Tui cheers ‘best start’ to year amid strong demand for cruises
Tui said guest numbers lifted by 2.2% to 7.1 million compared with a year earlier, with packaged trips increasing by 8% year-on-year.
Travel giant Tui has hailed its “best start” to a financial year after it was boosted by strong demand for cruises and winter holidays.
The company said “robust” demand across Tui resulted in stable revenue at around 4.9 billion euros (£4.27 billion) for the quarter to the end of December 2026.
It said guest numbers lifted by 2.2% to 7.1 million compared with a year earlier, with packaged trips increasing by 8% year-on-year.
As a result, the Germany-based company held firm on guidance that it expects revenues to grow by between 2% and 4% over the current financial year.
Tui reported “strong development” in its cruises operation in the latest quarter on the back of high demand, increased occupancy and the expansion of its fleet.
As a result, underlying earnings in cruises jumped by 70.8% to 82.3 million euros (£71.8 million) for the quarter, as it increased the available number of passenger days, its preferred way of measuring capacity on cruises.
Meanwhile, its holiday experiences operation saw underlying earnings grow by 8.9% on the back of a new record period for its hotels and resorts.
Elsewhere, it highlighted that its markets and airline business has seen “robust booking momentum” for the current winter period and summer 2026, amid a boost from “higher average prices”.
Tui reported that the group’s underlying earnings before interest and tax jumped to 77.1 million euros (£67.2 million) from 50.9 million euros (£44.4 million) a year earlier.
Tui Group chief executive Sebastian Ebel said: “The first-quarter results meet our expectations and clearly demonstrate that we are achieving sustainable growth with our strategy.
“Holidays remain a priority. Our hotel and cruise businesses, as well as the tours and activities segment, continue to grow highly profitable.
“Markets and airline is also showing early positive results thanks to consistent transformation, the opening of new markets and ensuring high capacity utilisation.”
Shares in the company were nonetheless around 5% lower in early trading.
