Thomas Cook says bookings for summer 2010 remain in line with its expectations.

Travel company Thomas Cook targets significant long-term growth after reporting a strong yearly profit for the 12 months to 30 September 2009.

Revenue at the firm is up 5.9% to £9.3 billion compared to last year, and profit before tax has risen by almost 50% to £56.1m.

Manny Fontenla-Novoa, Chief Executive, said results were especially pleasing against the backdrop of the worldwide recession and the Swine Flu outbreak, which had the potential to have a devastating impact on the travel industry.

“We remain committed to achieving significant growth and have embarked on a programme of strategic initiatives that will deliver revenue, profit and margin expansion over the medium term,” commented Fontenla-Novoa.

“Recent customer research shows that UK consumers remain intent on taking their holidays abroad next summer and we continue to see strong growth in bookings to medium haul destinations such as Turkey and Egypt.”

In anticipation of cheap deals, customers are continuing with the trend of booking their holidays late.

This news however, comes just days after Zagat, the food and travel surveyor, revealed findings which suggest people are using travel agents less than ever when looking to book flights.

According to the survey which polled 5,895 international travellers, only 8% of flight bookings are done through a travel agent, compared to 17% in 2007 and almost a quarter in 2005.  Zagat said that travellers are increasingly using online specialist travel agents such as Expedia, or going directly to the airline’s website.

Thomas Cook saw its shares rise by 1.5 pence on the London Stock Exchange at the start of trading today.