Maria Eracleous
The tourist giant TUI gives optimistic prospects for this year's tourist traffic, which announced increased revenues of 2.37 billion euros in the first quarter of 2022, compared to the corresponding quarter last year (468 million euros). During the presentation of the group's data, increased bookings were also announced for this summer comparable to pre-pandemic levels.
During this period, there is still a trend towards short-term bookings, however, confidence seems to be building and, consequently, holiday bookings are also increasing significantly.
As of January 30, 3.5 million TUI customers had booked travel for the summer of 2022, a figure that corresponds to about 72% of the summer 2019 level for the same period. However, up until today, new bookings have exceeded 100% of the level it was in the summer of 2019, therefore, there is an expectation that bookings for the summer of 2022 will reach pre-pandemic levels.
Equally important is the amount of money travelers will spend on their summer vacations. They are spending more and allocating a higher budget.
Specifically, the average prices increased further to +22% compared to the previous year. According to the company, this is primarily due to the increased demand for organized holidays as well as for higher value offers and additional services, such as hotel or room upgrades.
"We expect a strong summer of 2022. There is strong demand from customers and we see this in all European markets. The last two financial quarters have shown that the Group continues to stabilize. Every step towards normality gives people confidence and the demand for vacations increases. Despite the continuing trend towards very short-term bookings, we are seeing strong demand for the coming summer of 2022." notes the CEO of the group.
