Travel firm Tui has seen a sharp jump in bookings for 2021 as customers make early plans for next year.
The UK’s largest tour operator said bookings for next summer were up by a “very promising” 145%.
News of a bounce-back came as Tui posted a €1.1bn (£995m) loss for the three months to June as lockdown brought the travel industry to a halt.
Tui’s travel operations restarted in Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and Egypt in mid-May.
Some of the new holiday bookings for 2021 are either amended bookings or holiday voucher bookings made by customers whose trips were cancelled as a result of the coronavirus lockdown.
In late July, Tui said it would shut 166 High Street stores in the UK and Ireland. Bookings plunged 81% for this summer and are 40% lower for a scaled-back winter programme.
And the industry’s hopes of saving the rest of this summer were dealt a blow with new restrictions travel to Spain, and growing worries that France could be put on a quarantine list.
But Tui said on Thursday it was now seeing “encouraging signs of customer demand” as travel restrictions globally start to ease.
Some travellers who have skipped holidays this summer or opted for staycations have said they intend to splash out on foreign breaks this Christmas and next summer.
Last month, travel firm Kuoni said bookings for December departures to Barbados were 30% up on the same point last year, while demand for the Maldives has increased by 20%.
