Tui Travel says almost half of its UK sales were booked online this spring and early summer.
The German travel company, which trades in the UK through the Thomson.co.uk and firstchoice.co.uk websites as well as a network of shops, showed that 47% of UK sales were now ecommerce ones in the third quarter of its financial year. That’s up from 45% at the same time last year, but still short of the Nordics, where 69% of holidays were booked online (68% last time).
Since the company launched its MyThomson mobile app in June, it has been downloaded more than 120,000 times.
The update on online activity came as the company said underlying operating profits were up by 18%, at £87m, in the third quarter of its financial year, to June 30.
Unique holiday bookings in the UK rose by 14%, while 91% of its holidays were sold directly to customers.
“Our strategy of offering our customer unique holiday experiences continues to drive sustainable growth,” said Peter Long, chief executive of Tui Travel. “Our strong brands and market leadership position are fundamental in achieving this strategy. As we progress towards the end of the high season, 84% of our summer 2013 programme is now sold.”
