As holiday bookings soar, Tui warns against last-minute discounts

Summer bookings are expected to “almost reach” 2019 levels this year, according to Tui, although “no last-minute” low-cost bargains will be available.

Following the relaxation of COVID travel restrictions, the company reported a rise in bookings in the last six weeks as individuals planned summer vacations.

However, it cautioned that the impact of COVID and the Ukraine conflict on customer behaviour was “impossible to forecast.”

Due to increasing fuel prices, Tui’s CEO warned of price hikes and limited offers.

Tui’s losses fell by half to €614.5 million (£525 million) in the six months to March, thanks to a robust rebound in client demand.

As a result, the company informed its shareholders that it expects to be profitable by the end of the year.

According to Tui, Greece is currently the most popular location, followed by the Canary and Balearic Islands and Turkey.

Tui served 1.9 million customers in the last three months, up 1.7 million from the same period in 2021 when global travel was at a standstill owing to the pandemic.

The company said summer vacation bookings are presently at 85 per cent of 2019 levels, with reservations from UK clients up 11 per cent from two years ago, according to the company.

The removal of UK testing regulations in February has resulted in an increased demand for flights and vacations. Some countries, however, nevertheless compel travellers to adhere to isolation and testing regulations.

Heathrow Airport said on Tuesday that demand was good in April and that passenger numbers would increase this summer.

However, the UK’s busiest airport predicted that demand for the year would be only 65 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, as rising prices push people to cut back.

The Bank of England predicts that inflation, or the rate at which prices rise, will exceed 10% later this year, putting the UK in danger of entering a recession.

“The ongoing crisis in Ukraine, increasing fuel costs, continued travel restrictions for major markets like the United States, and the potential for a new type of concern generate uncertainty in the future,” the airport stated.