Hannover, 2 March 2020

TUI Group – Statement regarding COVID-19

As indicated in our Q1 results on 11 February, Financial Year 2020 started exceptionally well in terms of booking trends which continued in January. Since the announcement of the first COVID-19 cases in Northern Italy, Tenerife and the related developments in other regions, in line with the industry, we have experienced weaker bookings in the last week, especially for our remaining, near-term and lower volume winter season. Due to the strong trading prior to last week, year to date bookings remain well above prior year. At this point in time, we only see a marginal effect on our operations, for example due to necessary re-routing of Mein Schiff 6 in Asia.

Given that the situation is still evolving, it is not yet possible to estimate the potential financial impact across our business of the current COVID-19 development. We are continuously monitoring the situation very closely and actively evaluating the implications for our business.

The health and safety of both our guests and employees remain our top priority. We have therefore set up task forces across all our markets and we are in close contact with the relevant authorities and ministries. All TUI companies, including hotel and resorts, cruise companies, airlines, follow predefined and established procedures to prevent infections and have increased their hygiene measures.

While actively managing the current situation for our customers and employees, our priorities remain as follows:

  • Driving additional and various cost measures such as budget reduction in administrative areas, hiring freezes as well as the postponement of non-critical projects.
  • Carefully reviewing options for capacity management, if needed.
  • Delivering on our four strategic initiatives towards becoming a more digital platform business and our Markets transformation programme.

TUI is experienced with handling external challenges, and therefore we are confident to deal with the current situation in the best interest of our stakeholders. Based on our resilient business model, the double diversification across our markets and destinations and our robust financial structure, we are well positioned to deliver sustained growth going forward.

ANALYST & INVESTOR ENQUIRIES

Mathias Kiep, Group Director Investor Relations
and Corporate Finance

Tel: +44 (0)1293 645 925
+49 (0)511 566 1425    

 

 

Nicola Gehrt, Director, Head of Group Investor Relations

Tel: +49 (0)511 566 1435

 

Contacts for Analysts and Investors in UK, Ireland and Americas

Hazel Chung, Senior Investor Relations Manager

Tel: +44 (0)1293 645 823

Corvin Martens, Senior Investor Relations Manager

Tel: +49 (0)170 566 2321

 

Contacts for Analysts and Investors in Continental Europe, Middle East and Asia

Ina Klose, Senior Investor Relations Manager

Tel: +49 (0)511 566 1318

 

Media

 

Martin Riecken, Head of Corporate Communications

Group Corporate & External Affairs

Tel: +49 (0)511 566 6020

About TUI Group

The TUI Group is one of the world's leading tourism groups and operates worldwide. The Group is headquartered in Germany. TUI shares are listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, in the regulated market of the Lower Saxony Stock Exchange in Hanover and in the FTSE 250, an index of the London Stock Exchange. TUI Group offers its 19 million customers integrated services from a single source and forms the entire tourism value chain under one roof. The Group owns over 400 hotels and resorts with premium brands such as RIU, TUI Blue and Robinson and 16 cruise ships, ranging from the MS Europa and MS Europa 2 in the luxury class and expedition ships in the HANSEATIC class to the Mein Schiff fleet of TUI Cruises and cruise ships operated by Marella Cruises in the UK. The Group also includes Europe's leading tour operator brands and online marketing platforms, for example for hotel-only or flight-only offers, five airlines with more than 130 modern medium- and long-haul aircraft and around 1,200 travel agencies. In addition to expanding its core business with hotels and cruises via successful joint ventures and activities in vacation destinations, TUI is increasingly focusing on the expansion of digital platforms. The Group is transforming itself into a global tourism platform company.

Global responsibility for sustainable economic, environmental and social action is at the heart of our corporate culture. With projects in 25 countries, the TUI Care Foundation initiated by TUI focuses on the positive effects of tourism, on education and training and on strengthening environmental and social standards. In this way, it supports the development of vacation destinations. The globally active TUI Care Foundation initiates projects that create new opportunities for the next generation.

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