TUI sees summer travel demand to 'significantly' lift 2023 profit

The number of customers traveling with TUI in the January-March reporting period rose to 2.4 million. Pic: Peter Byrne/PA Wire

Travel firm TUI said it expects strong revenue and higher profit for the full year of 2023 on the back of strong booking momentum for the busy summer travel season.

Airlines such as Lufthansa, easyJet and Ryanair have all pointed to robust summer bookings, showing consumers prioritising travel spend despite high inflation and an uncertain economic outlook.

Bookings for the summer have jumped 13% compared with the same period last year and reached 96% of bookings in the summer of 2019, the last summer before covid-19 restrictions hit. Average prices for summer trips are up 5% over last year.

The number of customers traveling with TUI in the January-March reporting period rose to 2.4 million.

"Strong booking development and significantly improved quarterly figures underline our expectations: it will be a strong summer and a good financial year 2023 with a significantly higher operating result," CEO Sebastian Ebel said in a statement.

The company also repaid its state financial aid in full earlier this year and reported a narrower quarterly underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss of €242m up €88m over last year.

With fewer people travelling in the first three months of the year, the results for TUI's second financial quarter are often expected to be weaker.

- Reuters