Tui warns of more pain to come for travel industry

The chief executive of Tui Travel, owner of Thomson holidays, has warned that more smalltravel firms are likely to collapse into administration, as the tour operator unveiled a jump in third-quarter profits.

Following the collapse of tour operator Holidays 4U last week, Tui's boss, Peter Long, said: "The smaller companies in this environment will find it very difficult. There is a reasonable chance that these companies will not survive."

His comments came as Tui posted a 57 per cent leap in profits to £88m for the quarter to 30 June. It was boosted by a "strong" performance from its Nordic and UK businesses, despite the squeeze on consumer spending in this country. But in the wake of the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, Tui's French tour operators have faced "very challenging" trading.

Still, Tui's fortunes contrast with Thomas Cook, which has issued three profits warnings this year and recently lost its chief executive.