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TUI CFO: Probably a longer season in 2021

2021-06-26T15:21:47.605Z


At Tui this summer it's all or nothing: will the restart work with enough business in the main season? Autumn and winter are also already casting their shadows.


At Tui this summer it's all or nothing: will the restart work with enough business in the main season?

Autumn and winter are also already casting their shadows.

Hanover / London - The spread of the delta variant of the corona virus and the desire for later bookings could, according to Tui, lead to an extension of the 2021 travel season.

CFO Sebastian Ebel told the news agencies dpa and dpa-AFX that he basically saw good chances of bringing the mutant, who was considered aggressive, under control: “We assume that there is still a high level of protection.” Overall, the booking development is currently solid .

Due to cautious customers, among other things, the largest tourism group is preparing for catch-up effects that could drag on until the end of the year.

"I would not be surprised if the summer season 2021 was to be longer first of all," explained Ebel.

"At least November should still be feasible without any problems, maybe it can even go until after Christmas here and there."

Warning to be careful

Tui takes advice on vaccination effectiveness from the founding director of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin, Stefan Kaufmann. The Delta variant will "also wane in England if more people there are vaccinated twice," said Ebel about the important market. In addition, one has to filter out people with asymptomatic courses through further tests: "We have done well in Germany so far, the issue is under control overall."

The Tui CFO called on vacationers to remain cautious at home so as not to jeopardize opening steps. He personally would keep the mask on if he went into public interiors. “But not when I'm sitting at a table or on a sun lounger,” says Ebel. “If at some point the incidences hopefully go to zero, one can certainly be more generous. Until then, I think it's good to take test opportunities as often as possible. This explicitly applies not only to holidays, but also to the child who goes to school again or to going to the shop. "

At the moment, Tui is feeling - despite the difficult situation in Great Britain with postponed further easing - an overall “very clear recovery”.

In the business quarter from July to September, more money will flow in than flow out, a turnaround to a stable peak season after the drastic slumps in 2020 is possible.

But some consumers may continue to wait in view of the not yet safe conditions everywhere.

"If, as in Portugal, openings and new closings alternate at intervals of a few weeks, that makes customers think: When do I book - now, or when the travel rules are clear?" Said Ebel.

Hope for good winter business

A longer season could also compensate for earlier losses for the classic southern destinations.

“That would be a huge opportunity for Greece in particular, as well as for Cyprus and Mallorca.

And the Canary Islands and Madeira in particular could be winners. "For winter 2021/22, Tui will have greater scope to react to the fixed capacities of flights and hotel beds:" It is difficult to estimate whether the next winter will be 70 percent or 130 percent compared to the previous year -Corona level will land in 2019. “We expect good business.

Tui is picking up on the trend towards more holidays in Germany.

There are “initiatives for new sources of revenue,” said Ebel.

“One of them is that we market accommodations without traveling, that is, the business that Booking.com also operates.

We have the greatest growth in Austria, followed by Germany and Croatia. "

In addition, it is not about building new hotels at home, but about the possible operation of other houses: “We can pick up customers more often because they may be on vacation in Spain or on a city trip, but may also want to do something in Germany again. According to the Tui board of directors, the package tour is experiencing a renaissance at the same time - risks of individual planning and the need for advice are the triggers.

Less down payments than normal times

The group was supported by the state and its private shareholders with billions in order to get back on track after the existence-threatening year 2020. Therefore, Tui 2021 is all about it. The prospects for sufficient liquidity are currently positive, said Ebel. “This change is also very important for the employees. We only had costs for months due to the closings, now things are clearly improving, you can feel it. "

It is crucial to “do a good operational job” in the coming weeks and months.

At the end of March, the total of the available advance payments was 1.9 billion euros, in normal years it would be more than double at the time.

"Because our level is the way it is, less can drain off," said the Tui CFO.

"The previous value should carry us through the winter well."

The net debt in the group was most recently at 6.8 billion euros.

"Half of these were leasing liabilities, for example for aircraft or hotels, which we do not have to refinance on an ongoing basis, but which are secured by our assets," said Ebel.

"Overall, we are solidly financed for the winter until there is a greater inflow of funds from operational business from January." Dpa

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-06-26

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