Holidays giant Tui Travel today reported a surge in bookings for next summer as families look to escape the dismal British weather.
The owner of the Thomson and First Choice brands said UK bookings for next summer were already up 10 per cent against the same period last year.
And the European travel giant’s programme for this summer is now almost fully sold after an improvement in UK booking trends over the last two months.
Sales in its key UK market were up 5 per cent for this summer as a whole after a 10 per cent rise in average selling prices offset a 6 per cent reduction in capacity.
There was an improved trend in overall summer bookings from the UK, down 2 per cent in August and September against the 5 per cent decline in the rate seen at the end of July.
As well as the poor weather, a weakened euro has proved attractive for many Britons opting for short-haul destinations such as Majorca, Ibiza and Menorca.
However, the weaker euro is a double-edged sword for Tui as the exchange rate is also impacting profits from its northern and central European markets.
The firm is due to announce its full-year results on 4 December and chief executive Peter Long said: “We remain on track to meet our full-year expectations, with strong underlying trading offset by the impact of re-translation of fourth quarter eurozone earnings.
“Our continued outperformance in a challenging macroeconomic environment demonstrates our robust strategy is delivering clear results.”
Shore Capital analyst Greg Johnson, who rates Tui’s shares as a “buy”, described today’s trading update as “robust” and said he was sticking to his forecast for a pre-tax profit of around £371 million for the year to 30 September.