Articles tagged “thomas cook”

Tour operators have longed for Turkey and, to a lesser extent, Egypt and Tunisia to return to their previous popularity. All of these destinations offer better value to consumers than Spain, which is at close-to-full capacity and more expensive. Their return is also good news for the people who rely on tourism for a living.

Under CEO Peter Fankhauser, Thomas Cook has quietly managed to turn itself around. The situation this year has undoubtedly been aided by an improving geopolitical climate but a more focussed, higher-quality product offering has also helped.

Thomas Cook has hit the ground running in China but it's not running away from its core business in Europe. The group doesn't want to be too aggressive in China before its made more of a name for itself in the market and sees how consumers respond.

While it's good news for Greece that bookings are on the rise, the struggle to find value in Spain shows just how difficult a summer it might be for European tour operators. Thomas Cook's cautious outlook hints at gloomier times ahead.

The likes of Thomas Cook and Tui Group should be wary of Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who in the past has taken on Google and Apple. Should she find anything amiss there is the potential of a sizable fine and a revamp of their practices.

While Thomas Cook has yet to fully step out of the shadow of its near-collapse in 2011, the current management team has at least managed to steady the ship. But 2016 has presented its own challenges with terrorism in Turkey doing particular damage.

With the UK government seemingly determined to sever all ties with the European Union, things don’t look great for the travel industry. For the time being there’s not much companies can do but hope for the best.

Thomas Cook’s disastrous merger with The Co-operative Group in 2011 gave it more than 1,200 retail shops at a time when the public was switching to online sales. Gradually it has been trying to reduce this number while at the same time improving those deemed to be in key locations.

Thomas Cook wants to offer more exclusive product to try and tempt holidaymakers, so it makes sense for it to find someone else to take care of its less lucrative business.

Thomas Cook is facing increased competition in the Caribbean and a partnership with Lufthansa could help the tour operator to control its costs.