Tui expects its UK tour operations to be sending holidaymakers abroad “later in the summer”.
The message came as the travel giant partially restarted its summer 2020 programme from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland to a limited number of destinations from mid-June and the beginning of July.
More: Tui boss: July return of Spanish tourism is ‘good signal’ [May 25]
Easing of travel restrictions in Europe has enabled the initial restart with two flights from Germany to Majorca on Monday.
Tui UK and Ireland last week cancelled all beach holidays up to and including July 10.
Previously the company had extended the cancellation of its holidays until June 30.
“We currently anticipate our remaining markets such as UK and Nordic region to follow suit later in the summer,” the company said.
“Together with our destination partners, Tui is well prepared for a responsible and safe relaunch of tourism activities.”
Winter 2020-21 bookings for UK are up 6% with average selling prices up 5% in the early stages of the booking cycle. Summer 2021 “continues to look promising”.
‘Summer 25% sold’
The group revealed that its summer booking position is currently only around 25% sold with average selling prices up 14%.
“Since the suspension of our programme in mid-March, online enquiries have indicated that holidays remain important to our customers and we have seen our customers committing for future seasons,” Tui added.
“Following the recent easing of travel restrictions in Europe, we have seen a notable increase in bookings for our summer holidays over the last week with Germany and Belgium seeing strong recovery week-on-week.”
Tui said: “We anticipate a partial restart of our operations to result in an immediate working capital inflow and to be able to operate those with a positive contribution towards cash fixed costs.
“Further source markets and destinations will reopen as government restrictions across Europe or worldwide are lifted. We continue to work through different demand scenarios as we move through the current summer and upcoming seasons.”
The group plans to provide its next update on August 13 when third quarter results are issued.
First destinations
Tui plans a further 20 departures in the coming days, to include Faro as the second destination after Palma.
Other destinations including Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Croatia, Bulgaria, Austria, Germany and Switzerland are to offered from next month.
Tui plans to only operate around 30% of its original capacity but is “continuously evaluating” leisure travel policies and safety guidelines.
The company said: “We will manage our capacity depending on customer demand and in line with the specifications as well as requirements of the authorities in our source markets and destinations.”
Around half of the group’s hotels are due to reopen from early July “which may increase as travel restrictions ease through the summer”.
Tui added: “We are focusing on the advantages of our vertical integration, as we can leverage our distribution power to steer bookings into our own and third party committed assets.”
Cruise
A gradual restart of cruises is planned, again with Marella following other group lines later in the summer with the easing of UK guidelines.
“Having implemented comprehensive health and safety protocols on board our vessels, we also plan to begin a gradual restart of our cruise business,” Tui said.
German line Tui Cruises is plans to restart operations with short three to four-day sailings this summer.
The ‘Blue Cruises’ in the North and Baltic Seas with reduced capacity are designed to offer an “attractive alternative” for a summer holiday in Germany.
Tui Cruises is planning additional longer routes as a next step, subject to the opening of further prots. Hapag-Lloyd Cruises also plans to return to service in the summer.
Examples of the safety protocols include:
Tui flights
- Staggered boarding in small groups
- Customers and crew will be required to wear face masks on board aircraft
- Optional pre-order of food and beverages
- Cashless payments on board flights
- Aircraft are already installed with high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter systems on board with vertical air flow providing fresh air quality during flight
Tui hotels and resorts
Launching a ten-point plan for hotel operations and partners of which includes:
- Increased hygiene and cleaning standards in all our hotels and training of staff by independent auditors
- In a few countries, local regulations will allow self-service buffets for certain items (e.g. packaged food and beverages)
- Increased outdoor seating to be prioritised
- Alternative entertainment and sports programme avoiding close contact
Tui cruises
- Increased hygiene standards on board
- Health questionnaires, pre-boarding screening (for both crew and guests, e.g. temperature scan, staggered boarding)
- Max of ten in kids’ clubs
- Limited number of guests in theatres, spa and gym
- No self-service restaurants
Tui destination experiences
- Digital updates to customers to ensure smooth meet and greet on arrival
- Increased hygiene procedures on board transfer buses and increased offering of private transfers
- Increased availability of outdoor activities, smaller groups and private tours
- 24-7 contact centre support available via text, email or Tui app, providing tailored destination advice, including support on local medical guidelines
