Thomas Cook reveals full impact of Turkey crisis on summer bookings
In its latest trading update, the Group revealed that bookings for summer 2016 are down 4% overall.
However, excluding Turkey, its bookings are 8% higher than this time last year.
In the UK, Thomas Cook took sold slightly more summer holidays this year than in 2015, but at lower prices.
It said the 5% UK price drop reflected the planned growth of its seat-only business, which has lower average selling prices compared with package holidays.
In Continental Europe, bookings are 9% lower than this time last year, reflecting continued weak demand, said the Group.
In Belgium, demand is ‘significantly’ down as a result of the terror attacks.
Overall, the Group said bookings remained in line with expectations.
Sales have been driven by demand for high-volume destinations including the Balearic and Canary Islands and the US, alongside smaller destinations like Bulgaria and Cuba, it said.
The summer 2016 programme is 89% sold for the Group, 3% below the same period last year.
Chief executive Peter Fankhauser said: "The Summer season has progressed largely as expected. Customers’ desire to go abroad on holiday has remained strong with the exception of Turkey where demand continues to be volatile.
"To date, sales for the winter season are in line with last year while sales so far for summer 2017 suggest that customers are booking early in an effort to secure their first-choice destination and hotel.
"We remain focused on ensuring that we have the right holidays available in the most popular destinations in order to meet changes in customer demand.
"At the same time, we continue to transform our business for profitable growth. We’ve taken big steps forward in recent months with the agreement of a new hotel sourcing partnership with Webjet and the launch of Thomas Cook China.
"However, we’re particularly proud of the improvements we’ve delivered in customer satisfaction thanks to the work we’ve done to strengthen the quality of our offering. We know that the increased loyalty we get from happier customers is key to driving the future success of our business."
Thomas Cook’s winter programme is 27% sold, consistent with the same time last year. In the UK, bookings are up 8% but prices are down 1%, reflecting the high mix of seat-only sales.
It said it had seen ‘an encouraging’ start to summer 2017 bookings, which are ahead across all source markets, particularly Continental Europe and Northern Europe. Overall, average selling prices are ahead of last year.
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
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