TUI & Carnival (CCL): 2 FTSE travel stocks to buy now

Highlights

• TUI’s 283 hotels, which constitute about 79% of the total group portfolio, were open as of 30 June 2021.
• For the quarter ended 31 August 2021, Carnival’s revenue stood at $546 million compared to $30 million in the same period in 2020.

Travel was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions on movement. The crisis deeply impacted the revenues of all travel companies, including airlines, cruise operators, hospitality companies and travel agents. People also avoided travel for a long time as many countries required travellers to undergo mandatory tests and quarantine.

However, increasing vaccination rates, reopening of the economy, and relaxation on travel restrictions are resulting in travel companies resuming operations to pre-pandemic levels. Investors keen on diversifying their portfolio can add travel stocks, as travel companies are expected to benefit from a recovering economic outlook, relaxation of travel restrictions and resumption of travel activities across the globe. Here is a detailed review of two FTSE 250 listed travel stocks - TUI and Carnival.

(Data source: Refinitiv)

TUI AG (LON: TUI)

TUI AG is an international travel and tourism firm that owns travel agencies, airlines, hotels, cruise ships and retail stores. In July 2021, TUI completed the sale of its minority stake in a property portfolio to the Riu family, consisting of 21 properties.

TUI’s 283 hotels, which constitute about 79% of the total group portfolio, were open as of 30 June 2021. In the cruises business segment, Hapag-Lloyd and TUI Cruises stepped up operations during the quarter. TUI Cruises sailed since July 2020, while Marella Cruises resumed operations in June 2021.

For the Q3 2021 ended 30 June, TUI’s revenue stood at EUR649.7 million compared to EUR71.8 million in Q3 2020.

The shares of TUI are trading at GBX 247.70, up by 1.10% at 8:04 AM BST on Tuesday, 02 November 2021. In the last one year, the shares of TUI gave a return of 52.66% to shareholders, and the market cap of the company stands at £2,693.51 million.

Carnival Plc (LON: CCL)

Carnival is a leading travel and leisure company and a cruise operator. Recently, DocGo, a last-mile mobile health services provider, inked a contract to merge with Motion Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: MOTN). The aim of the merger is to add ports and expand its services to include deploying DocGo response teams onboard the Carnival cruise ships.

For the quarter ended 31 August 2021, Carnival’s revenue stood at $546 million compared to $30 million in the same period in 2020. Its loss before tax for the period was $2,859 million compared to $2,861 million in the previous year.

The shares of Carnival are trading at GBX 1,550.20, up by 1.40% at 8:05 AM BST on Tuesday, 02 November 2021. In the last one year, the shares of Carnival gave a return of 82.09% to shareholders, and the market cap of the company stands at £2,796.59 million.