Thomas Cook returns as online travel firm

Thomas Cook is on Wednesday set to relaunch as an online-only travel business following the acquisition of one of the best-known names in travel by international leisure company Fosun Tourism Group and will immediately start offering holidays to Greece and other destinations.

The new “Covid-ready” travel company will initially provide holidays to destinations on the British government’s safe travel corridor list.

Licensed by the UK Civil Aviation Authority and ATOL-protected, the new Thomas Cook will launch as a purely online business via a new website, www.thomascook.com, offering customers thousands of hotels and flight routes so they can design their own holidays.

At launch, holidays will be available at popular beach destinations and in cities in countries including Greece, Italy and Turkey, in line with the current travel corridors the UK government has allowed. Customers will be able to choose from room-only to all-inclusive options, at three, four and five-star hotels.

The new website puts customers in control of their own holiday, and able to arrange their trip according to their budget, needs and specifications. Add-ons will include transfers, car hire, airport parking, currency and travel insurance.

Over the coming months, Thomas Cook will continue to invest in its digital offering to adapt to changing holiday needs and lifestyles, including adding new flight partners and other travel options, as well as additional hotels and other types of accommodation. Further destinations will be added when restrictions are lifted by the British government.

Fosun Tourism Group – one of the world’s largest leisure companies which also owns Club Med – acquired the brand and online assets of Thomas Cook in November last year. The new company will retain the brand’s familiar “Sunny Heart” logo.

Alan French, Thomas Cook’s UK chief executive officer, said: “We have reinvented one of the most recognizable names in British travel. Our new business will combine fantastic UK-based customer service with an updated operating model protected by ATOL and with the backing of a multi-billion-dollar organization.

“We are launching now clearly aware of the short-term challenges posed by the pandemic. We and our Fosun backers are taking the long view and we want to offer choice, customization and 24/7 on-holiday customer care to families who wish to travel now and in the future.”