Berlin: TUI Group said annual profits would come in at the upper end of a targeted range after robust demand for summer holidays offset the impact of the Tunisian beach gun attack at the world’s largest leisure tourism group.
TUI said summer trading had been robust and it now expected underlying core earnings (EBITA) to rise by between 12.5 and 15 per cent in the current financial year, against a previous forecast for between 10 and 15 per cent. That came despite the impact from the beach massacre in Tunisia in late June which killed 38 mainly British holidaymakers, many of whom were on TUI holidays. TUI said the cancellation of trips to Tunisia had resulted in costs of around €10 million (Dh40 million or $11.1 million) in its third quarter, though that was lower than the £25 million (Dh143 million) profit reduction flagged by rival tour operator Thomas Cook from the events in both Tunisia and Greece.
