TUI Group ready to resume travel activities / Pandemic halts strong start to financial year 2020 / Global realignment and cost reductions decided / Group transformation to be accelerated

TUI is ready for an early resumption of travel activities in Germany and Europe.

Release time : 2020-05-22 14:23:08

source : tuigroup

TUI is ready for an early resumption of travel activities in Germany and Europe. Barely two months after almost all business units had to be shut down due to the worldwide travel bans, the tourism group is prepared for a resumption of its operational activities. TUI's first hotels on Sylt and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania will open their doors for guests in the coming days. TUI's hotels and clubs in European destinations are also ready to welcome holidaymakers. A 10-point catalogue for increased hygiene and protection measures is currently being implemented in the Group's hotels worldwide, offering guests the greatest possible safety. Fritz Joussen, CEO TUI Group: “The safety and well-being of our guests and employees around the world continue to be our top priority. Summer holidays in Europe can now gradually be made possible again - responsibly and with clear rules. Organised travel offers great advantages especially now: With the trusted TUI brand, we offer safety, local support and, in special situations, guarantee the return journey home. Together with the destinations and our partners we have developed extensive measures to protect our guests. The demand for holidays is still very high. People want to travel. Our integrated business model allows us to start travel activities as soon as this is possible again. The season starts later, but could last longer. For 2020 we will also reinvent the holiday: New destinations, changed travel seasons, new local offerings, more digitalisation.”

In mid-March, before the end of the first six months of the 2020 financial year, the Group had to suspend operational travel activities due to COVID-19 and the resulting worldwide travel bans. Up to this point, the world's leading tourism group was on track: in the first five months of the fiscal year, turnover increased by six percent to 6.0 billion euros. Excluding one-off effects operating underlying EBIT amounted to -240 million euros