Holiday company TUI is expecting to have a successful summer of flights this year as 2.8 million customers have booked holidays following the Covid vaccination rollout.
The world’s largest tourism company has said that it expects to run 80% of its normal capacity this summer, noting that “customer demand is strong.” Compared with the pre-Covid season in 2019, average prices have surged up to 20% as hopeful holidaymakers anticipate a summer break.
Preparing for summer holidays
TUI announced yesterday that “vaccinations and more rapid tests make an end to the standstill in tourism possible” despite warnings from officials that the future of the travel industry remains uncertain.
CEO of TUI, Friedrich Joussen said:” The more determinedly the vaccination campaigns are implemented, the faster we can return to true freedom to travel. We should do everything we can to quickly return to basic freedoms and make travel possible again.”
Warnings against booking holidays
However, UK’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Jonathan Van-Tam warned people against booking holidays with companies like TUI. “It’s just too early to say whether people will be able to plan getaways this summer. The more elaborate your plans, the more likely they are to be cancelled,” he commented.
Earlier today, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced new testing measures for travellers arriving into the UK. The new measures will come into place from next Monday and have been put in place in a bid to prevent new strains from entering the country. The Health Secretary said: “Everyone has a part to play in making our borders safe. I make no apologies for the strength of these measures because we are dealing with one of the strongest threats to our public health that we have faced as a nation.”
Currently international travel is banned without a permitted reason to do so and it is unknown when these restrictions will be lifted.
The TUI Group, headquartered in Germany, states on its website that “social action is at the core of our corporate culture.” Do you think TUI is being responsible by encouraging holidaymakers to book flights this summer? Let us know below.
