TUI claimed it is outperforming the rest of the UK market as it released its first quarter results today.
It said while its own summer bookings are flat, the total UK market is down 14%.
"We have outperformed the market during the key booking period in January," said chief executive Peter Long.
"We have also had a particularly good performance in online sales. We believe that this outperformance reflects the trust that customers place in our market leading brands."
TUI’s underlying operating loss for the quarter has increased by £23 million to £109 million, driven by lower demand for North African destinations.
The group said its differentiated product was performing well and currently accounts for 64% of UK bookings for Summer 2012, up seven percentage points on prior year.
UK Summer 2012 differentiated product volumes are up 16% in January versus prior year.
It said online bookings were up 19% for Winter and 16% for Summer 2012 in January.
Summer 2012 online accommodation bookings in the Accommodations & Destinations Sector are up 21% to date on the prior year.
Long added: "Our business improvement programme is progressing according to plan. These self-help measures, coupled with our strategy of increasing differentiated product, controlled distribution and online sales, will help us to deliver in the current challenging macro-economic environment."
by Bev Fearis
