Thomas Cook started life 175 years ago with a day trip from Leicester to Loughborough for temperance supporters, later progressing to full, overseas tours using steamships, trains and stagecoaches.
The Thomas Cook of today is vastly different to that of 1841; I’m not sure what Cook’s first customers would make of a Club 18-30 holiday in particular. The company has been on rather a rollercoaster in the past few years too, facing a media and consumer backlash in the aftermath of the Corfu tragedy and making headline news for almost collapsing altogether in 2011.
Carrying almost a third fewer holidaymakers than Tui last year, according to Atol figures, it can no longer claim to be the market leader it might have been a century ago. Yet if you were to ask a member of the public on the street to name a popular holiday company, they’re still more likely to say Thomas Cook of the two.
Much of the strength of the brand lies in its heritage. But Thomas Cook well knows, as does TTG with its 63 years of history, that it is only fresh ideas, unique propositions and stronger-than-ever partnerships that will make it relevant and successful in future.
If any tour operator was to rival Thomas Cook in longevity then Collette would be a strong contender: I was surprised to learn this week that the escorted touring specialist’s US parent has almost a century of operations under its belt. But just as Thomas Cook recognises it cannot rely on simple brand awareness, so too has Collette’s new UK boss recognised the need to address perhaps outdated perceptions of the brand within the trade to fulfil its potential in this market.
Read about Collette’s transformation strategy and Cook’s incredible history in this week’s edition of TTG.
And I for one fully intend to raise a glass to Thomas Cook at 175 – just don’t tell the temperance lot.
Pippa Jacks
Editor, TTG
