TUI Maps Out 2027 Holiday Habits While Repair Delays and Job Cuts Keep Pressure On

TUI used a 2,000-person survey to sketch what travel will look like in 2027, publishing its "Traveltrends" study under the banner "Reisejahr statt Jahresurlaub" — a year of trips rather than one big annual holiday. The representative poll, fielded by Appinio on the company's behalf, identifies six vacation trends, among them a shift toward several short breaks in place of a single long escape, multi-generational cruises, and a concept the company calls "Hushpitality."

The outlook landed alongside a busy stretch of operational news, and investors marked it down modestly: the stock was off 0.5% today, a gentle pullback shadowing the flurry of announcements.

No Fuel Surcharges, and a New Pilot Pipeline

On the package-travel side, TUI UK & Ireland confirmed it will not levy retrospective fuel surcharges on its holidays. The airline arm is also building for the future: TUI Airways and Leading Edge Aviation launched a pilot-training partnership on 7 November, with the first cohort due to start in February 2027. Selected participants will receive a conditional job offer from TUI Airways.

The group's hotel brands are expanding too. ROBINSON announced on 5 November a second club in Soma Bay, Egypt, and plans a sweeping modernization of the existing ROBINSON SOMA BAY. Customer service has drawn recognition as well — on 6 November TUI picked up two honors at the International Customer Experience Awards: gold in the "Best Employee-Driven CX" category and silver for "Best Customer Service."

Cruise Program Set as Repairs Drag On

TUI Cruises unveiled the summer 2028 program for its Mein Schiff fleet, with eight ships slated to sail Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. Lerwick joins the itinerary as a new port of call, and Ravenna returns to the schedule.

Those plans sit against a tougher reality for the "Mein Schiff 3." Repairs following a collision are taking longer than expected, prompting the line to cancel a further Norway voyage scheduled for 14 to 28 November. At the time, regular operations were expected to resume on 28 November. TUI Cruises has said it will not pay commission to distribution partners for the cruise scrapped before departure, a decision reported on Friday and one that drew criticism from the cruise initiative, which pointed to what it considers an unresolved legal position.

Over at Marella Cruises, the trade team has been reshuffled: Gavin Enever was named the brand's first Key Account Manager and Conor Braniff its Trade Training Manager, both appointments effective Monday.

Back Office Reshaped

Behind the scenes, TUI's customer operations are being reworked as part of a digital transformation. According to media reports from 2 November, just over 140 positions are to be cut at TUI Customer Operations, with the German site among those affected by the planned changes.

Shareholders now have a date to circle: TUI has scheduled publication of its 2026 fiscal-year results for 9 December.