Take off: Tui revenue jumps 400 per cent as travel restrictions ease
In a sign the travel industry is making a post-pandemic comeback Tui revenues have climbed by 406 per cent in the first quarter of 2022.
The travel giant saw intake soar from €468m in the first quarter of 2021 to €2.36bn at the start of 2022 reflecting improvements to the travel environment following a successful vaccination programme across Europe. Tui operated at 69 per cent of pre-pandemic capacity in the quarter, with passenger numbers for air travel increasing to 2.3m, up from 1.7m customers in the same period last year.
“As a result of the partial easing of global travel restrictions, TUI Group was able to increase its business volume compared with the prior-year quarter,” the company said in results released today. “Nevertheless, the development of revenue and earnings in Q1 2022 continued to be significantly impacted by the measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.”
Tui’s financial remain in the red, with a net debt position of €5bn with group losses standing at €386.5m for the latest quarter.
Nonetheless, Tui said that the removal of testing requirements in the UK has led to a step-up in booking activity with UK Summer 2022 bookings up almost a fifth on 2019 levels.
“Released from Covid controls, people are desperate to get away so it’s no surprise TUI is enjoying skyrocketing demand. UK bookings for summer holidays are currently a fifth higher than pre-pandemic levels of 2019,” said Julie Palmer, partner at Begbies Traynor.
“It could just be a temporary respite, though. Soaring inflation across travel companies’ costs such as fuel and wages, whilst trying to recoup losses racked up over two hellish years, combined with consumers being forced to rein in spending, could mean this sunny period soon ends,” Palmer continued.
Read more: TUI rebounds as restrictions ease after heavy pandemic losses