TUI: war still favors last minute reservations

Frankfurt (awp/afp) – The war in Iran continues to encourage the trend towards last-minute reservations, said the world leader in tourism TUI on Wednesday, which confirmed its annual forecasts revised downwards in April.

“Our results as well as the market as a whole show a trend towards bookings made more and more on a short-term basis, particularly in favor of destinations in the west of the Mediterranean,” indicated the group on the occasion of the publication of its quarterly results.

Nearly half of consumers planning to travel this summer have not yet booked, the press release added.

Demand is shifting to Spain, including the Balearic Islands and Canaries, as well as Greece, set to be this summer’s hottest destinations.

The Hanover group is counting on an increase in average prices which is already taking shape in the group’s hotels and cruise ships, which should make it possible to partially offset the increase in costs.

From January to March, the turnover of the group which offers a range of trips, hotels, charter flights and cruises around the world, however, increased slightly by 1.7% at constant exchange rates, to 3.74 billion euros (barely less in Swiss francs during the day).

The operational loss, at 188 million euros, is around 9% lower than last year, despite the negative impact of the war in Iran, estimated at 40 million, and Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, for 5 million.

TUI gave up in April on communicating an annual turnover forecast and still does not risk doing so in an environment which remains unstable.

The operating profit adjusted for exceptional effects (adjusted Ebit) should still be between 1.1 and 1.4 billion, or a level at best equivalent to that of the previous year, which amounted to 1.4 billion.

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