The UK is lagging behind the summer recovery seen in other Tui source markets due to travel restrictions only being relaxed last month.
Europe’s largest travel group reported a total of 4.2 million bookings for summer 2021 with average prices nine per cent higher than pre-pandemic 2019 due to the high proportion of package holidays in current bookings.
Capacity for the core months of this summer’s programme has been adjusted to 60% of 2019 levels.
Besides the Balearic islands, the Greek islands, in particular Crete and Rhodes, are among the most popular destinations.
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The group recorded positive cash flow before financing of around €320 million for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
But Tui reported a loss of €670 million in the third quarter of its financial year with revenues of €650 million.
“Due to continued restrictions, travel could not be resumed in all markets and not in all destinations,” the company said.
As soon as travel restrictions fall, booking momentum increases significantly, according to the company. Around 1.5 million bookings have been received since Tui’s half-year figures in May.
Chief executive 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 Customer demand and booking momentum remain high as soon as state travel restrictions are withdrawn.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 fourth quarter. Business is coming back and Tui’s transformation is clearly having an impact.”
He added: “It is necessary to move away from the rigid consideration of incidence levels as a measure of the pandemic. We will probably live with Covid as with other infectious diseases. The point is to mitigate the contagions, the severity and the consequences of a disease.
“In Europe, vaccination offers are available to everyone who wants to be vaccinated, severe disease progressions do not increase noticeably, and the health systems are not overburdened anywhere in Europe. This is a great success of the vaccination campaigns.
“Vaccination protects – vaccinated people are protected and are no longer a significant risk to others. Those who are not or hardly at risk should now have their liberties fully restored. This is especially true for children and young people, for whom vaccinations are not compulsory.
“Whether one gets vaccinated or not is and remains a personal decision. However, a few should not be allowed to permanently set the pace and restrict the everyday life of the majority.”
More than half of customers (52%) booked their holidays online in the past quarter, following a trend which “increased significantly” during the pandemic.
In the period under review, 283 Tui hotels were open and eight of the group’s cruise ships were carrying passengers.
The group implemented various refinancing measures to strengthen its capital structure in the past three months including the sale of 21 hotels.
A group of 19 international banks and German state group KfW agreed last month to extend the maturity of revolving credit facilities totalling €4.7 billion euros until summer 2024.
“The group thus has more time and flexibility to implement the planned refinancing steps in view of ongoing corona restrictions,” Tui added. “The goal remains the rapid repayment of the state loans.”
More: Tui updates summer travel resumption and cancellations