycle and grow in key markets, including Italy. These are the business development guidelines for Club Med, the historic French brand acquired by the Chinese giant Fosun in 2015.

"We have experienced an acceleration since the pandemic," says Rabeea Ansari, CEO of Club Med for Southern Europe and Emerging Markets. "Our model has proved solid. Travellers' priorities have changed: they now seek more nature, well-being and quality leisure. Holidays have once again become a primary need for many of us'.

Club Med now has 68 resorts in the world, 23 of which are in Europe, but the development plan is ambitious: among the new openings announced are South Africa, Borneo (Malaysia), Gramado (Brazil), Oman, Essaouira (Morocco), Ouidah (Benin) and the Piedmontese San Sicario, at the centre of a strengthening strategy in our country. "The project in San Sicario is already underway. It will be a newly built resort with around 400 rooms and an Exclusive Collection space, our highest end of the range. It is scheduled to open in 2028, in partnership with Ream Sgr,' Ansari explains. This is one of the largest ski areas in Europe, with more than 400 km of slopes where the group is already present with the Pragelato resort.

Club Med opened the first resort in Italy in 1951, in Baratti, Tuscany. Today there are two resorts: Pragelato Sestriere and Cefalù, and will become four with San Sicario. "We are considering new summer destinations, in particular Sardinia and Sicily: there are ongoing negotiations," Ansari confirms.

The European mountains are a pillar of the strategy: 'We count 14 resorts between the French and Italian Alps, and have recorded a 72.4% growth in the value of business in Italy in the mountain segment compared to last year. Families, 43.4% of our clientele, are rediscovering the mountains all year round'.

Focus on sustainability

At the heart of Club Med's vision is sustainability, which according to Ansari 'is not an addition, but an integral part of our DNA'.

The strategy is developed on three levels. Firstly, sustainable construction. All new resorts are designed to BREEAM standards, with the goal of having 100% of the resorts certified by 2027. Energy management is entrusted to a 'smart construction' system, with solar panels and an ambitious target: -47% CO₂ emissions by 2030. Every new project is preceded by an ecological study to minimise environmental impact. Not only that. Even the stay must be environmentally friendly, which is why all resorts are Green Globe certified, based on 380 indicators including waste management, water resources, health and safety. "We have implemented a smart system to avoid food waste, reuse resources such as shower water for irrigation and aim to offer only organic products in the baby corners by 2027," Ansari adds. Today, 60 per cent of food production is local. And finally the social impact, an increasingly important issue when it comes to tourism and real estate. 'Each of our resorts is linked to a local project thanks to the Club Med Foundation, which has been active since 1978,' says the interviewee. In Brazil, for example, we collaborate with associations in the favelas and others concerned with marine biodiversity. In addition, 73% of our employees are hired locally: 100% of our resort managers come from internal promotions".

The segment

With the support of Fosun, the transformation of the group's entire portfolio was completed. Today, all resorts belong to the Premium or Exclusive Collection categories. This is one of the focuses of the strategy. The highest level of the offering is the Exclusive Collection, which includes resorts such as Cefalù, the Maldives, Val d'Isère, and future openings in South Africa, Brazil and Malaysia. "We have always wanted the holiday experience to be authentic and connected to its host territory," Ansari explains.

In 2024, after a record-breaking 2023, the company reports that there was a 7 per cent increase in turnover, reflecting the growing demand for premium experiences. Club Med's turnover reached EUR 2.09 billion and overall guest capacity in the facilities grew by +5 per cent. The average room occupancy rate reached 75%, an increase of two percentage points over the previous year. Over 1.5 million customers chose Club Med for their holidays.

"Early trends for 2025 are encouraging: bookings for the first half of the year are up 5.7 per cent, with double-digit growth expected for the second half of the year," the company says.

Paola DezzaCaporedattrice del Lunedì e responsabile del settore real estate per tutto il gruppo
- @24paoladezza
Lingue parlate: inglese, francese
Argomenti: mercato immobiliare, architettura, finanza immobiliare, lifestyle, turismo, hotel e ospitalità
Premi: “Key player of the italian real estate market” di Scenari Immobiliari
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