TUI UK winter bookings fall year on year

TUI’s winter bookings in the UK are down 7% year on year following zero growth this summer, but its winter revenue is up 2% and it has sold just over a third of the programme, the same as a year ago.

In a trading update, TUI said both booking and selling performance for the winter season were ‘in line with expectations’. "Both load factor and percentage of the UK programme sold are in line with prior year, as we continue to balance capacity in line with demand," it added.

In its own trading update released on Tuesday, rival Thomas Cook said its winter bookings for the UK were up 5% following an 8% increase in summer 2017 bookings.

TUI admitted demand for the Caribbean and Florida had been adversely affected by the recent damage caused by Hurricane Irma, with several hotels forced to close for repairs.

However, it said there was good growth in bookings for Cape Verde, Cyprus, North Africa and Thailand.

Looking ahead to summer 2018, TUI said its UK bookings are 3% down year on year, but the operator said this drop was also expected given the strong growth last year, when bookings were up 7%.

The operator, which will announce its financial results for the year to the end of September on December 13, said it was expecting to announce at least 10% growth in pre-tax earnings.

Overall the TUI Group, including Thomson Cruises, saw a 9% increase in revenue for summer 2017 and revenue for this coming winter is also up 9% year on year.

"As we near the end of the third financial year post merger, our results and trading performance show that we are consistently delivering our growth strategy," said TUI Group chief executive Friedrich Joussen.

"Our hotel and cruise brands continue to perform very well, having further expanded their unique offering this year; and the growth in source market customers demonstrates the strong appeal of our holidays and distribution capability.

"At this early stage, overall trading for future seasons remains in line with our expectations. Whilst there are at times external factors which can create uncertainty in specific markets and destinations, we are confident that our balanced portfolio, content led growth strategy and integrated model leave us well positioned to continue to deliver against our plans.

"We are therefore pleased to reiterate our guidance of at least 10% growth in underlying EBITA for the financial year 2016/171, and look forward to providing an update on our strategy this December."