Tourism giant TUI receives complementary aid of 1.2 billion euros
Since the lifting of travel restrictions for most European destinations, TUI "has benefited from a partial resumption of the program for the summer," according to the note - AFP / Archives
The German group TUI, number one in tourism in the world, announced on Wednesday (12) that it obtained complementary state aid of 1.2 billion euros (1.4 billion dollars) to face the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
This aid adds up to a previous one of 1.8 billion euros.
This “1.2 billion euro stabilization plan reinforces the group's position, providing sufficient liquidity in a volatile market environment,” the group said in a statement.
The aid will serve to cover revenue losses in the winter season, as well as those derived from other travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus, the group said.
The tourist group claims that the aid received to stabilize its finances allows it to have "liquidity and credit facilities for a total of 2.4 billion euros (about US $ 2.8 billion)".
This allows the group to "focus on operational activity" while at the same time "accelerating" its transformation into a "digital platform society", said Fritz Joussen, chairman of TUI's board of directors, in a note.
The group had announced in April that it planned to cut 8,000 jobs worldwide, out of a total of 70,000, due to the sudden and massive impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its hotel and cruise offerings.
Since lifting travel restrictions to most European destinations, TUI "has benefited from a partial resumption of the summer program," according to the note.