TUI warns of lower winter booking figures

Travel firm TUI has said bookings for the winter season are down following record full-year results.

Travel Insurance News - 05/12/2011

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The tour operator, which owns Thomson Holidays and First Choice, said on Monday that future bookings for the 2011/2012 winter season were down and were likely to remain that way in the coming weeks as a result of weakened consumer sentiment, despite having outperformed rival Thomas Cook.

Results announced Monday revealed a 12 per cent year-on-year decline in winter holiday sales for the season starting on 27 November. The news comes after a decrease of 11 per cent reported at the end of September, when the company also announced a capacity reduction of 9 per cent.

Despite the cautious outlook for the coming months, TUI Travel recently revealed record-setting full-year results. Officials largely attributed the success to strong sales of higher margin holidays, which helped lift underlying UK operating profits to £147 million and group profits to £471 million for the year leading up to September. The totals mark a rise of 15 and 18 per cent, respectively.

Peter Long, TUI Travel’s chief executive, said that he was pleased to see robust performance in the face of political disruptions in North Africa and the Middle East as well as weakened consumer sentiment in major markets.

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