TUI Cruises expects to post profit
CEO: TUI Cruises will not be loss making on an operating level
FRANKFURT - Premium cruise ship operator TUI Cruises expects to post an operating profit in its current fiscal year as it sails on a wave of strong demand for cruise vacations, its chief executive said on Thursday.
"We will not be loss making on an operating level," Richard Vogel told Reuters in a telephone interview, adding that TUI Cruises's operating result was currently at the higher end of its expectation range.
TUI Cruises is a joint venture of German travel group TUI AG and Royal Caribbean, which floated its first ship last year and plans to add another ship in May 2011.
Start-up costs had weighed on the joint venture last year.
Cruise vacations have been high up on holiday makers' wish list for the past couple of years and bookings for cruises stayed up in 2009 while the travel industry overall struggled with weaker demand as a result of the global recession.
German travel association DRV said the number of German guests on cruise liners rose by more than 10 percent in 2009 to 1.4 million.
"We are optimistic that this (trend) will continue over the next few years," Vogel said.
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