Tourism: TUI benefits from the desire to travel – booming cruises

The travel group TUI has claimed the best result in current business in the third business quarter since 2014. From April to June, sales increased by a good seven percent to 6.2 billion euros compared to the previous year, as the company from Hanover listed in the MDAX announced. The operational profit (adjusted EBIT) adjusted for special effects had increased by 38 percent to 321 million euros. A surplus of 183 million euros was lost after 52 million in the same period in the previous year.

The main drivers were again the company’s own hotels and cruises in the “holiday experiences” segment, it said. The hotel brands Riu, Tui Blue and Robinson Club have reached the record level of the previous year. The cruise division with TUI Cruises, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and Marella Cruises, on the other hand, achieved a record result-supported by two new ships, a 33 percent extended capacity and a fully occupied fleet.

Tui had already announced on Tuesday to raise his profit forecast for the financial year, which was running until the end of September.

Summer business weaker

For the summer business, TUI records around two percent fewer guests in the organizer area than in the previous year, in Germany even five percent less. The prices were three percent higher. Ebel said you don’t have to take “the last customer” with you where you don’t earn anything. About 86 percent of the package tours offered for the summer were sold by the beginning of August.

Late bookings and external influences

According to the company, many customers book their trips later than in previous years and pay more attention to weather conditions or geopolitical developments such as the conflict in the Middle East. In order to counteract, TUI also offers discount vouchers. The recent heat waves could lead to more customers decided to travel in September or October, said Ebel.

In the third quarter, TUI counted 5.9 million guests, a little less than in the same period of 2019 in front of Corona pandemic than 6.0 million.

View of winter and digitization

The start of the 2025/26 winter season was “extremely positive”, it said. TUI has increased the flight and hotel capacities slightly and wanted to rely more on long-distance trips in winter.

EBEL also referred to the advantages of the integrated business model and the expansion of digital sales channels. The sales achieved over the TUI app rose by 42 percent. New offers such as the TUI Tours platform, in which customers could individually put together several days of travel, should expand the range of offers.