TUI confirms its high expectations for a strong summer 2024, recording increased bookings and prices, both in the second quarter of the financial year and in the summer season, with Greece remaining a favourite destination for German holidaymakers this year and “leading” in summer bookings, as revealed by the leading travel agency, releasing the data for the second quarter of the financial year.
According to TUI, medium and short-haul destinations are driving bookings for the summer, with Greece, Turkey and the Balearic Islands once again proving to be the most popular summer holiday destinations.
In the UK, bookings are currently 3% higher, with 65% of the season already, already, sold out.
Similarly, in Germany, bookings are 7% higher with 60% of the programme already sold out.
High holiday prices this summer too
Holiday package prices continue their upward trend with TUI noting that for the summer of 2024, average prices are 4% higher than last year. Nevertheless, 60% of the programme has been sold, which is in line with last year’s level. Since the last update, 2 million bookings have been added, meaning TUI has currently recorded a total of 9 million bookings for this summer, which represents a 5% increase, compared to last year.
In the Hotels & Resorts sector, the number of available nights for the second half of the financial year is 1% higher than last year, while occupancy is also up one percentage point.
Average daily rates in the second half of the year were 9% higher year-on-year, with Turkey, Greece and the Balearic Islands being the most popular destinations.
Strong, winter “finale”
TUI ended the 2023/24 winter season with a strong finale, with a significant 9% increase in bookings and an average price 3% higher. The weather incentivised many last-minute travellers to make winter bookings. As a result, a total of 5.1 million customers holidayed with TUI in winter 2023/24, with 700,000 more visitors since the booking update for the quarterly figures in February.
Demand was strongest for short and medium-haul destinations, with the Canary Islands and Egypt being the most popular destinations and demand for Cape Verde continuing to grow.
Hotels and cruises as growth drivers
TUI closed the second quarter of the financial year 2024 successfully due to the continued high willingness of people to travel. With 2.8 million travellers choosing the group for their holidays in the reporting period, up from 2.4 million in the same period last year, the tourism group achieved a record turnover of €3.6 billion, up 16% year-on-year from €3.2 billion in the second quarter of 2023.
The Hotels & Resorts and Cruises divisions achieved record results and ensured that the group’s adjusted EBIT improved significantly to EUR -189 million in the second quarter, which is typically the weakest in the industry, from EUR -242 million in the second quarter last year.
The goal, according to Mr. Ebel, is to increase turnover by at least 10% and underlying operating profit by at least 25%.
In a statement, TUI Group CEO Sebastian Ebel said that the first two quarters of the financial year had been very successful from an operational point of view and this clearly demonstrates the resilience of the Group’s business model and strategy and underlines its strength to grow profitably in a dynamic market environment.