The UK market remains Tui’s most advanced, more than two-thirds (64%) sold for summer 2023 – and currently running 10% ahead of pre-pandemic levels.
Given recent positive booking trends, we are confident for our assumption that capacity for summer 2023 will be close to normalised summer 2019 levels," said Tui in a second-quarter (three months to 31 March) trading update on Wednesday (10 May).
Total group-wide bookings for summer 2019 currently stand at 96% of summer 2019 levels, up 13% year-on-year during the quarter, with bookings in the past six weeks exceeding summer 2019 levels at higher average pricing.
"Tui has taken 12.9 million bookings across winter 2022/23 and summer 2023, with approximately 4.2 million bookings added since the Q1 2023 interim report as the strong booking momentum continues," said Tui.
The airline, operator and agent said average pricing was currently 5% above 2022 levels, rising to 8% on a like-for-like basis when excluding rebookings from previous seasons.
Compared with summer 2019, though, the difference is substantial, with average prices for the upcoming summer now 26% higher than they were at the equivalent stage prior to the pandemic.
Chief executive Sebastian Ebel said he would personally ensure the company returns to its "former strength" after weathering Covid and paying back state aid provided the German government.
Tui has so far taken 8.3 million bookings for summer 2023, approximately 55% of its overall summer programme, with sales running two percentage points ahead of where they were at the same point in time for 2022 and "broadly in line with summer 2019".
"Overall, bookings for summer 2023 are 13% higher than last year and at 96% of pre-pandemic levels," said Tui. "Booking momentum has remained strong in the past six weeks and is 6% higher than summer 2019."
In its northern region, which spans the UK, Ireland, Nordics and Canada, Tui’s Q2 earnings (before interest and tax) improved by €33.4 million from a €180.9 million loss to a €147.5 million loss.
Tui’s cruise brands, Tui Cruises in Germany and Marella Cruises in the UK, operated a full fleet of 16 ships during Q2, with occupancy ranging from 67% to 95% and available passenger days increasing by nearly 50% to 2.4 million.
Its cruise segment recorded its fourth consecutive positive quarter for earnings, with the average daily rate for Tui Cruises up 1% year-on-year and occupancy 23 percentage points up on the same period last year.
