TUI Travel buoyed by resilient market

Thomson Holidays owner TUI Travel today said it continued to outperform the UK market as it revealed healthy summer bookings and strong online growth.

Europe’s biggest tour operator said cumulative summer bookings as at April 29 were 6% lower, which is flat compared to the same measure a month earlier, driven by demand for holidays exclusively available through TUI.

However, the overall performance has been held back by its French market, which has seen a steep decline in holidays to North Africa, despite some return in demand for the turbulent region.

TUI, which revealed an operating loss of £317m (€393m) for the seasonally quieter six months to March 31, up from £307m (€380m) the previous year, has held up well amid the struggles at Thomas Cook, although its rival unveiled a financing deal on Saturday that will secure its future.