Thomas Cook customers booking late in ‘volatile’ market
Customers are booking later this year in the ‘volatile market environment’, according to a trading update by Thomas Cook today.
Chief executive Peter Fankhauser said: "We know that customers want a summer holiday but we can see that some are leaving it later to book this year as they consider their options.
‘"Against this backdrop I remain confident that we are doing all the right things as a business. It’s clear also that customers value packaged travel more than ever and feel safer in our hands.
"The early actions we took to move flights away from Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt have positioned us well for increased customer demand to resorts in the Western Mediterranean, with strong sales to the Canaries, Balearics and the Spanish mainland in recent weeks.
"We have also seen an increase in sales to long-haul destinations such as the USA and Cuba as customers look further afield for their holidays."
Thomas Cook said its summer 2016 programme is 40% sold, below last year as it continues to ‘prioritise margins over volumes’.
It said market conditions remain challenging, with consumer confidence affected by continued disruption in certain key destinations.
The update said overall pricing is firm across the group, in line with this time last year.
Bookings are 5% lower than last year, while charter risk capacity has been reduced by 3%.
"The uncertain geopolitical environment is causing some customers to postpone booking their holidays, leading to a later booking pattern," it said.
"We are also seeing a marked shift in demand, with significantly lower bookings than last year to Turkey, and higher bookings to Spain, other European and major long haul destinations, including the USA and Cuba."
Looking forward, Thomas Cook said it would maintain its previous guidance for the full year, but added: "As highlighted at our last update, this is dependent on seeing a sustained recovery in customer confidence as we progress through the summer season."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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