TUI Group

June is ending with a 100 percent occupancy rate for major hotel units in Greece, with the island of Crete (pictured) topping the chart of popular European destinations drafted by TUI Group, one of the biggest tour operators in Europe, based on bookings.

After having seen a decreasing demand from many Western and northern European markets, Turkey is back in fashion in summer season and has become the third most popular destination after Spain and Greece, Anglo-German travel and tourism company TUI has stated.

TUI holiday operator hopes to bring more German tourists to Cyprus next year, starting in the summer of 2019 while boosting efforts to make the island an all-year-round destination.

Europe’s largest travel group TUI said summer bookings for Turkey were recovering, echoing comments by rival Thomas Cook and adding to hopes that pressure on profit margins for tour operators may ease.

Summer bookings to Turkey by German travelers have gone up 70 percent compared with last year, Europe’s largest holiday operator TUI Group announced on Jan. 10.

European tourism group TUI is putting contingency plans in place for Britain’s exit from the European Union, it said on Dec. 13, aiming to address potential problem areas such as flying rights, visa requirements and changes in demand.

Greece is suffering as a result of the major deficit in tax and regulatory competitiveness in its hotel sector, according to top officials at two of the biggest foreign groups in the sector with considerable investments in the country.

Europe's largest holiday operator TUI Group plans to expand in Greece, it said on Friday, signaling confidence in the tourism-dependent country's efforts to emerge from a long economic crisis.

Turkey's OTI Holding has bought German tour operator Ferien Touristik for an undisclosed fee.        

Travel demand for Turkey seems to be coming back, while tourists have continued to pile into Spain over the last two years due to security concerns around other summer destinations such as Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey, the chief executive of the European tourism group TUI has said.