Sunseekers lift bookings for travel firm TUI

TUI Travel has flagged a solid rise in summer bookings after first-quarter trading was boosted by customers seeking more exclusive, five-star holidays.

Issuing a trading update ahead of its results, the group said overall bookings were up between 8 and 16 per cent in its key markets on demand for "differentiated", higher-margin products, such as five-star Sensatori hotels or holiday villages for families. TUI had a difficult year in the UK, with bookings hampered by airspace closures caused by the volcanic ash cloud, uncertainty around government spending cuts and the better-than-average UK weather at the start of the summer. But business picked up towards the end of the year.

The group added yesterday that snow disruption in the UK and political unrest in Tunisia had hit bookings in the past month. However, cumulative winter bookings to 16 January were up 3 per cent, and the company stressed it was on target to meet its expectations for the winter season.

Wyn Ellis, an analyst at Numis Securities, said the trading update was solid but that he had "little confidence in the underlying trading outlook, particularly in the UK".