The parent group of TUI, the UK's largest tour operator, said it hopes summer 2022 bookings will rebound near to levels seen before the pandemic as it revealed an annual loss of more than £2bn.
The travel giant said it is close to breaking even in the final three months of its financial year, to September 30, with a quarterly underlying loss of 97m euros (£82.7m).
But the firm admitted it is looking at proposals to cut the remainder of its winter programme because of the emergence of the Omicron variant and a fourth wave of the Covid pandemic in Europe.
It reported am annual group loss of 2.47bn euros (£2.1 bn), against losses of 3.15bn euros (£2.7bn) in 2019-20, as it continued to be hit hard by Covid-19 travel restrictions for much of the year.
TUI said the first quarter of the new financial year is 93 per cent booked, though it is still running 31 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.
Bosses hope summer 2022 will see a bounce-back close to 2019 bookings, but stressed customers are continuing to book later and at short notice.
TUI Group chief executive Fritz Joussen said: “Tui’s operating business is back and has recovered significantly in the last financial quarter of 2021.
“There will be flexibility in deciding whether to offer winter programme capacity at the lower end of the range depending on the so-called fourth corona wave and possible policy decisions with regard to the Omicron variant.
“Capacity plans are regularly reviewed and adjusted.”
The group is currently planning for winter programmes at between 60 per cent and 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
TUI announced 4.1m bookings have already been made across the group for winter 2021-22 and summer 2022 holidays, with more than 1.4m made since the beginning of October.
It added that holidaymakers are prepared to splash out on more larger budget holidays, with average prices around 15 per cent higher than in 2019 – with next summer’s average prices 23 per cent higher.
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.
