Thomas Cook announces surge in bookings
Mainstream bookings at Thomas Cook have picked up 19% in the past four weeks, the group said today, but it admitted the year will remain challenging.
Overall, Thomas Cook’s summer bookings are down 2% over last year and mainstream bookings are down 10%, but it has 17% fewer holidays left to sell compared with summer 2011.
Independent and specialist bookings are up 14% year on year, and the average selling price overall is up 4%.
Group chief executive Sam Weihagen said: "Trading across the group has been stable since we last reported and in line with expectations.
"In the last few weeks we have seen an improvement in UK booking trends, helped by our recently launched advertising campaign and upgrades to our thomascook.com website."
Winter bookings have also improved, said Cook, but it said the season overall remained subdued. The UK programme is currently 91% booked, which is in line with last year. Mainstream bookings have improved since Cook last reported and are now down 9% down, which is broadly in line with planned capacity cuts, it said.
"As we stated in our first quarter results, we continue to expect 2011/12 to be a challenging year given the economic backdrop and difficult trading environment, particularly for winter," the company added in a statement.
"The trends which we saw in the first quarter have continued through the second quarter, but summer trading is more encouraging."
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Major rail disruptions around and in Berlin until early 2026