Asia shines for Club Med; woes in Europe

PARIS (Reuters): Holiday firm Club Mediterranee said European bookings fell in the past four weeks and warned profits at its resorts would miss expectations this year as the region’s debt crisis meant fewer consumers planned summer holidays.

Bookings over the past four weeks fell 2.7 percent in Europe, but rose 1.5 percent in America and 2.5 percent in Asia.

As of June 2, total summer bookings were still up 3.5 percent.

Club Med, which has recast itself as a higher-end holiday operator, operates 75 resorts in 40 countries, ranging from Caribbean beach villages to Alpine ski locations.

“Club Med again improved its earnings for the first half 2012 amid deteriorating markets in Europe,” Chief Executive Henri Giscard d’Estaing said in a statement.

With a market value of 420 million euros, the group competes with global hoteliers such as Intercontinental and Accor . It also competes with tour operators such as global leader TUI Travel and Thomas Cook.