Thomas Cook Looks to Turkey and Egypt to Ease Its Pain in Spain
Photo Credit: Thomas Cook's Smartline hotel in Cala'n Bosch, Menorca, Spain. The tour operator said it is trying to rebalance its program toward higher margin destinations such as Turkey and Egypt. Thomas Cook
Skift Take
Spain's popularity among UK tourists has not dwindled. Thomas Cook will be hoping demand to higher-margin destinations such as Turkey continues to grow or else it faces an expensive summer.
Spain might have had its problems in 2017 but that doesn't seem to have dented demand among European consumers, according to Thomas Cook.
The tour operator said its margins remained under pressure in the country – its most popular destination.
Spanish hoteliers – who have been able to command high prices over the last couple of years – are still doing so, while the company is also dealing with increased flight capacity.
Thomas Cook’s answer to tougher conditions in its biggest destination is more holidays to higher-margin resorts in Turkey and Egypt.
“Even in the worst year we had still one-and-a-half million customers who wanted to go to Turkey,” said Peter Fankhauser, the company’s CEO on a call with journalists Thursday.
“Turke
