Tui rules out Sousse return for summer 2019

Richard Sofer, commercial director, told TTG the travel giant had “seen demand slightly higher” than originally forecast.

The operator put a “modestly sized” programme to Hammamet on sale in January with flights operating from May 1.

It followed the Foreign Office updating its travel advice last year, permitting travel to the majority of the previously popular country.

When asked whether the interest could see an expansion of Tui’s programme in Tunisia, Sofer said it would “continue to respond to customer demand”.

A Tui spokesperson later confirmed to TTG that there would be a “small increase” in the operator’s Tunisia programme for summer 2019 but the destination was not considered to be “a core growth area” for the company.

The spokesperson added that any expansion in Tunisia would not include a return to Sousse, where 30 British Tui customers were killed in a terrorist attack in June 2015.

Sofer was speaking ahead of Tui’s summer 2019 programme launch which he branded “the most ambitious ever”. It is also the first released since Thomson was rebranded to Tui in October.

He added the switch had “gone extremely well” and the operator was “exactly where we want to be post-rebrand” in terms of consumer awareness.

Close to 50% of new routes will take customers to Croatia, Greece and Turkey, while 200,000 seats will also be available to Cape Verde.

Touching on the resurgence of Turkey, Sofer said he believed it would take “a few more seasons” for UK passenger levels to return to previous highs, but said the country was “definitely an area where we’ve seen strong growth”.