Hanover, 6 April 2023

2023 Easter holidays: Booking momentum remains encouraging, TUI customers prefer sunshine destinations

  • Bookings and trends for Easter holidays confirm strong demand across all markets for sunshine destinations: Canary Islands, Turkey, Balearics, Mainland Spain, Egypt, Greece 
  • Over 500,000 customers on holiday with TUI over Easter with load factor expected to be in the range of 95 per cent – broadly in line with pre-Covid levels
  • Customers continue to book at shorter notice and prefer package holidays and all-inclusive offers  
  • TUI Group CEO Sebastian Ebel commented: "Booking momentum remains encouraging with strong demand for Easter holidays. We anticipate capacities to be close to pre-pandemic levels, we expect a good Summer 2023."

For many people in Europe, the Easter holidays are the first opportunity to take a longer vacation and book a trip. TUI customers are currently particularly drawn to destinations around the Mediterranean as well as the Canaries which are the top holiday regions for the UK and the German market. Turkey, the Balearics, Mainland Spain, Egypt which offer guaranteed sun during this travel period as well as Greece are also top the popularity scale. More than 500,000 customers are on holiday with TUI over Easter with the load factor expected to be in the range of 95 per cent, which is broadly in line with pre-Covid levels. Sebastian Ebel, CEO TUI Group: "Booking momentum remains encouraging, and the travel trends and strong demand for the Easter holidays are a healthy signal for the upcoming summer. Our products and strong brand are popular and in high demand – in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and many other markets where people are looking for relaxation in the sun and active experiences. Based on trends to date and as we have said in March, we continue to anticipate capacity to be close to pre-pandemic levels. We expect a good Summer 2023."

When TUI presented its Q1 financials on 14 February 2023, it reported people's continued willingness to travel and a significant increase in booking momentum since the beginning of the year. The UK and German markets saw record individual booking days, and in the four weeks to 5 February bookings were around 10 per cent higher than pre-pandemic 2019 levels, with prices also being higher. Various studies support this development; customers do not want to give up holidays – despite the current economic uncertainties. TUI customers continue to book at shorter notice and prefer package holidays and all-inclusive offers.

About TUI Group

The TUI Group is one of the world's leading tourism groups and operates worldwide. The Group is headquartered in Germany. TUI shares are listed in the MDAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and in the regulated market of the Lower Saxony Stock Exchange in Hanover. TUI Group offers its 19 million customers integrated services from a single source and forms the entire tourism value chain under one roof. The Group owns over 400 hotels and resorts with premium brands such as RIU, TUI Blue and Robinson and 17 cruise ships, ranging from the MS Europa and MS Europa 2 in the luxury class and expedition ships in the HANSEATIC class to the Mein Schiff fleet of TUI Cruises and cruise ships operated by Marella Cruises in the UK. The Group also includes Europe's leading tour operator brands and online marketing platforms, for example for hotel-only or flight-only offers, five airlines with more than 130 modern medium- and long-haul aircraft and around 1,200 travel agencies. In addition to expanding its core business with hotels and cruises via successful joint ventures and activities in vacation destinations, TUI is increasingly focusing on the expansion of digital platforms. The Group is transforming itself into a global tourism platform company.  

Global responsibility for sustainable economic, environmental and social action is at the heart of our corporate culture. With projects in 25 countries, the TUI Care Foundation initiated by TUI focuses on the positive effects of tourism, on education and training and on strengthening environmental and social standards. In this way, it supports the development of vacation destinations. The globally active TUI Care Foundation initiates projects that create new opportunities for the next generation.