Tui reports capacity scarce, prices strong Ian Taylor


Holidays will be “scarce” and prices “strong” this summer, with demand surging despite the rising cost of living, according to Tui chief executive Fritz Joussen. Europe’s biggest holiday group


revealed an average sales price for summer 2022 bookings 20% up on 2019 and UK sales 11% ahead of 2019. Joussen argued: “Customers are


spending 20% more [and] this almost all relates to longer holidays. “Instead of an average holiday of


8.5 days before the crisis, the average is 9.5 days.” The Bank of England has warned inflation will hit 10% this year and


Joussen acknowledged: “Historically, inflation influences demand.” But he insisted: “Capacity will be scarce and prices strong this summer. “Will inflation have an influence


later in the season? The scarcity of supply will be enormous. We’re consuming 10%-13% more hotel capacity per customer because of longer stays. Holidays will be scarce, particularly for July, August and September. You won’t see discounts. You will see limited availability.” He forecast: “The strong demand


will last. Everything will fill up. We expect a significant operating profit already this year.” The UK is leading Tui’s recovery


in Europe, with 41% of all group bookings, while Germany still lags


Nuttall creates support team to aid frontline staff


Robin Murray


A leading travel agency boss has restructured his business to allow frontline staff who are “on their knees” to focus on core sales or customer care roles. Speaking at Travel Weekly’s


Future of Travel Spring Forum, Travel Village Group chief executive Phil Nuttall said he had created a four-strong support team that “takes the pressure” off salespeople and the care team. “We’ve sandwiched the business


to protect salespeople so they can sell and we’ve protected care teams so


4 19 MAY 2022


they can talk to customers, deal with new bookings and try to bring the service levels back up,” he said. “To do that you have to put a


support team in the middle to take the pressure off salespeople and the care teams because otherwise they’ll leave the industry, end of.” A visibly emotional Nuttall told


delegates the step was necessary as staff come under pressure to deal with cancellations and changes in addition to forward sales. He said he and wife Paula were


working every day and night to provide support for customers. “Some people don’t get it, they


don’t see the human side of this,” he said. “People are on their knees.” The Advantage Travel Partnership


chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said said she could “understand” the emotion expressed by Nuttall. “My frustration is this is not


going to change tomorrow or in two months; there are too many issues,” she said. “The sector is not supported and we don’t help ourselves sometimes. Businesses cannot cope like this for evermore.” Gary Lewis, chief executive


of The Travel Network Group, described mental health and supporting members during the


The strong demand


will last. Everything will fill up. We expect a significant operating profit already this year


pre-crisis level sales, and Joussen noted: “The UK is where we have half our [airline] fleet.” He said Tui had no need to


raise prices to cover high fuel costs, adding: “The 20% higher prices cover the fuel price. The margin on the additional bednights is enough.” He did note: “We can’t decouple


the industry from inflation. If inflation stays it could affect demand,


but not this year and not, so far, for next year. The only indications we have for winter and next summer are in the UK, and for winter we’re 20% booked. We don’t see a slowdown. “But if inflation is sustained,


products will become more expensive. Prices will go up.” Ryanair, Europe’s biggest carrier,


confirmed plans to operate 15% more capacity this summer than in 2019, noting: “We expect to fill these flights with lower fares than pre-Covid.” However, it forecast peak summer fares “would be somewhat ahead” of 2019. Ryanair reported a loss of


€355 million for the 12 months to March, with its average fare falling to €27 against costs per passenger, excluding fuel, of €35.


Phil Nuttall (left) and


Gary Lewis


restart of travel as the “number-one challenge”, adding: “These agents never turned off their phones.” Lewis said the challenges were


felt particularly keenly by smaller members, a view echoed by Nuttall who said not all agencies had the finances or options to bring in additional staff as he had. Jenny Jackson, owner of Luxury


Travel Gurus, said agents like her were struggling under the weight of increased admin, long wait times and limited resources. “We are down and depressed,” she said. “I have got one telephone for anyone to get hold of me; the time issues are horrendous.”


travelweekly.co.uk


PICTURES: Sarah Lucy Brown


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