Holiday bookings hold firm as Britons shrug off costs

THOMSON owner Tui has said British holidaymakers have shrugged off the soaring cost of overseas trips from the Brexit-hit pound as summer bookings held firm.

The group said UK bookings were “as high as the previous year”, while customer numbers lifted 5% in the third quarter thanks to the later timing of Easter. Tui also cheered strong demand for core European destinations after it switched away from Turkey and upped its group-wide sales outlook for the year.

It is expecting annual turnover to rise by more than 3%, while Tui also said it made an underlying profit for the first time over the first nine months of its financial year - a period that traditionally sees seasonal losses.

Chief executive Fritz Joussen said the group was in “excellent shape”.

He added: “We have significantly reduced the seasonal swing of our business. For the first time, we have delivered a positive operating result for the first nine months of a financial year.”

The group confirmed it expects annual underlying earnings to rise by at least 10%, having notched up a 37.7% surge to €221.6m (£200m) in its third quarter, thanks to a boost from Easter and the impact of the weak pound on UK sales.

With this stripped out, third quarter earnings rose by 18.7% to €191m (£172.7m). It delivered nine-month earnings of €7.3m (£6.6m) against losses of €45.5m (£41.1m) a year earlier.