Summer 2022 could be as strong as 2019, says Tui

Tui on Wednesday said that since he start of the year, it has recorded "good demand and high booking momentum", with an additional 2.8 million bookings taken since the end of January. Total bookings for the winter 2021/22 and summer 2022 seasons currently stand at a combined 8.9 million.

"The overall booking momentum in our key markets remained largely unaffected by Russia’s war of aggression on our European neighbour Ukraine," said Tui. "Only in the Nordic countries and in Poland is booking behaviour more subdued since the start of the war.

"We expect to close the winter 2021/22 programme as expected with capacity in the low to mid-range of our assumed range of 60% to 80% of pre-crisis levels. Bookings are currently at 66% of winter 2018/19 levels, with 725,000 bookings added since the last update in February."

Tui said owing to strong demand, the lifting of Covid travel restrictions and a "later booking profile", it expected summer 2022 "to almost reach the normalised level of summer 2019".

"Bookings are currently at 80% of summer 2019 levels, with 2.1 million bookings added since the last update in February," said Tui. "The UK market continues to be the most advanced booked, with bookings up 14% on summer 2019 levels."

The operator said average pricing for winter 2021/22 and summer 2022 was also "holding up strong", up 14% and 20% respective with a higher proportion of package bookings compared with a normal year.

Tui said its cruise operation was, as expected, facing a "challenging first half", with port closures and other factors impacting itineraries. It said the trend towards later, shorter-term booking patterns would likely continue into the summer.