Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

TUI hit by Tunisia unrest but sales for summer rise

James Thompson
Friday 28 January 2011 01:00 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

TUI Travel, the owner of holidays brands including Thomson and First Choice, said the heavy snowfall in Britain and civil unrest in Tunisia had hit its recent bookings but said reservations for this summer were "encouraging". The tour operator, which is controlled by its German parent, TUI AG, also said its underlying operating losses had risen by £20m in the first quarter from a £107m loss a year ago.

Following the Government's advice to UK citizens not to travel to Tunisia, TUI has cancelled flights to the country since 15 January. In a trading statement to coincide with an investor day, TUI said UK bookings for winter 2010-11 were down by 1 per cent since its last trading statement in December.

But it said cumulative bookings for its key markets, including Britain and the Nordic countries, for this summer were up by between 8 per cent and 16 per cent as of 16 January. It hopes to make cost savings of £60m by 2013.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in