LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Tour operator Thomas Cook Group Plc. (TCKGY.PK, TCG.L) announced Tuesday that its Summer 2016 overall Group bookings remain in line with expectations, with strong demand for most destinations apart from Turkey. Winter 2016/17 bookings are in line with last year. For the full year, the company said its expectations for underlying operating profit remain in line with previous guidance.
In its pre-close trading update, the company said it is focused on delivering substantial progress in New Operating Model, including a new hotel sourcing partnership with Webjet and the launch of Thomas Cook China.
Excluding Turkey, Summer 2016 bookings are up by 8% across the Group as a whole, while including Turkey, bookings are down by 4%. Summer 2016 programme is 89% sold for the Group, 3% below the same period last year. In the UK, bookings are slightly higher than the prior year.
For Summer 2017, there is an encouraging start to bookings, which are ahead across all source markets at this early stage, particularly Continental Europe and Northern Europe. Overall, average selling prices are ahead of last year.
Peter Fankhauser, Chief Executive of Thomas Cook said, 'The Summer season has progressed largely as expected. Customers' desire to go abroad on holiday has remained strong with the exception of Turkey where demand continues to be volatile. To date, sales for the Winter season are in line with last year while sales so far for Summer 2017 suggest that customers are booking early in an effort to secure their first-choice destination and hotel.'
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX