Fosun Tourism Group on Thursday (19 August) posted a half-year loss (six months to 30 June) of some 2.065 billion yuan, approximately £233 million.

This is more than double the 997 million yuan (£113 million) loss it reported during the same period last year. Total revenue, meanwhile, fell from 4.527 billion yuan (£510 million) to 2.781 billion (£310 million).

"Due to the continued spread of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) since the first half of 2021, various countries have taken stringent travel restrictions which significantly and negatively impacted the resort operations of the group," said Fosun in a trading update.

Fosun was Thomas Cook’s largest single shareholder with an 18% stake when the iconic firm collapsed in September 2019; it acquired the Cook brand in November that year and relaunched it in China the following year as a lifestyle platform.

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The Cook brand was then relaunched in the UK in September last year as an online travel agent and in the first half of 2021, Thomas Cook UK’s business volume was 113 million yuan (£13 million).

Business volume in July, though, almost doubled on June levels, said Fosun, to 30 million yuan (£3.4 million) after the UK significantly eased its travel restrictions.

"In the first half of 2021, as affected by the pandemic, travel in the UK was significantly restricted," said Fosun. "Our business focused on upgrading digital platforms and launching brands in core European markets to gain awareness and scale."

Fosun added Cook’s relaunch as an OTA would allow the group to "further strengthen" its distribution capability in Europe and to diversify its offering. It plans to triple the size of its portfolio of Cook-branded properties by the end of 2023, which includes Casa Cook and Cook’s Club.

Club Med business volume, meanwhile, fell by almost two-thirds (64%) during Fosun’s first-half from 3.818 billion yuan (£430 million) to 1.368 billion (£150 million), with the majority of the impact felt in Club Med’s EMEA region where volume fell from 2.369 billion (£270 million) to 609 million (£69 million).

More than half of Club Med’s 63 resorts (35) are in its EMEA region; all Club Med mountain resorts in the Alps, with the exception of its Saint Moritz operation, were closed during the 2020/21 winter snow season (January to April) due, Fosun said, to the suspension of travel from all major source markets.

However, more than 60% of Club Med resorts globally (39) had reopened by the end of June 2021, allowing it to operate 58.4% of June 2019 capacity. Bookings for the six months to 31 December 2021, meanwhile, have recovered to 83.9% of levels booked for the six months to the end of 2019.

Fosun plans to open 16 new Club Med resorts by the end of 2023, eight of which will be in China.

Club Med on Friday (20 August) said sales through the trade for its ski properties ahead of the 2021/22 winter season were up 40% year-on-year. It comes after the 2020/21 winter season in Europe was all but wiped out by the pandemic.