TUI, leading group in the touristic market, and The Fun Lab, consultancy and engineering firm specialising in water parks and leisure pools, have signed an agreement in which the tour-operator entrusts the firm with managing the safety of their water parks and leisure pools at both owned and tour-operated hotels internationally. This collaboration commenced with an initial project involving the audit of 8 water parks at tourist resorts, managed or sold by TUI in Turkey this summer. Having successfully implemented this initial project the collaboration will be expanded further, to cover sites in Egypt and Mexico.
“The fact that a leading company like TUI places their trust in us as their Health & Safety partner is a source of pride and a catalyst for our mission to raise awareness, both within the industry and society as a whole, about the necessary safety measures that must be considered in all water leisure projects, regardless of their size and location,” explains Javier Salvador, partner, and CEO of The Fun Lab. “Javier and the team at The Fun Lab have demonstrated their competence, professionalism and global scalability. Our collaboration enables us to obtain the assurance we require, so we can deliver trusted products and services for our guests,” commented Paul Austin, Head of Safety & Risk – TUI Group.
The Fun Lab is an internationally accredited inspection entity (ISO/IEC 17020) by ENAC (Spanish National Accreditation Entity) and specialises in water leisure areas, following applicable European EN regulations. The company conducts inspections and safety certifications in compliance with the relevant European standards for water leisure areas: EN-1069 for water slides and EN-17232 for water equipment and games.
Key aspects of the TUI – The Fun Lab agreement
Beyond the technical consulting work that the firm will provide to the tour-operator as a Health & Safety Partner, the agreement is based on two main activities. Firstly, conducting regular preventive audits that the tour-operator carries out among its establishments. In this regard, The Fun Lab team has developed a specific safety checklist for water leisure areas, following the guidelines of European EN regulations for this type of facilities.
Secondly, it involves the recognition and validity that TUI grants to safety certifications of water leisure areas, based on applicable European regulations, which The Fun Lab has directly conducted at resorts and leisure complexes working in partnership with them. A boost for the internationalisation of The Fun Lab’s activity.
In addition to the international accreditation for the inspection of water leisure areas according to European EN regulations, The Fun Lab has recently obtained accreditation to formally inspect facilities following the applicable American ASTM regulations in water parks.
“It is crucial for us to have strong support like TUI’s at this moment as we have initiated our internationalisation process in European and Mediterranean destinations, thanks to the reach it provides us to new markets and hotel companies. Furthermore, because of our recent accreditation for the ASTM American regulations, doors are now open to Caribbean resorts, one of the most important markets for the family tourism segment worldwide”, concludes Salvador.
Furthermore, The Fun Lab has recently collaborated with ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents), of which TUI is a prominent member, as one of the expert companies in reviewing and revising the ABTA’s Tourism Accommodation: Health & Safety Technical Guide, in its 2023 edition, particularly concerning requirements and safety recommendations for water parks and pools.
About The Fun Lab
Founded in early 2020, The Fun Lab is a Spanish company specializing in strategic consulting, engineering, and accredited inspection services by ENAC (Spanish National Accreditation Entity). Concretely, in the fields of the water leisure, pools, and family tourism sector. Its founding partners, with over 10 years of combined experience in the industry, have launched this concept with a mission to help companies in the sector create safer, sustainable, and innovative leisure spaces.
