Political unrest in Egypt and Tunisia has cost Thomas Cook £20 million, the group disclosed today.
The figures emerged after rival Tui Travel said the cancellation of tours to the two North African countries plus repatriation of holidaymakers will lead to a bill of up to £30 million.
Thomas Cook, revealing first quarter losses reduced by 10% to £37.3 million, said it was closely monitoring the situation in both nations.
The company is planning a return to Tunisia as travel restrictions were lifted.
Prior to the disruption, bookings to Egypt from the UK for winter were down 4% mainly as a result of the “disproportionate increase” in Air Passenger Duty to the destination, the company said.
Chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa said: “The situation in Tunisia and Egypt is fast moving and our principal concern is for the wellbeing and safety of our customers.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely and contingency plans have been implemented to redirect our holiday programme to other destinations and help mitigate the financial impact.”
The group saw revenue rise by 7% to £1,810.4m in the first quarter, reflecting increased volumes and an improved product mix.
“I am pleased to report that we made a good start to the financial year, achieving a 7% increase in first quarter revenues and a 10% reduction in the underlying loss from operations,” said Fontenla-Novoa.
“Throughout Continental Europe, the economic environment continues to support demand, which is reflected in our bookings and capacity plans.
“In the UK, whilst the consumer outlook remains uncertain, we have seen an increase in summer bookings and the actions taken on costs will further strengthen the business.”
Winter holiday bookings from the UK were described as being “relatively steady” with average selling price increases of 2% expected to improve as the season progresses.
“Bookings over the Easter and Royal Wedding period are up on prior year, as consumers make the most of the extended holiday period. Capacity has been increased since our last update in December to meet this additional demand.”
Summer bookings from the UK “are strong” and ahead of planned capacity increases of 3%, according to Thomas Cook.
Average selling prices are up by 5%, but mainly reflect a further shift in mix towards all inclusive holidays.
“Bookings intake has been consistently good and in the last four weeks bookings were up 7% and average selling prices up 5%,” the company said.
Thomas Cook said it continued to work closely with the Office of Fair Trading to win clearance for its high street travel agency merger with the Co-operatives.
The group expects to receive competition clearance and complete it joint venture with Intourist in Russia in April.
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