Tui bookings to Turkey fall 40pc

The FTSE 100 giant behind Thomson and First Choice holidays has suffered a 40pc slump in summer bookings to Turkey over terror fears. Shares in Tui slid after the Anglo-German tour operator said it had experienced “a significant shift in demand away from Turkey” with tourists favouring safer destinations in Spain, the Canary Islands and Greece. Last month, 12 tourists – including 11 Germans – died in a suicide bombing in Istanbul. The suspected bombing of a Russian airliner leaving Egyptian resort Sharm el-Sheikh in October, and the June attack on a Tunisian beach have hit demand for travel. The attack in Turkey is troubling for Hannover-based Tui because the destination is popular with Germans. Last year, 14pc of its customers went there. Nevertheless, Tui’s turnover in the final three months of 2015 rose by 5.4pc to €3.7bn (£2.88bn) and it said it remained on course to grow profits by 10pc this year.