Thomas Cook relaunches as online travel agent - CILT(UK)
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Thomas Cook relaunches as online travel agent

16 September 2020/Categories: CILT, Industry News, Active Travel & Travel Planning, Aviation, Transport Planning


Thomas Cook is being resurrected as an online-only travel business, exactly a year after the 178-year-old company ceased trading, stranding 150,000 holidaymakers abroad.

The relaunch comes as the travel industry faces the worst tourism crisis since records began. World Tourism Organisation figures show that international tourist trips dropped by 65% during the first half of the year, an unprecedented drop. But Thomas Cook’s UK chief executive, Alan French, said the company was taking the “long view”.

The new “Covid-ready” website will initially sell holidays to beach resorts and cities in countries on the UK government’s travel corridor list, including Turkey, Italy and some parts of Greece. Further destinations will be added when government restrictions are lifted, alongside more hotels and other types of accommodation.

“We are launching now clearly aware of the short-term challenges posed by the pandemic,” French said. “We know Brits are keen to travel but feel nervous about safety and any changes to government rules on quarantine. We are only selling destinations on the travel corridor list and all the hotels are flexible. We won’t charge customers a fee to change their holidays if government rules change.”

The website features tens of thousands of hotels, as well as flights, transfers, and other add-ons, for customers to tailor trips, which will be protected by Atol, the government-run financial protection scheme operated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The relaunch is backed by Fosun Tourism Group, the Chinese conglomerate that bought the Thomas Cook brand and online assets for £11m in November. Fosun also owns Club Med.

The Thomas Cook Group, which operated 560 high streets branches in the UK and a fleet of aircraft as well as its tour operation business, employed 9,000 people in the UK. The new company employs 50 people, who will work remotely.

The site currently sells single-destination trips by air only but a spokesman said multi-stop trips and other transport options such as train and ferry are “under consideration”.

The new company hopes to sell holidays to up to 50,000 passengers a year.

source: The Guardian

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