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Long-haul bookings were up 2% in the last two weeks compared to cumulative bookings down 25%, it said in a trading statement.
Customer demand has switched from Mexico to other medium- and long-haul destinations, particularly Jamaica (+30% in the last two weeks), Egypt (+23%) and the Dominican Republic (+19%). Only about 10% of the 2,500 customers who were in Mexico at the time of the flu outbreak accepted the offer of early repatriation from TUI Travel, which operates the Thomson and First Choice brands. The trend towards non-euro destinations continues, especially to Egypt and Turkey, with the non-euro destination mix up three percentage points to 32%.
For winter 2008/09 season, capacity cuts meant TUI Travel had significantly less stock left to sell in the lates market, so it could maintain ‘strong pricing’. For summer 2009, volumes are down but trading remains ‘robust’, and capacity reductions again mean there is less left to sell.
In the UK, average selling prices remain 10% ahead of last year and customer volumes mirror the capacity cuts. The programme load factor is now 58%, which is flat compared to last year. In the UK, cumulative bookings are down 17% year-on-year, with the last eight weeks being 11% down. In Germany, cumulative bookings are down 10%, but have seen a 12% decline in the past eight weeks.
The Nordic region is 16% down on bookings overall but just 1% down over the past eight weeks. Belgium is the only region to see bookings up, with a rise of 2% over the past eight-week period.
In the group’s Specialist & Emerging Markets sector, sales are down 15% as the ongoing weakness in US consumer confidence has led to a later booking environment for its escorted tours.
Within its Activity sector, the Marine programme capacity for the season has been reduced by 15%, and accordingly, sales are down 15%. The operator released the trading update as TUI AG, its listed majority shareholder, issued its Q109 results.
The figures from TUI AG and TUI Travel plc are not directly comparable because of differences in accounting policies and TUI AG’s results being in euros. Financial information from TUI Travel plc for the six months ending 31 March 2009 will be reported on 19 May. TUI Travel said it remains ‘well placed to meet the board’s expectations’ for the year ended 30 September 2009.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
