BUSINESS NEWS


Tui has added 1.1 million seats to its summer 2024 programme, while market leader Jet2 says its seat capacity for this summer is 7.2% higher than last year


Demand strong despite economic uncertainties


Confidence improves but more cost-of-living pressures predicted. By Ian Taylor


Outbound travel demand remains strong despite all the forecasts of a difficult year for consumers, with the outlook for the UK economy brightening considerably since we entered the January peak booking period. However, not all the economic


signals align one way, raising doubts as to how long the current market will remain as positive. Latest forecasts from the largest


travel firms support the case for continued growth. Tui UK launched its biggest-ever summer programme


48 27 APRIL 2023


last week, adding at least 11 aircraft and 1.1 million seats for 2024, with managing director Andrew Flintham noting: “We’ll need a bigger Atol.” Jet2 revised up the company’s


profit forecast for the 12 months to March and noted seat capacity for this summer is 7.2% higher than last year, with “pricing for package holiday and flight-only products strong and margins encouraging”. Yet the inflation rate in March


defied expectations of a fall by remaining at 10.1%, making a further interest rate rise likely at the next Bank


of England rate-setting meeting on May 11. The inflation rate will come down as the hike in energy prices a year ago falls out of the year-on-year comparison, but other factors – notably food prices – are now driving inflation. Annual food price inflation hit 19.1% in March and ‘core’ inflation, excluding food and energy, remained unchanged at 6.2%. So the signals remain conflicting and we must expect a lag between the


Continued on page 46 travelweekly.co.uk


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