TUI reports no slowdown in UK holiday bookings following Brexit vote

TUI, the world’s largest travel and tourism company, reported no slowdown in UK bookings following the Brexit vote in June.

The tour operator said that “UK trading remains strong”, with revenue and bookings in the region up 6% in the third quarter.

“There has been no apparent slowdown in bookings as a result of the EU referendum, demonstrating once again the resilience of demand for our unique and differentiated holidays, distributed directly to the customer,” TUI said in a statement.

For the third quarter ended 30 June 2016 the group reported revenue of €4.597 billion, a 5.7% decline from the year-ago period.

Operating profit was up 1 per cent to £155 million.

The increase in UK sales was offset by lower volumes in the other markets “driven by lower demand for Turkey and North Africa and in the wake of the Brussels Airport attack.”

Chief executive Fritz Joussen said: “We are in a better position to cushion geopolitical challenges. No one is immune to external impacts.

However, it has been demonstrated that we have launched the right strategy, engage in active management and control, and have developed a sophisticated risk management system.”

TUI says that it is well positioned to deliver at least 10% growth in underlying EBITA in 2015/161 and at least 10% underlying EBITA CAGR over the three years to 2017/181 as previously guided.