European shares opened higher on Tuesday, lifted by travel stocks after holiday group TUI's flagged a positive travel recovery trend for the upcoming summer season.

The continent-wide STOXX 600 index rose 0.3% by 0812 GMT. European travel & leisure stocks rose 0.6%.

TUI's German-listed shares rose 1.4%, while its shares listed in London added 1.5% after the company reported more bookings and higher first-quarter revenue.

Germany's DAX index lagged its European peers, dragged down by Thyssenkrupp's 5.3% slide after as the German warship-to-car parts conglomerate said its quarterly operating profit dropped by a third.

The focus, however, remains on U.S. inflation data for January, due later in the day, which will provide more clarity on the outlook for the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes.

In Europe, a flash reading of fourth quarter GDP is also on the radar. (Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)