p12 tui sep26 24/9/08 17:57 Page 12
news tui travel report
ttglive.com
Talk of the demise of the package holiday is premature,
according to research commissioned by Tui Travel, which
Tui ‘in no hurry
marked its first birthday last week. Lee Hayhurst reports
to fill XL void’
Package holidays still
TUI TRAVEL managing direc-
tor Dermot Blastland said
the company would not be
rushing to fill the void in
taken by 53% of Brits
capacity left by the demise
of rival XL Leisure Group.
Describing XL as “not a
well-run business”, he said many of the routes
were not profitable enough for Tui to pick up.
Although XL was the UK’s third-largest operator,
its 20 aircraft were dwarfed by Tui’s 268.
Tui has decided to delay taking two aircraft out
of service next summer to add winglets, which
increase fuel efficiency by 4%, until the winter.
This will give it the flexibility to increase
capacity marginally depending on demand,
which Blastland (pictured) said he expected both
Tui and Thomas Cook would review.
“We could replace a quarter of XL’s flying with-
out having to put any more planes on,” he said.
“Quite a lot of their routes were marginal and
making a loss, like Sharm el Sheikh and Florida.”
Blastland said the problems at XL stemmed
from the fact that “as a distant third” in the
market it could not compete with the big two’s
cost base.
Consumers ‘will
TUI TRAVEL has claimed traditional holidays are on in-resort added-value
seek Atol stamp’
more popular than is commonly believed after gives it an edge over its
research found more than half of Brits had been big FTSE 100 rival CONSUMERS will increasingly look for Atol
on a package holiday in the last year. Thomas Cook. protection in the wake of recent airline and tour
The firm commissioned Mintel to look at Although the airline operator collapses, the Mintel research found.
Britons’ holiday habits to mark Tui Travel’s first and distribution divisions Airline failures including Maxjet, Silverjet,
birthday since last year’s merger with First Choice. of its business remain important, Tui considers Eos and Zoom, and the collapse of XL, the UK’s
The survey found that while 47% of people itself to be more of a hotel specialist and third-largest operator, has highlighted gaps in
had travelled purely independently, 42% had has been investing heavily in the in-resort consumer protection (TTG September 19).
been on a package and 11% had been on both in experience. Mintel concluded these high-profile failures
the last 10 months. Tui is confident it can maintain prices by “will mean many travellers will adopt a cautious
Because government figures, collated via the stressing the quality of the product as opposed approach to booking”.
International Passenger Survey, count only to selling cheaply and having to drive up Dermot Blastland, Tui Travel’s UK managing
customers who have bought holidays for an incremental revenues in resort. director, who last week called on the government
inclusive price, Tui believes this underestimates As a result, reps are making a comeback but to create a level playing field for consumer
the numbers. their focus is now more on customer service than protection, said: “The government and the CAA
UK managing director Dermot Blastland said: hard selling extras such as excursions. should say we either ignore protection and let
“I’m frustrated when I hear of the death of the Tui also claimed 70% of its bookings are now people sort themselves out, or make sure that
package holiday. for its own hotels, like Thomson’s Sensatori everything that is sold is protected.”
“Taking Mintel’s research and our own Resort (pictured), or those with which it has The prospect raised by former Tui boss Peter
together, we are firmly of the opinion that half exclusive 10-year contracts. Long that the operator would put an increasing
of all holidaymakers are travelling on packages. The company claimed this made Tui the amount business outside of the Atol scheme has
“And Mintel also predicts that this figure will market leader in all the UK market’s top overseas now receded. Tui Travel said all but a handful
continue to grow.” destinations except for Turkey and Cuba, where of its flights were now charter and therefore
Tui believes its new strategy of concentrating Thomas Cook holds sway. protected even if sold as flight-only.
12 26.09.2008
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