Europeans are putting aside lockdowns and betting that the second year of summer travel would not quash the coronavirus pandemic. According to Touristik Union International (TUI), millions of vacationers, particularly in the United Kingdom, have already booked trips and are spending even more than they did before the coronavirus hit, amid uncertainty over the pandemic. In a declaration on February 9, 2021, the world’s largest tour operator said that 2.8 million customers are already booked for summer 2021, a drop of 44 percent compared to the same point in 2019, but more than a fifth higher than the total guests between mid-June and October 2020. A spokesperson for the group, which operates 15 cruise ships and more than 400 hotels, said that about half of these bookings are accounted for by vouchers and improvements to previous trips, but the speed of new orders has increased in recent weeks.

Average daily bookings last month were up 70 percent compared to December, TUI said. The business, which is located in Germany, needs only small down payments on some of its packed holidays in the summer of 2021 and provides free modifications up to 21 days before departure on trips booked before the 9th of February. But according to CEO Fritz Joussen, it does not plan to get all of its trips discounted. Joussen said on an income call that compared to summer 2019, the average price of bookings grew 20 percent, powered by a higher number of bundled flights and hotel deals and demand for more luxurious holidays after a year in which many people stayed home.