Sun seekers are turning to package holidays in Europe as soaring hotel and flight prices revive demand for the all-inclusive deals that had fallen from favour, bolstering the balance sheets of some travel companies. The combination of a cost-of-living crisis and disruption from strikes and glitches has added to the appeal of a fixed-price package without unexpected add-on costs and easier redress when things go wrong. After years of travellers using the internet to compile their own itineraries, travel analysts say a trend of buying a ready-made package that began last year has accelerated this summer, the busiest for travel since the pandemic. FILE PHOTO: People cool off at the Mediterranean Sea on La Malagueta beach on a hot summer day in Malaga, Spain, July 27, 2024. REUTERS/J...
Read MoreTag: TUI
TUI, the world's largest holiday company, is seeing growing demand for travel despite the energy crisis and double-digit inflation, the company said on Monday, as it sets its sights on strong business in the summer of 2023. The number of people booking early for the popular summer holiday season was up on the same period last year, said Stefan Baumert, the head of the group's German business, upon presenting the company's 2023 summer programme. FILE PHOTO: The outside of the TUI travel centre is seen in Harpenden, Britain. REUTERS/Paul Childs Rather than giving up on vacationing altogether due to high living costs, consumers are instead choosing new destinations or tweaking the duration of planned trips. "We are optimistic for the coming year because interest in travel is high...
Read MoreHoliday group TUI expects the highest level of demand for Greece on record this year, its director of Communications Aage Duenhaupt told Athens news agency on Sunday. Tourism accounts for about 20% of Greece’s gross domestic product and has a crucial role in helping the economy to emerge from a decade-long debt crisis followed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Foreign visitors are flocking back to Greece's islands and ancient monuments, raising hopes for its vital tourism industry after a turbulent two years, though the impact of high inflation means a return to normal may still be some way off. A view of a beach in front of the Cape Sounio Grecotel Resort, in Cape Sounion, near Athens, Greece, June 23, 2022. REUTERS/Vassilis Triandafyllou Greek tourism suffered its worst ever year in...
Read MoreTUI, the world's largest holiday company, is seeing a rise in holiday bookings towards pre-pandemic levels, the head of the group's German business told a newspaper. "Our customers have some catching up to do," Stefan Baumert told the Funke group of newspapers. FILE PHOTO: A sign is seen from the outside of the TUI travel centre, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Harpenden, Britain. REUTERS/Paul Childs "We are convinced that we can get close to the level of 2019," he said, adding he expected travelling to be easier this summer due to fewer restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. TUI last month said summer holiday bookings were approaching pre-COVID levels on pent-up demand, with a steady recovery in Britain since restrictions and testing rules were...
Read MoreThe docking of the Europa passenger liner in Cape Town on Tuesday was meant to be a ribbon-cutting celebration marking the official start of the cruise ship season in South Africa's top tourist hub, the first since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. But international travel curbs on southern Africa, where the new Omicron coronavirus variant was first identified, have blown expectations of a bumper tourist season out of the water. Gulls are seen as the Europa passenger liner arrives to South African waters, as the new coronavirus variant Omicron spreads, in Cape Town, South Africa, November 30, 2021. REUTERS/Shelley Christians The multi-storey, white luxury liner is the first to dock at Cape Town since South Africa imposed a total ban on all cruise ships entering local ports in March 2020...
Read MoreWith travel demand expected to return slowly, TUI is turning to alternative markets such as the growing trend for a combined travel and remote working experience as it launches a new ‘workation’ package in a bid to become a leading provider of this new travel service, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. Gus Gardner, Associate Travel and Tourism Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Due to the pandemic working from home is now standard practice for many and workations could rise in popularity as more work flexibility is introduced as the nation heads back to the office. TUI has recognized this growing trend early and designed their package with remote working essentials in mind including Wi-Fi and a dedicated workspace in 30 of its global hotels. Remote working could beco...
Read MoreHoliday company TUI Group expects a strong 2021 summer season and will operate 75% of pre-pandemic capacity, with rising levels of vaccinations set to fuel last-minute bookings, it said on Wednesday. The pandemic has hammered TUI, the world’s biggest holiday group, and while it sunk to a 1.3 billion euro ($1.6 billion) loss for the six months to the end of March, it said that the worst was behind it as European resorts start to reopen. FILE PHOTO: TUI logo is seen at the TUI travel center following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Britain, July 28, 2020. REUTERS/Carl Recine New bookings have doubled since April, with customers from Germany and Belgium driving demand for holidays after winter lockdowns, and the group expects UK bookings to ca...
Read MoreSignalling a trend of things to come in not just UK but in travel industry at large across the globe, holiday company TUI said it would shut 48 retail stores across Britain, adding to the 166 it has already closed there during the pandemic. A woman walks past the TUI travel center, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Harpenden, Britain, March 24, 2021. REUTERS/Paul Childs The shop closures will mean additional cost savings for TUI, which is headquartered in Germany and has relied on state-bailouts to help it survive the travel restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. “The travel industry and the British high street are both facing unprecedented pressure. We can therefore confirm that we are proposing to close 48 retail stores,” TUI said in a statement o...
Read MoreBritons rushed to book foreign holidays after the government laid out plans to gradually relax coronavirus restrictions, giving battered airlines and tour operators hope that a bumper summer could come to their rescue. Bookings flooded in on Monday evening and Tuesday following the government’s announcement on Monday that travel could restart from mid-May, with Spain and Greece the most popular destinations, airlines and holiday companies said. However, travel industry is yet not happy with the announced plans, as it feels that delaying the return of international travel until at least mid-May, could mean the Travel & Tourism sector simply won’t survive and struggling SMEs will just disappear. EasyJet said that bookings on its flights from Britain for this summer had jumped b...
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