Avis Budget Group Inc.
(
CAR
) and PortAventura, a popular theme park and resort in Spain,
have collaborated, making Avis Car Rental and Budget Car Rental
the latter's official car renting partners. The two parties
entered into one-of-a-kind concession and marketing agreement
that extends over several years via which Avis Budget will
provide vehicle services at Hotel PortAventura.
As part of the deal, Avis and Budget brands will feature on Port
Aventura's official website, offering special cash discounts on
car rental services. Customers availing the Avis and Budget
offers will also enjoy discounts on park admission and hotel
stays.
Situated in Salou, Catalonia, PortAventura is Spain's first theme
park that became operational from 1995. Over the years, the park
has broadened to include an aquatic park, three golf courses,
four 500-room hotels and a convention center with a capacity for
accommodating 4,000 people.
A tourist destination for natives from across Europe as well as
theme park enthusiasts around the world, PortAventura is now
recognized as the premier theme park in Spain in terms of
revenues, visits and profitability. It is also one of the leading
parks in southern Europe in terms of footfall. The Shambhala,
Europe's highest, fastest and longest-descending roller coaster,
is housed in PortAventura.
Avis Budget's association with one of the continent's leading
tourist attractions is expected to be especially favorable for
customers. Simultaneously, this tie-up will help Avis proceed on
its strategic initiatives to build up its global presence.
In one such similar effort, Budget Car Rental - a unit of
Avis Budget Group Inc. -swarmed the Spanish rental services
market by opening 60 new car rental units through the first half
of 2012. This expansion brought the company's Spanish Budget
locations to 99.
Avis Budget Group is the leading vehicle rental company in North
America, Australia and New Zealand. A formidable network of more
than 10,000 rental locations and 350,000 vehicles enable the
company to further strengthen its well-established position in a
highly competitive vehicle rental industry.
The company faces intense competition from other established
players, such as
Hertz Global Holdings Inc.
(
HTZ
), Enterprise Rent-A-Car and
Ryder System Inc.
(
R
).
We maintain our long-term 'Underperform' recommendation on Avis
Budget. However, the company has a Zacks #3 Rank, implying a
short-term Hold rating.
AVIS BUDGET GRP (CAR): Free Stock Analysis
Report
HERTZ GLBL HLDG (HTZ): Free Stock Analysis
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RYDER SYS (R): Free Stock Analysis Report
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