The TUI Group, a leading tourism group operating worldwide, said that demand for holiday travel remains high as travel restrictions fall in the markets with a total of around 1.5 million bookings received since the half-year figures in May. The Group is currently recording 4.2 million bookings for summer 2021.
As before, the trend towards online bookings increased significantly during the pandemic. In the third quarter, more than half of the TUI customers booked their holidays online (52 per cent). In addition, interaction with guests is increasingly taking place digitally, with almost 70 per cent of all TUI package tour guests using the TUI App (+21 percentage points).
Besides the Balearic Islands with Majorca, the Greek islands, in particular Crete and Rhodes are among the most popular destinations for TUI guests. In addition, domestic tourism and cruises by Group company TUI Cruises as well as the TUI Group’s hotel and club brands – RIU, TUI Blue and Robinson – are also in demand. In the period under review, 283 TUI hotels were open and eight of the Group’s cruise ships were carrying guests.
With the positive operating restart, TUI is again generating cash inflows. In the third quarter of the financial year these were higher than the current cash costs, so that for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic a positive cash flow before financing of around 320 million euros was recorded.
TUI CEO Fritz Joussen said: “Our business model and the strong TUI brand remain a successful model and are the guarantee for the successful restart. Customer demand and booking momentum remain high as soon as state travel restrictions are withdrawn.”
“Where the state gives back normal entrepreneurial freedom, we are very successful – where states intervene and restrict entrepreneurial freedom, these interventions impact bookings. With one and a half million additional bookings since May and a total of more than four million bookings for the summer business, the figures are encouraging.
“Especially in Germany and in the continental European markets, the current booking figures show a high pent-up demand. In England, travel could only be resumed in mid-July. Demand and bookings there will therefore be reflected in the 4th quarter. Business is coming back and TUI’s transformation is clearly having an impact,” Joussen added.
