The city of Ermoupolis (also called Ermoupoli) is located on the Greek island of Syros.
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LONDON – Travel stocks in Europe soared on Tuesday morning, as customers rushed to make new reservations after the UK announced its four-step plan to end restrictions on coronavirus.
The shares of Tui, a German travel group, rose almost 7% at the beginning of the European trading session. The International Airlines Group, which owns British Airways and Iberia, also shot more than 6% and the shares of German airline Lufthansa jumped more than 4%.
The sector has been hit hard by coronavirus restrictions, with people being advised not to travel abroad and having to face strict quarantine policies if they do.
However, on Monday afternoon, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed his four-step plan to lift all social restrictions by 21 June and this has led to an increase in new reserves.
EasyJet said on Monday night that it experienced a 337% increase in flight bookings in the UK and a 630% increase in holiday bookings after the government’s announcement. Tui also said that reservations increased by 500% overnight.
There is a huge desire to be out there and see the world and that repressed thing will come back, it’s just a matter of time.
Keith Barr
CEO of IHG Hotels & Resorts
Greece, Spain, Turkey and Portugal are among the main destinations in the new reserves.
Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet, said in a statement: “We have consistently seen that there is a pent-up demand for travel and this increase in bookings shows that this signal from the government that it plans to reopen travel has been what UK consumers have been waiting for.”
Andrew Flintham, managing director of TUI UK and Ireland, said in an email that the Prime Minister’s announcement “was positive and shows that, working with the travel industry in a risk-based structure, our customers will have the opportunity to travel abroad this summer. “
The United Kingdom is lifting restrictions on coronavirus in four stages starting on March 8, with the reopening of schools, but the whole process will depend on the evolution of the epidemiological situation.
The government also said it is reviewing restrictions on international leisure travel and will announce the changes on April 12.
“We know that there are customers who want to travel, there is a great desire to be out there and see the world and that this repressed will come back, it is just a matter of time,” Keith Barr, CEO of IHG A Hotels & Resorts told Squawk Box CNBC’s Europe on Tuesday.
“Am I going to make the day trip from London to New York for a three-hour meeting? Probably not, so there will be some impact on business travel,” Barr said when asked how the industry is likely to change in the job. he added that “but the vast majority of assets will survive this (crisis).”