Hurricanes fail to blow travel giant off course

Thomson owner Tui has said it is on track for a double-digit surge in annual profits despite a hit from the recent devastating hurricanes across the Caribbean and Florida.

The travel giant said its “primary focus” has been on supporting holidaymakersinresortsimpacted by Hurricane Irma, as well as rebooking customers in alternative destinations.

Tui did not give an overall cost of the impact of Irma on its business, but a spokesman said it saw “lower double-digit” costs for cancellations, customer care and repatriation for holidaymakers across Florida, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and some smaller locations like St Martin.

But the group stuck by aims to grow annual underlying earnings by at least 10 per cent in the year to the end of September. It said this shows the “resilience of our business model and our ability to deal with such external unforeseen events”.

Tui has around a million holidaymakers a year in the Caribbean, which was hit badly by Hurricane Irma.