Hotels boost TUI performance

1TUI, Europe’s largest tour operator, said full-year earnings will probably beat its forecast after the company managed to keep its hotels and cruise ships full this summer even with a shift in business from the eastern to western Mediterranean prompted by terrorism attacks in Turkey, Bloomberg reported.

“The 2016 summer season was a particularly challenging time for tourism companies and airlines,” chief executive Fritz Joussen said. “We’re very strong in the Mediterranean. We’re investing in the Caribbean and Southeast Asia and in the expansion of our cruise ship fleet. This diversity makes our risks manageable.”

Tour operators rushed to shift airline seats and hotel reservations away from Turkey early this year after terrorist attacks and a failed coup made the country less attractive for vacationers, following similar incidents involving popular tourist sites in Tunisia and Egypt.

TUI’s performance contrasts with smaller UK rival Thomas Cook Group, which said on Tuesday that its prices and bookings in summer each fell 4 percent, following a profit- forecast cut in July.