TUI sees summer sales soar for its all-in deals
THOMSON and First Choice owner Tui has reported a fall in winter losses and said UK holidaymakers were spending more on their summer breaks.
A rush for fixed-price holidays pushed up average UK selling prices by 5 per cent and offset a 3 per cent drop in bookings.
TUI chief executive Peter Long said: “More customers are looking for all-inclusive.
"Customers like the certainty that they cannot spend any more money.”
Sales of holidays exclusive to the company to destinations such as Greece, Lanzarote and Ibiza have accounted for 85 per cent of the holidays sold to date.
Operating losses at Europe’s largest tour operator for the six months to the end of March fell by £12million to £277million, allowing for the timing of Easter.
Customers like the certainty that they cannot spend any more money
Tour operators do not typically make a profit during the winter months.
The improvement came despite political unrest in its emerging markets sector.
Tui reduced capacity at its tour operator businesses in Russia and Ukraine, leading to an operating loss of £14million.
It has been pushing destinations such as Cape Verde in North Africa as an alternative to Egypt, but did not rule out a full return to the destination.
“We need to see a prolonged period of sustained political environment,” Long said.
Tui said it was confident of achieving 7-10 per cent growth in underlying profit for the full year.
The shares fell 7.8p to 433.8p