TUI: “This year’s fires have had a limited impact on travellers”
Source: Tornos News
TUI CEO Sebastian Ebel has said that the forest fires that have been raging in Europe this summer have not had a significant impact on the group’s customers, noting that the consequences are “significantly smaller” compared to 2023.
Speaking on the occasion of the announcement of the company’s quarterly (April-June) and nine-month financial results, Ebel stressed:
“Every fire is a negative development. However, this year countries appear better prepared. We have not had to remove any customers from hotels – it is more of a phenomenon that we see in the media.”
He added that he does not expect a significant impact on bookings, “unless a large fire breaks out in the immediate vicinity of a tourist hotel.”
Contrast with fire intensity data
The picture presented by TUI contrasts with data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), which shows that 1,628 fires larger than 30 hectares have been recorded since the beginning of the year until last week, compared to 1,089 in the same period last year. The area burned is more than double that of 2023.
The EFFIS Fire Weather Index predicts that “extreme to very extreme conditions” will continue “across the continent”, with particularly high risks in northwestern Spain and Portugal, much of France, the Balkans, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Austria and Hungary, as well as parts of Sweden, Norway and eastern Finland.
Thousands of firefighters continued to battle major blazes in Spain and Portugal over the weekend, with temperatures in parts of Spain reaching 44°C on Saturday.
In Greece, evacuations were carried out on the islands of Kefalonia and Zakynthos last week, while in July the British Foreign Office issued an active travel warning for wildfires in Cyprus. However, the Cyprus Hotel Association said hotels had not been affected.
Strong profitability despite challenges
On a financial level, TUI announced a net profit of €225m for the April-June quarter, more than double the same period last year. Turnover rose by 7% to €6.2bn, despite summer bookings being down 2% year-on-year.
This positive picture, according to the company, shows that demand for travel remains strong and that travelers are not discouraged by the increased frequency of extreme weather events in Europe.
The original article: belongs to Tornos News .
