TUI Group says bookings are picking up after what Group CEO Sebastian Ebel described as a slow start to the year.
Speaking at the presentation of TUI’s 2025 first quarter results, Sebastian said: “Bookings have been slower. Turn of the year was slow. We have been in a catch-up mode for the last 10 days.”
The upturn in bookings includes the UK, which he said has shown ‘considerable improvement’, adding: “The market has picked up considerably in the last few days. The last two weeks have been significantly stronger than the turn of the year.”
Overall, summer 2025 is one third sold, with booking volumes up 2% and average sale price (ASP) up 4%. Sebastian said TUI has seen a ‘shift to more competitive prices’, such as to Egypt, Tunisia, Bulgaria, Albania. He said people are staying for slightly shorter durations, down from an average of 10-11 nights pre-COVID to 10.
He said Spain is now ‘fully booked’, adding: “We still see that families are booking less or later.”
TUI described the start of 2025 financial year as ‘positive’, reporting 3.7 million guests travelled with the operator in the first quarter, from October to December 2024. The figure is an increase of 6% year-on-year.
This resulted in a 13% increase in Group revenue to €4.9 billion, up from €4.3bn the previous year.
Sebastian said TUI had ‘put a lot of effort’ into working with UK independent agents, adding the operator sees the service that good consultants do and that customers who book through travel agents often buy a ‘higher end’ holiday.
TUI expects an increase in revenue of 5-10% year-on-year by the end of the 2025 financial year.
Sebastian said: “TUI is strategically well positioned. Thanks to our integrated business model, we create synergies between the two business areas Markets + Airline, with our tour operators and flight business, and Holiday Experiences, with our own Hotels, Cruises and TUI Musement. The roadmap is clear: We are accelerating our transformation and aiming for global growth.
“We set the course for that in the last financial year and will continue to deliver consistently in 2025. The first quarter shows: our strategy is paying off, operationally we are delivering. People prioritise their holidays even in times of change, and even in a challenging economic environment in Europe for almost all sectors. For 10 quarters in a row, TUI has successfully aligned trends, strategy and operational performance.”
