On The Beach has seen its share price fall as people avoid travel to the Middle East region.
The Manchester group said that even though it had “limited exposure” to destinations in the region, it had seen a “significant slowdown” in demand to destinations such as Turkey, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt.
In a trading update it stated that it was temporarily suspending its profit guidance of £39m to £43m for the full year.
“The timing of when the conflict will end and the shape of recovery in demand to these destinations are unknown,” read the statement.
“Both will impact Group profitability and as a result the Group is temporarily suspending its guidance of £39m to £43m Adj. PBT for the full year.
“Despite the volatile environment, the Company continues to trade profitably and generate cash because of its asset light model with significantly lower fixed costs, commitments and exposure to increases in variable costs versus the asset heavy tour operators.”
A month ago its shares were trading at 193.0p, last night they closed at 167.0p, their lowest in a year.
“Following the onset of the conflict in the Middle East, our operational teams have been working round the clock to support directly impacted customers in resort and to enable a return home as soon as possible,” said Shaun Morton, Chief Executive of On the Beach Group plc.
“I am confident that On the Beach‘s enhanced strategy to scale into new markets, underpinned by its asset light operating model with no committed inventory to fill, remains a key competitive advantage.”
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Later this month, the online travel firm will publish its interim results, with the board stating that FY26 bookings were up 10% and bookings from repeat customers increased by 19%.
It has also made a number of investments during the period in technology, not least its app functionality, which it said led to a 58% increase in bookings made directly through the app across the period, representing 38% of total bookings.
It added that its AI strategy was progressing well, through integrations that connect its inventory to all major AI platforms. OTB recently submitted its app to ChatGPT.
“Momentum has been building since we entered 2026, recording our highest ever volume trading day on 1st February and a 34% increase in Q2 travelled / departed volumes,” continued Morton.
“Our customer loyalty continues to grow with repeat customers up 19% in the period. The advancements in both our proposition and app functionality are enabling customers to search great value holidays, be that in a city, on a beach or on a cruise ship, and app bookings have increased 58% as a result.”
