Shares in Airtours plc, Britain's biggest tour operator and owner of Panorama Holidays here, fell by about 17 per cent yesterday after a profit warning and a German acquisition - the latest in a wave of European tourism industry consolidation.
"Our investment in new markets, in particular Germany, together with the reorganisation of our existing operations will result in profits below our original expectations for the year. However, we do expect significant benefits next year and thereafter," Airtours said in a statement.
The group also announced the acquisition of German tour operator Frosch Touristik (FTi) for a maximum £25.4 million sterling (€41 million) in shares.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/VR3765MFOBH2NMV2QNICYDF67M.png)