COOK WARNS TO WEAK DOLLAR

BRITONS are taking advantage of the weak dollar by chasing winter sun in the US and Latin America, holiday giant Thomas Cook Group said yesterday.

Florida, Cuba and Mexico are among the most popular destinations this winter as holidaymakers seek out bargains following fluctuations in currency markets.

Thomas Cook chief executive Manny Fontenia-Novoa said there were also strong bookings for Egypt and traditional winter ski destinations, boosted by early snow falls.

In a trading update, the group, formed by the June merger of German-owned Thomas Cook and Britain’s MyTravel, said it expected its annual profits to show a 26 per cent rise to e375.3 million (£269 million), with profits from the UK up
36 per cent.

The figures are ahead of City analysts’ forecasts and the shares rose 17.5p to 276p.

Annual cost savings from the ­merger are set to come in at 200million euros and the group has been ­cutting capacity to reduce the ­number of unsold holidays and increase profits.