Britons seeking sunshine drive profit up for Tui
TUI TRAVEL, the holiday giant, said yesterday that package holidays are making a revival, helping to boost full-year profits for the firm.
Chief executive Peter Long said: “We’re seeing a renaissance in demand for package holidays and a strong trend towards all-inclusive holidays with customers seeking greater certainty.”
The operator of Thomson and First Choice said “an outstanding performance in the UK” helped push underlying profits up eight per cent to £390m in the year to 30 September.
Tui said sales in the UK for 2013 summer holidays were already 12 per cent ahead, with the Nordic countries up 16 per cent and Germany nine per cent stronger.
It added that winter bookings across Europe were around three per cent higher on average.
The French division continued to be a headache for the group owing to political tensions in North Africa.
“Some 70 per cent of the sales are to North Africa so we have been hit very hard,” Long said, adding popular holidays such as Nile cruises in Egypt have been “no-go areas” for tourists recently.
The group also laid out a “roadmap for growth” yesterday, targeting a six to 10 per cent profit growth over the next five years.