German government’s TUI lifeline will positive impact on tourism in Costa Blanca after crisis

THE German government has agreed to loan €1.8 million to tour operator TUI, which flies 500,000 tourists to the Costa Blanca each year.

Germany’s ‘positive step’ is sure to have a beneficial impact on the region’s rebound after State of Alarm measures are dropped.

The funds from Angela Merckel’s government will be used to increase the tourism group’s ‘existing line of credit’ with its banks to the value of €1.75 billion.

One of the conditions for granting that loan is that TUI waives dividend payments. This would give TUI access to financial resources and credit lines totalling €3.1 billion.

Fritz Joussen, TUI’s Managing Director, says that “the loan commitment is an important first step for TUI to successfully overcome the exceptional situation.”

Joussen said “TUI is a very healthy company… economically successful before the crisis and we will be successful again.”

He said the company, which has 21 million customers, is currently facing unprecedented international travel restrictions, so “we are temporarily a company with no product and no revenue.”

TUI had a turnover of nearly €19 billion in 2019 and an operating profit of €893 million.