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Bookings are up at tour operator TUI and the company improved its first quarter loss by £73 million.

UK mainstream sales are up four per cent for winter 2007/08. Sales are up nine per cent for summer 2008, with 20 per cent less product left to sell versus the prior year, with particularly strong performances in medium and long haul.

Peter Long, chief executive of TUI Travel, said: "Current trading remains strong across the group for both winter 2007/08 and summer 2008 and combined with careful management of capacity, means we have significantly fewer holidays to sell than at this point last year in our key source markets.

"Based on the current outlook, I remain confident the group will meet the board's expectations for the year and that the merger will prove to be highly successful, delivering significant value for shareholders and enabling us to perform robustly in an increasingly volatile economic environment.''

Underlying operating loss for the three months ending December 31st 2007 was £41 million, compared to last year's loss of £114 million. Underlying loss before tax reduced by 51 per cent to £60 million.

The winter months are traditionally a slow time for the travel business, but TUI said a significant turnaround in France and strong performances in the UK and Nordics boosted earnings.

The company bought four niche specialist businesses with a maximum consideration of £21 million during the quarter.