TUI Travel saw losses increase during the three months to December 31st, as a fall in the number of trips to north Africa hit sales.

In total the tour operator – which owns Thomson and First Choice Holidays – lost a total of £109 million over the period, up from £86 million during the same period a year earlier.

Crawley, England-based TUI Travel said today revenue rose 4.7 per cent to £2.85 billion.

“As anticipated, underlying operating loss for the quarter increased principally due to lower demand for North African destinations,” chief executive officer Peter Long said in the statement.

“Our performance remains in line with our expectations.”

However, the present picture is rosier, TUI Travel said.

Summer bookings outpaced the market during January, with cumulative bookings in the UK as of January 29th seven per cent lower.
This compared with an 11% decline as of November 29th.

Meanwhile, bookings were flat in January alone, compared with a 14 per cent decline in the market as a whole.