London, United Kingdom. Tour operator Tui cut its operating profit guidance and withdrew its revenue forecast, saying the war in Iran had clouded demand and hit bookings to parts of the eastern Mediterranean. The company’s shares fell 2.6 per cent.
Guidance changes and booking trends
Europe’s largest travel operator said customers had partly shifted from eastern Mediterranean destinations to the western Mediterranean, with demand weakening in particular for Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt.
Tui said it now expects underlying earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the financial year ending September 30, 2026 to come in at between €1.1 billion and €1.4 billion. Previously, it had guided for growth of 7 to 10 per cent from €1.4 bn in 2025.
“While continuing to show strong operational improvement in the first half of the financial year 2026, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the uncertainty around its duration continue to limit short-term visibility and make consumers cautious,” the company said.
The company said caution was reflected in booking behaviour, with travellers waiting longer before committing to holidays and reserving trips closer to departure. Britain’s easyJet flagged a similar trend earlier this month.
Industry impact and quarterly outlook
The group, which operates its own airline fleet and hotels and is therefore more exposed to travel disruption and fuel pressures, joined carriers including easyJet and Wizz Air in warning about the fallout from the Iran conflict.
For the second quarter, Tui said it expects an improvement in emphasising EBIT, at constant currency, of between €5 m and €25 m, compared with a loss of €207 m in the same period last year.
Fuel hedging and customer repatriations
Tui said 83 per cent of its jet fuel needs for the coming summer had been hedged, helping it absorb some of the volatility in fuel markets.
Since the conflict escalated following the US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, Tui said it had repatriated around 10,000 people in March, including about 5,000 passengers from the cruise ships Mein Schiff 4 and Mein Schiff 5.
How has the shift in demand away from eastern Mediterranean destinations affected your travel plans?