Tourism – Hanover – Tui sees a comeback and wants to repay aid – society
Hanover (dpa) – Blaubtmann Fritz Joussen is in sight of corona-plagued tourism after two years of horror. Can a kind of new normal return next summer? As far as its own business is concerned, the world’s largest travel provider Tui appreciates: Yes – if everything continues as it was last in terms of Omikron and customer trust.
Overall, European consumers are already booking a lot for the 2022 peak season, although the figures for Germans are not quite up to the pre-pandemic level. But that should work in the expected months, Joussen emphasized on Tuesday. And when he appeared online in front of the shareholders, he promised: A first portion of government aid of over 700 million euros from the crisis would flow back in April.
“Demand is high across all markets,” said the Tui boss when presenting the interim results for the first winter quarter. The signs were relatively solid in the months of October to December: The group achieved sales of 2.4 billion euros – about five times as much as in the first Corona winter a year earlier. The bottom line is that the typical loss for the season was halved to around 384 million euros.
The decisive factor is how many people are going on vacation with the Hanoverians this year, especially in the warm months. While some earlier statements sounded more like functional optimism, Joussen is now underpinning his confidence with fresh figures: by the end of January, Tui was at least 72 percent of the summer bookings that were made at this point in 2019. The trend is pointing upwards – according to corporate circles, there was also a record daily turnover on the Internet.
A reduction in contact and travel restrictions is expected in numerous countries, added Joussen. For the Federal Republic, he expects far-reaching relief, perhaps by Easter. The pandemic is slowly losing its horror: “We have good vaccination levels and the first Covid drugs are coming. Everywhere in Europe, borders are opening and restrictions are being rolled back.”
Tui believes that customers are very willing to spend money. On average, people have so far used over a fifth more for their summer trips than in 2019. Many people wanted to treat themselves to something, which is reflected in higher-quality hotels, for example. If you only look at the Tui package deal, Germany, the travel world champion country, has already achieved the previous level of bookings. “We’re catching up.”
However, there is no reason for too early euphoria. Once before, in 2020, Tui had started the year with a strong increase in bookings. What then followed with the first Corona wave was all plans overturned and Tui in an existential crisis in which the German state had to rush to the rescue with billions in aid.
The federal government is contributing 4.3 billion euros to support Tui, including 3 billion in loans. The owners made additional capital increases, i.e. 1.1 billion euros in the fall and now again 1.7 billion euros, as the general meeting decided on Tuesday. According to the Tui leadership, an important goal is “legroom” to tackle the repayment of further state aid. The management may use the most recently added capital to replace a silent participation of the federal government. At the same time, further bonds may be issued, which can still be converted into Tui shares if necessary.
Taxpayer support has been controversial – critics say the board should have done better at homework in the years leading up to the pandemic. Joussen had previously drafted an austerity program that was then expanded during the acute crisis. He wants to have completed it “90 percent” by autumn, and by 2023 the expected costs are expected to have fallen by 400 million euros.
The measures fell victim to jobs worldwide. “7000 out of 8000 have been realized,” said Joussen about the deletions. Among other things, there was a row with pilots, cabin crew and travel agency teams, and at the airline Tuifly, in addition to severance payments, there were also layoffs. “We tried to avoid it,” said the boss. “But that didn’t always work.” In addition, many seasonal workers had to go to holiday destinations. Joussen said cuts will also be made at management level.
At the same time, further investments must be made. New hotels are being built – but Tui only wants to operate them in the future instead of owning them, fund investors will take over the financing. Overall, the hotel division was already making a profit in winter, and occupancy was “almost normal”.
In the cruise division, on the other hand, they will “come back to the summer of this year,” it said. In the first quarter of the year, the adjusted loss (32 million euros) fell to a good third of the previous year’s figure. 14 out of 16 ships are currently back in service. As important as Oceania is for Tui, environmentalists believe that their poor ecological balance sheet and the regular overcrowding of port cities should not last after Corona.
In response to a question from the umbrella organization of critical shareholders, Joussen assured: “A climate-neutral cruise operation is the long-term goal.” Heavy fuel oil is only used in models if special exhaust technology is installed. “And it’s important that we take care of LPG and shore power.” In the case of CO2-intensive flight trips, many customers have made it clear: “It doesn’t always have to be a trip to the end of the world.”
© dpa-infocom, dpa:220207-99-18202/7