TUI Group says summer bookings for Turkey slump 40 pct

HANOVER, Germany, Feb 9 (Reuters) - TUI Group, the world's largest tour operator, said bookings to Turkey this summer were down around 40 percent due to security concerns, as it reported a narrower first-quarter loss on Tuesday.

Terror attacks in Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia and Paris over recent months have made tourists more wary of those previously popular destinations, and the Zika outbreak in the Americas is also dampening global travel sentiment.

London-listed TUI (Other OTC: TUIFF - news) kept a forecast for underlying earnings to rise by at least 10 percent on a constant currency basis, saying customers were instead choosing to holiday at its own hotels in Spain and the Canary Islands.

It reported a narrower first quarter underlying loss before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) of 101.7 million euros ($114 million), against a loss of 104.8 million one year ago. Travel companies typically report a loss in the first quarter.

($1 = 0.8923 euros) (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Maria Sheahan)