Tui Group Chief Executive Sebastian Ebel said the impact on bookings of this year's hot weather was “very limited”.
Speaking from Tui’s HQ in Hanover on Wednesday as Tui posted its third quarter results, Ebel said: “Destinations are quite often cooler than here in Germany.
"Turkey last week was 30C, a very dry heat, very pleasant. Here, it’s 40C and very, very humid.”
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He acknowledged the recent wildfires near Madrid and Bordeaux, but insisted: “In the Med, we have had fewer wildfires than before, up to now. So there’s not been an impact at all.
"What we have seen is the shoulder season getting stronger, so it’s important for us to build offers in November, December, February and March.”
Ebel said the big impact on sales had been the war in the Middle East, which he said had dented confidence among UK consumers in Turkey and particularly Cyprus.
“Cyprus has been very, very difficult for the UK but has started to sell in the last five weeks," Ebel revealed. "We had to support the catch-up, but now it’s back to normal.”
He said local suppliers had supported offers. “We did not want to engage in putting additional money to it.”
Picking up
Tui’s summer 2026 UK booked revenue is down by 8% year-on-year, but Ebel said bookings generally were recovering, with the last four weeks running 7% ahead across all markets.
Nevertheless, third party flights had been reduced, he said. “We reduced risk capacity by 5% when we saw the challenges because we did not want to get into a price competition.” This meant Tui was able to fully utilise its UK fleet.
He added sales last week were “significantly better”, adding the operator “should fill very well our capacity this fiscal year and into October”.
Ebel said winter had started slowly, but with “a strong pick-up in recent weeks”. “We see a very strong normalisation that gives us very strong confidence for the coming years.”
Majorca was “fully booked”, he said, with flights 96% full. However, he said the US presented challenges.
“Maybe more in central Europe than the UK, people are looking carefully at the political situation," he explained. "Customers have the choice; if it’s not always clear how they’ll be welcomed, they go elsewhere.”
Looking further ahead, Ebel promised more seat-only sales on Tui flights and extra third-party flying for summer 2027.
New city hotels aimed at leisure travellers are another focus, with Tui Blue properties opening in Seville and Lisbon this winter.