Thomas Cook HistoryThomas Cook is the world’s best-known name in travel, thanks to the inspiration and dedication of a single man. Thomas Cook began his international travel company in 1841, with a successful one-day rail excursion at a shilling a head from Leicester to Loughborough on 5 July. From these humble beginnings Thomas Cook launched a whole new kind of company – devoted to helping Britons see the world.View key dates of Thomas Cook history

A Brief HistoryOn 9 June 1841 a 32-year old cabinet-maker named Thomas Cook walked from his home in Market Harborough to the nearby town of Leicester to attend a temperance meeting. A former Baptist preacher, Thomas Cook was a religious man who believed that most Victorian social problems were related to alcohol and that the lives of working people would be greatly improved if they drank less and became better educated. As he walked along the road to Leicester, he later recalled, 'the thought suddenly flashed across my mind as to the practicability of employing the great powers of railways and locomotion for the furtherance of this social reform'.

At the meeting, Thomas suggested that a special train be engaged to carry the temperance supporters of Leicester to a meeting in Loughborough about four weeks later. The proposal was received with such enthusiasm that, on the following day, Thomas submitted his idea to the secretary of the Midland Railway Company. A train was subsequently arranged, and on 5 July 1841 about 500 passengers were conveyed in open carriages the enormous distance of 12 miles and back for a shilling. The day was a great success and, as Thomas later recorded, 'thus was struck the keynote of my excursions, and the social idea grew upon me'. 

Early ToursDuring the next three summers Thomas arranged a succession of trips between Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Birmingham on behalf of local temperance societies and Sunday schools. Within these limits many thousands of people experienced rail travel for the first time, and Thomas was able to lay the foundations of his future business. He later described this period as one of 'enthusiastic philanthropy' since, beyond the printing of posters and handbills, he had no financial interest in any of these early excursions.

Thomas Cook's first commercial venture took place in the summer of 1845, when he organised a trip to Liverpool. This was a far more ambitious project than anything he had previously attempted, and he made his preparations with great thoroughness. Not content with simply providing tickets at low prices - 15 shillings for first-class passengers and 10 shillings for second. Thomas also investigated the route and published a handbook of the journey. This 60-page booklet was a forerunner of the modern holiday brochure.

The Great ExhibitionBy the end of 1850, having already visited Wales, Scotland and Ireland, Thomas Cook began to contemplate foreign trips to Europe, the United States and the Holy Land. Such thoughts had to be postponed, however, when Sir Joseph Paxton, architect of the Crystal Palace, persuaded Thomas to devote himself to bringing workers from Yorkshire and the Midlands to London for the Great Exhibition of 1851. This he did with great enthusiasm, rarely spending a night at home between June and October, and he even produced a newspaper, Cook's Exhibition Herald and Excursion Advertiser, in order to promote his tours. By the end of the season Thomas had taken 150,000 people to London, his final trains to the Exhibition carrying 3,000 children from Leicester, Nottingham and Derby.

Across the ChannelThomas continued to expand his business in Britain, but he was determined to develop it in Europe too. In 1855 an International Exhibition was held in Paris for the first time and Thomas seized this opportunity by trying to persuade the companies commanding the Channel traffic to allow him concessions. They refused to work with him, however, and the only route he was able to use was the one between Harwich and Antwerp. This opened up the way for a grand circular tour to include Brussels, Cologne, the Rhine, Heidelberg, Baden-Baden, Strasbourg and Paris, returning to London via Le Havre or Dieppe. By this route, during the summer of 1855, Thomas escorted his first tourists to Europe.

Switzerland and ItalyThomas visited Switzerland for the first time in June 1863. Although this initial tour was little more than an information-gathering trip, a party of more than 60 ladies and gentlemen accompanied Thomas as far as Geneva. Among these pioneering tourists was a young woman called Jemima Morrell, who maintained a written account of each day's events. Her original diaries may be studied today in the Thomas Cook Archives. Thomas organised further trips to the Continent in 1863, and by the end of the season he had taken nearly 2000 tourists to Paris, some 500 of whom had continued to Switzerland. With the co-operation of the Paris, Lyons and Mediterranean Railway, Thomas began to issue circular tickets (in both English and French) between Paris and the Alps. He then established the first circular tours of Switzerland, which were such an immediate success that he decided to extend his arrangements across the Alps. The first Italian tours took place in the summer of 1864, when Thomas escorted two large groups, one to Florence and parts of central Italy, the other to Rome and Naples.

Hotel Coupons and Circular NotesThomas's travellers to Switzerland and Italy were from the growing middle classes and they expected better accommodation than his earlier working-class customers had. He therefore set out to negotiate with innkeepers and hotel proprietors to provide rooms and meals at good

prices. His friendship with hoteliers, who were pleased to get his business, enabled Thomas to develop two important travel systems: one was the hotel coupon, launched in 1868, which travellers could use to pay for hotel accommodation and meals instead of using money; the other was his circular note, first issued in 1874 and a forerunner of the travellers cheque, which enabled tourists to obtain local currency in exchange for a paper note issued by Thomas Cook.

Beyond EuropeBuilding on his successes in Europe, Thomas made an exploratory trip to North America in 1865 and set up a system of tours covering 4,000 miles of railways. Four years later, in 1869, he hired two steamers and conducted his first party up the Nile. The climax of his career, however, came in September 1872 when, at the age of 63, he departed from Leicester on a tour of the world that would keep him away from home for almost eight months. It had long been his ambition to travel 'to Egypt via China', but such a trip only became practicable at the end of 1869 following the opening of the Suez Canal and the completion of a rail network linking the east and west coasts of America.

Thomas and his small party crossed the Atlantic by steamship and made their way through the United States from New York to San Francisco by rail. They travelled by Pacific steamer to Japan, then across the Inland Sea to China, and afterwards visited Singapore, Ceylon and India. Leaving Bombay, they crossed the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea to Cairo, from where most of the party travelled back to London. Thomas himself, however, set off on an extended tour of Egypt and Palestine, finally returning home via Turkey, Greece, Italy and France after an absence of 222 days. The conducted world tour quickly became an annual event, but many additional tickets were issued to independent travellers, some of whom went via Australia and New Zealand rather than China and Japan.

John Mason CookWhile Thomas was travelling round the world, his son, John Mason Cook, successfully completed the firm's move to a new head office at Ludgate Circus. However, father and son argued over certain aspects of the project and in 1878 their partnership ended. John was a better businessman than Thomas, and he set about expanding the company internationally. In an age when telegraphy was in its infancy and there were no telephones or fax machines, this was far from easy.

John created overseas editions of The Excursionist, the newspaper started by his father in 1851, to inform customers in places such as France, Germany, India, Australasia, America and the Far East about the services he offered. (This newspaper, which became known as The Traveller's Gazette in May 1902, continued to be published until 1939.) He also kept up a continuous stream of correspondence with his offices abroad, checking on their work and complaining if anything went wrong. Like many successful businessmen, John Mason Cook combined a flair for grasping business opportunities with a remarkable memory for small details.

The Gordon Relief ExpeditionIn 1884 John Mason Cook was asked by the British Government to organise a relief expedition up the Nile to rescue General Gordon from Khartoum. Arrangements were made for the movement of 18,000 troops, nearly 40,000 tons of supplies, 40,000 tons of coal and 800 whaleboats. To transport the coal from Tyneside to Boulac and Assiout via Alexandria, 28 large steamers and 6000 railway trucks were required. An additional 7000 railway trucks were needed for the military stores, while on the Nile 27 steamers and 650 sailing boats were used to carry the troops and supplies. John and his Egyptian managers acted as overseers of the entire operation, which relied on the labour of 5000 local men and boys, and completed their side of the contract in November 1884. Despite all the efforts, however, Khartoum fell in January 1885 and Gordon was killed.

Frank, Ernest and BertThomas and John Mason Cook both died during the 1890s and the business was inherited by John's three sons: Frank Henry, Ernest Edward and Thomas Albert ('Bert'). During the first quarter of the twentieth century - a period which saw the introduction of winter sports holidays, tours by motor car and commercial air travel - the firm of Thos Cook and Son dominated the world travel scene.

The company was incorporated as Thos Cook & Son Ltd in 1924, and in 1926 the headquarters moved from Ludgate Circus to Berkeley Street, Mayfair, a once aristocratic area which was now the centre of London society. Then, in 1928, the surviving grandsons, Frank and Ernest (Bert having died in 1914), unexpectedly sold the business to the Belgian Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits et des Grands Express Européens, operators of most of Europe's luxury sleeping cars, including the Orient Express.

From Wagons-Lits to British RailwaysShortly after the outbreak of World War II, the Wagons-Lits headquarters in Paris was seized by occupying forces, and Cook's British assets were requisitioned by the British Government. To save the company from complete financial collapse in its centenary year, a deal was brokered and, fittingly, the organisation was sold to Britain's four mainline railway companies. Thos Cook & Son Ltd settled its affairs with Wagons-Lits (which retained a 25% share in Cook's overseas) immediately after the war, and in 1948 the firm became state-owned as part of the nationalised British Railways.

The Fifties and SixtiesThomas Cook & Son Ltd benefited from the post-war holiday boom, which saw one million Britons travelling abroad by 1950. The company set up a Business Travel Service and refurbished its holiday camp at Prestatyn (which had opened shortly before the outbreak of war). Although Cook's remained the largest and most successful company in the industry, its

pre-eminence was now being challenged by new travel firms that were able to undercut Cook's prices and offer cheap package deals. In 1965 the company's net profits exceeded £1 million for the first time, but in an increasingly cut-throat marketplace Thomas Cook began to fall behind its younger rivals.

De-nationalisation and BeyondIn 1972 Thos Cook & Son Ltd returned to private ownership, bought by a consortium of Midland Bank, Trust House Forte and the Automobile Association. Radical reorganisation followed and a new, standardised corporate logo (the words 'Thomas Cook' in 'flame' red) was soon introduced. Thomas Cook managed to survive the recession of the 1970s - a recession which saw the collapse of several travel firms - and enhanced its reputation for providing excellent service by launching a Money Back Guarantee scheme in 1974.

Thomas Cook experienced many changes during the 1970s, including the sale of its holiday camp at Prestatyn and the relocation of its administrative headquarters from London to Peterborough. The firm also became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Midland Bank Group. In the 1980s Thomas Cook began to concentrate on its long-haul tours programme, purchasing Rankin Kuhn Travel in 1982 and quitting the short-haul package tours market in 1988 (a market to which Thomas Cook successfully returned in 1996 when it acquired Sunworld).

Thomas Cook's longevity was celebrated in 1991 (its 150th anniversary) and the company's continued success was assured when it was purchased from Midland Bank by Westdeutsche Landesbank (WestLB), Germany's third largest bank, and LTU Group, Germany's leading charter airline, in 1992. Thomas Cook became a wholly-owned subsidiary of WestLB in 1995. A period of expansion followed - which saw the acquisition of Sunworld, Time Off and Flying Colours in quick succession - culminating in Thomas Cook's merger with Carlson Leisure Group's UK travel interests and the subsequent formation of JMC in 1999.

Thomas Cook TodayThomas Cook UK & Ireland is the second largest leisure travel group in the UK with around 19,000 employees and is part of Thomas Cook Group plc (www.thomascookgroup.com)

Thomas Cook UK & Ireland has a network of more than 800 high street stores (Thomas Cook and Going Places), a leading website (www.thomascook.com) and some of the world’s favourite travel brands.

These brands include Airtours, Club 18-30, Cresta, CruiseThomasCook, Direct Holidays, Elegant Resorts, Essential Travel, Flexibletrips, flythomascook.com, Gold Medal, hotels4u.com, Manos, Medhotels, Neilson, Netflights.com, Pure Luxury, Sentido, Style Holidays, Sunset, Sunworld Holidays Ireland, Swiss Travel Service, The Big Reunion, The Big Snow Festival, Thomas Cook, Thomas Cook Essentials, Thomas Cook Signature, Thomas Cook Tours and Thomas Cook Sport.

The Company’s airline, Thomas Cook Airlines, operates a fleet of 44 aircraft and flies from various regional airports to destinations worldwide.

Thomas Cook offers a range of financial services, including foreign exchange, the Thomas Cook Cash Passport (a prepaid currency card), the Thomas Cook Credit Card, the ‘what’s the rate’ foreign currency app for Android phones and iPhones and a wide range of travel insurance policies. It is regulated for its travel insurance, which is underwritten by its insurance division, White Horse Insurance Ireland Ltd. Thomas Cook in the UK is the world’s leading retailer of the Cash Passport prepaid currency card.

An Official Supporter of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, Thomas Cook is the exclusive partner for UK short breaks and trips to the Games. Thomas Cook’s London 2012 packages will go on sale in Spring 2011 and will include accommodation, transport and event tickets.

Its leading publishing division offers a comprehensive portfolio of more than 300 independently authored travel guidebooks to 150 worldwide destinations.

Company Archives

Thomas Cook possesses a unique collection of archive material covering all aspects of the company's

history from the founder's first excursion on 5 July 1841 to the present. This material is held in the

Company Archives, which functions as a corporate 'memory', offering an information service to Thomas

Cook's various departments and to interested members of the public, as well as providing research

facilities for academics, journalists and picture researchers from all over the world.

Main Collections

Handbooks, programmes and brochures, 1845-present

Our main series of brochures begins in 1889 and, apart from a few small gaps, continues uninterrupted

right up to the present day. This is the most extensive collection in the Archives, numbering several

thousand items and covering most holiday destinations around the world. We also hold a small number of

'handbooks', forerunners of the holiday brochure, the earliest of which was published in connection with a

trip to Liverpool in 1845. These small booklets contain detailed itineraries, descriptions of the chief places

of interest along the route and lists of suitable hotels and boarding houses.

Copies of Cook's Excursionist newspaper, 1851-1902, and its successor, The Traveller's Gazette

magazine, 1902-39 First issued by Thomas Cook to promote his trips to London's Great Exhibition in

1851, Cook's Excursionist provides page after page of detailed itineraries, fares, lists of hotels and Cook's

offices, testimonial letters, accounts of tours, advertisements and editorial comment. The monthly issues of

this publication, which was eventually issued in 13 separate editions around the world, document not only

the expansion of Thomas Cook's business but also the early development of tourism itself. As such, this is

probably the most important collection in the Archives.

Travellers' incidental records (ephemera), 1851-present A wonderful miscellany of itineraries, tickets,

hotel coupons, luggage labels, menus, circular notes and handbills issued to Cook's tourists.

Travellers' diaries (originals and copies), 1855-1980 Many of Cook's early tourists maintained written

accounts of their travels and adventures. Around 35 of these diaries, including those of Miss Jemima

Morrell (who accompanied Thomas Cook on his first trip to Switzerland in 1863) and Miss Riggs (who went

on the first Cook's Tour of Egypt and the Holy Land in 1869), may be consulted in the Archives.

Photographs of premises, staff and travellers, 1860s-1970s We have an extensive collection of

historical photographs of Cook's offices around the world (mostly exterior shots), the majority of which date

from the first half of the 20th century. We also hold photographs of Cook's tourists (mostly in Egypt) and

staff from the late 19th century.

Company business records, 1870s-present Relatively few business records survive in the Thomas Cook

Archives. The main series include agreement books (1871-1929), John Mason Cook's correspondence

(1870s-1890s), board minute books (from 1924) and annual reports (from 1947). We also hold detailed

information about Thomas Cook's sale to Wagons-Lits in 1928 and the company's arrangements with the

British Government during and immediately after World War Two. Our most extensive collection of

business records, however, relates to Thomas Cook's operations in Egypt in the late 19th and early 20th

centuries.

Railway timetables, 1873-present First published in March 1873, Cook's Continental Time Tables and

Tourist's Handbook listed details of all the main railway, diligence and steamship routes across Europe.

The handbook soon became a regular publication and today, more than 125 years later, Thomas Cook's

European Timetable is still produced every month; a companion volume, Thomas Cook's Overseas

Timetable, is also published six times a year. Copies of the earliest timetables (1873-75) may be consulted

in the Archives, along with almost every issue from 1946 to the present. Our collection for the period 1909-

1939 is also extensive, but unfortunately we hold only two further examples from the late Victorian and

Edwardian periods.

Travellers' guidebooks, 1874-present Thomas Cook published his first guidebooks - for 'Switzerland' and

'Holland, Belgium & the Rhine' - in 1874. These guides were designed to provide relevant information for

tourists, particularly those travelling under Thomas Cook's own arrangements, and were not intended to

rival the more comprehensive volumes of Murray or Baedeker. Cook's guides still proved very popular,

however, and more than 30 titles (some revised many times) appeared over the next 65 years. Many of

these pre-WW2 guidebooks are available to researchers in the Thomas Cook Archives, where they may be

studied alongside their modern counterparts (still produced by Thomas Cook Publishing today).

Historical images Some 500 images from the Thomas Cook Archives are currently available as

transparencies, on a loan basis only, to picture researchers and private individuals. (A smaller - but

growing - selection of images is also available in digital format.) All the images have been taken from our

collections of posters, brochures and photographs and cover an enormous range of tourist destinations

and travel-related subjects.

Film material The Thomas Cook Archives retains a series of 45 short films used by the company in the

1950s and 1960s to promote overseas holidays to the new mass market. Video copies of these films may

be viewed here by researchers. The original films are stored in the Huntley Film Archives in London

(www.huntleyarchives.com) and any requests to use or reproduce this material should be directed there.

Contact Details

For further information about Thomas Cook's history or archives, please contact:

Paul Smith, Company Archivist

Thomas Cook Archives

The Thomas Cook Business Park

Coningsby Road

Peterborough

PE3 8SB

United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 (0) 1733 417350

Fax: +44 (0) 1733 416255

E-mail: paul.smith@thomascook.com

MISSION

Mission Statement Our mission is reflected in our philosophy and our philosophy is simple: Thomas Cook strives to provide its clients with the answers and tools necessary to meet and exceed their expectations. We are experts in corporate, incentive travel & of course special events organization. For 135 years we have been using our expertise to fulfil our philosophy, which evolves around achieving ultimate client satisfaction.

Responsible Travel - Thomas CookIntroduction Our Tips Our Policy Ski and Snowboard Beachclubs Yachting Children Thomas Cook Travelife Awards

Carbon Offsetting

Thomas Cook's Sustainability PolicyMore than 160 years ago, a former Baptist preacher and temperance supporter, Thomas Cook, created the first package holiday out of a sense of social responsibility. In keeping with the values of Victorian society, he believed that by offering alternative, more virtuous and educational leisure activities, the lives of working people would be greatly improved and that everyone could become better educated through travel.

Today the Thomas Cook name remains one of the world’s best known and respected brands in travel and we are proud that our business, as part of the global tourism industry, can be an economic driver for the destinations we visit – providing commercial benefit and financial impetus, as well as a positive cultural exchange. We recognise the importance of tourism for economies and communities, whilst also being aware of the potential impact on the environments, communities and cultures of the places to which we operate. As a result, we seek to ensure that business operations are conducted in a responsible way.

We define Corporate Responsibility as ‘operating responsibly to minimise negative and enhance positive environmental, social and economic impact: ensuring the long term sustainability of our business and of the resources on which we depend.’

Thomas Cook’s mission is to Perfect the Personal Leisure Experience

As part of this mission, the company is committed to working towards developing, operating and marketing our business in a sustainable manner. We will continue to lead in developing a sustainable approach to tourism development and endeavour to predict and prevent negative economic, environmental, social and cultural impacts. We will strive towards integrating responsible practices into business decision making and we believe that effective management of our social, environmental and economic responsibilities enhances the value of our business and reputation of our brand. This policy was originally developed in 2004 and has been revised in 2007 to reflect our continued work to improve our development and management processes. Regulatory compliance is treated as a minimum standard and the Board and Executive Management team seek to operate beyond this. We endeavour to comply with, and respect, local, national and international laws, regulations and rules applicable to our business and to recognise (and contribute to the development of good and best practice. Our PLC Board Health, Safety and Environmental Committee, chaired by a non-executive director, oversees and monitors the activities of the operating companies within the Group, signalling the fundamental

importance of Corporate Social Responsibility.

Looking after the Environment

We recognise that it is important for the long term success of our operations to consider our environmental impact. It is essential that we do as much as we can, within our sphere of influence, to protect the resources the future of our business, and that of the local communities, depend upon. We will continue to develop our waste management policy, incorporating the three principles of

reducing, reusing and recycling and we will strive to improve our environmental performance by expanding the range of current environmental initiatives.

For example, by increasing:

• Fuel efficiency • Recycling • The purchase of locally sourced goods, where possible

And by reducing:

• Airline emissions • Noise pollution Energy consumption • Water consumption • Solid waste production • Paper consumption • The impact of our supply chain

In addition, we recognise that we must work to preserve and protect the natural environment, its resources and its wildlife. We will encourage our customers to respect the environment and to avoid activities which exploit it.

Looking after Customers

Our three key priorities for our customers are enjoyment, safety and wellbeing. We acknowledge our responsibilities in relation to each of these priorities, as well as our customers' duty to look after themselves, their families and their travelling companions. We will assist our customers in doing this through the

provision of information, where this would raise awareness. For example, through promoting access to Foreign Office Travel Advice and health information. We seek continuous feedback from our customers on their overall enjoyment of the holiday experience and we use this information to gather opinions, measure performance and to improve future holidays. Our overseas representatives receive regular training to ensure our customers have an enjoyable holiday which

matches their expectations. If our customers, or employees, highlight any questions or concerns, we have the procedures in place to ensure these are resolved. The products and services that we offer must meet appropriate local health and safety criteria. We continue to promote good practice through the use of a specialised health and safety team who focus on minimising risk to customers, through the implementation of guidance to suppliers promoted by the Federation of Tour Operators. We recognise our responsibility to contract with reputable suppliers and to take steps to provide services which meet an appropriate level of safety, having regard to each destination’s local standards.

Looking after Employees

We recognise that our ability to deliver our business objectives is dependant on the effective leadership of our people in the workplace. We believe that people are the ultimate drivers of our business success and of our need to develop sustainably. We want our employees to be proud to work for The Thomas Cook Group and we promote fair and safe working conditions, equal opportunity and diversity throughout our businesses. We place considerable value on the involvement of our employees and continue to keep them informed of matters affecting them and of the various factors affecting the performance of the group. We recognise the right of employees to be involved in trade unions.

Looking after Communities and Heritage

We believe ‘quality of life’ is a basic right of the people of the communities in the places where we operate. Where possible, we will work together with local communities to ensure they benefit as much as possible from the visits of our customers and we will promote fair working conditions throughout our supply chain.

We respect the natural and cultural heritage of all communities and understand that we must play our part in sustaining these. We aim to conserve cultural and national heritage, respecting the integrity of local cultures and avoiding negative impacts on social structures. We will encourage our customers to respect the tradition and integrity of local cultures and will promote behaviour compatible with the principles of sustainable development. Where practical, we aim to promote the purchase of local produce. We will not tolerate any illegal, abusive or exploitative forms of tourism.

Looking after our Products

We strive for our products to be of the highest quality and will therefore encourage good practice within all our operations and comply with all relevant legislation surrounding the business. We continually monitor and assess our product offering so that it appeals to a range of existing and new customers. By assessing and working with existing suppliers, we aim to improve the quality of our products from a social, environmental and economic perspective.

Raising Awareness

We aim to ensure that we and all our stakeholders become better educated through the experience of travel, in keeping with the values of our founder. We recognise that raising awareness and understanding amongst our employees, customers and suppliers is fundamental to gain their commitment. We will endeavour to highlight the benefits of addressing these issues and will encourage all stakeholders to adopt these principles.

Working Together

We are committed to working with customers, employees, investors, suppliers, local communities, industry, government and other regulatory bodies and non governmental organisations in order to deliver

sustainable development. In particular, we actively support and engage in the work of the Travel Foundation and of the Federation of Tour Operators.

Summary

Together with the support and guidance of multi-stakeholder groups, we aim to build a tourism industry which brings education and pleasure to those who travel with it, a sustainable future to the places and the people who provide it as well as a fair profit to all those who are involved in supplying it.

Sustainability Report

February 2010

The air holidays/flights on this website are ATOL Protected by the CAA. Our ATOL number is 1179.

Mission

Wolfgang Beeser can hand the position of Thomas Cook CEO over to Thomas Holtrop at the end of October after a successful two-year financial turnaround of Europe’s second-largest tourism group.

Wolfgang Beeser can hand the position of Thomas Cook CEO over to Thomas Holtrop at the end of October after a successful two-year financial turnaround of Europe’s second-largest tourism group. The results for the nine months ending on July 31 presented by the company on Wednesday show that it is back on a solid financial path. CFO Ludger Heuberg said that for the first time in four years Thomas Cook was heading for a “substantial profit before and after tax” thanks to the current bookings situation and further cost reductions.

Thomas Cook increased group-wide turnover by 1.5% to EUR 4.9 billion in the first nine months of the tourism year. The German market, however, suffered a 2% decline to just under EUR 1.8 billion. The company expects this to improve to zero by the end of the year. Revenues in the UK were up 3.6% to the end of July, while the Western European markets grew 3.5%. The pre-tax loss after nine months was reduced to EUR 71.2 million from EUR 286.7 million during the same period last year. As of the end of August, covering the peak summer months, customer numbers across the group had risen 4.1%, while Germany was 9.1% ahead.

“The turnaround programme of Thomas Cook is as good as finished,” declared Wolfgang Beeser at a news conference. “At our tour operators, in distribution and in head office, all the measures have been implemented and are paying off financially. At Condor, two-thirds of the savings have been achieved. We are completely on schedule with Condor, as well.” Cook had kept to the two-year restructuring timescale and was emerging stronger than ever, he concluded. The total improvement amounted to EUR 300 million.

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