Thomas Cook shares up as holiday bookings on the rise despite two years of holiday hell in Turkey
Company to pay first dividend in five years as bookings for winter and next summer are up 2 per cent year on year
BRITAIN’S oldest travel agent THOMAS COOK is to pay a share dividend again after a five-year break as it revealed bookings are on the up.
The holiday firm’s share price shot up 10 per cent in early trading with investors encouraged by its optimism after a tricky two years.
Bookings for this winter and next summer are up 2 per cent year on year. While holiday sales in Turkey, formerly one of its biggest markets, and North Africa are still struggling after terror attacks, other destinations are booming.
Bookings to Greece for next summer are up 76 per cent year on year, while Italy is up 34 per cent.
Further afield bookings to the Dominican Republic are up 55 per cent and Mexico 40 per cent.
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Thanks to its deal with Chinese tour operator FOSUN, customers are even holidaying in China, as Brits seek out alternatives to traditional destinations.
It has also had a lift from the weak pound and expects profits to grow 6 per cent in the year to next September.
Chief exec Peter Fankhauser said he had “confidence” in its future, while admitting the market has been tricky.
It posted a 0.6 per cent fall in underlying profits for the year to late September to £308million.
But it will pay investors a “modest” 0.5p dividend per share, its first payout since 2011, in “a milestone for the business”.
Fankhauser said: “In what’s been a difficult year for tourism, I’m pleased with the progress made.”