Thomas Cook announced on Tuesday summer bookings were up 10% and their Winter programme was 90% sold in trading statement that pointed to a gradual recovery in the business.
The travel firm noted they were once again seeing and uptick in demand for holidays in Turkey and Egypt were they had recently seen declines following concerns over security of the destinations.
Winter trading was broadly flat when compared to last year as bookings rose 1% but the average selling price was down 1%.
Thomas Cook CEO, Peter Frankhauser, said of the update:
“Customers’ appetite to go abroad on holiday this summer is good across all our markets despite continued political and economic uncertainty. Our decision to expand our holiday offering to Greece has helped support customer demand, with bookings to Greece up by around 40% versus last year, while smaller destinations like Cyprus, Bulgaria and Croatia are also proving popular. After a slow start to the season and a tough year in 2016, we’re seeing early signs that customers are beginning to go back to Turkey and Egypt.”
“Following strong growth last year, bookings to the Spanish Islands have levelled off in a very competitive market. Competition is particularly intense in the airline sector, putting downward pressure on pricing.”
“As we look ahead to the rest of the year, I am confident that the work we’re doing to strengthen the quality and appeal of our holiday offering will win more fans for Thomas Cook, demonstrating continued progress in our transformation to put our customers at the heart of the business.”
