Travel firm Tui sees earnings jump by a third thanks to surging demand for holidays

Chief executive Sebastian Ebel said it had been a “very good year” for the group and said its strategy would “continue to deliver significant growth”.

But while Tui expects further growth in the new financial year, this will be at a slower pace, with revenues set to rise by between 5 per cent and 10 per cent and underlying pre-tax earnings to increase by 7 per cent to 10 per cent.

It noted rising costs and the timing of Easter this year.

Tui said: “This is against the background of a higher inflationary environment and our expectation that the first half of the year will be impacted by a higher seasonality for investment ahead of the summer and the shift of Easter holidays into the third quarter.”

While bookings and prices are ahead for the group for winter and summer, it is a more muted picture for demand in the UK.

UK winter bookings are flat on a year ago, with 62 per cent of its programme sold, while they are 3 per cent lower so far for the summer season with 27 per cent sold, though Tui said it had seen “strong momentum” in the past month.

The price of holidays rose across the group in the past year, and they are also running 5 per cent ahead for winter and 3 per cent for summer.

This is not just down to increased prices, with Tui saying it is also partly due to holidaymakers choosing more expensive trips.

The group said popular trips so far for next summer are led by short and medium-haul destinations, with Greece, Turkey and the Balearics leading the way.