TUI is upbeat about sales for summer 2020
A decision to launch its summer 2020 programme five months earlier than usual has paid off, says TUI, with over 100,000 Brits already booked up.
It says families in particular are booking early, taking advantage of initiatives such as free kids, low deposits and a recently launched direct debit scheme.
TUI launched its summer 2020 programme in November and on April 25 will add a further 2,000 hotels.
It said more than 60% of bookings have been for mid haul destinations such as Cyprus and Canaries while the Greek islands, including Rhodes, Kos and Zakynthos, are also performing strongly.
Florida has been a popular long-haul family option and more than 15,000 passengers have already booked 5T platinum hotels.
Commercial director Richard Sofer said: "We have seen a really positive response since launching our programme even earlier than usual and we are pleased to be adding further hotels to our 2020 summer offering."
But the grounding of the 737 MAX aircraft continues to disrupt TUI’s business this year.
Last week it warned that it will take a hit of around €200 million and expects a 17% drop in full-year profits year on year.
It predicted a further impact of €100 million if Boeing doesn’t find a satisfactory fix and the aircraft stays grounded until the end of September, resulting in a drop in profit of 26% compared to last year.
TUI has 15 737 MAX aircraft and had another eight due to delivery by the end of May.
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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