Cancun, Q..R. — One year after Thomas Cook went bankrupt, the Chinese conglomerate Fosun, now owner of the travel agency, has reported the return of the British company as an Online Travel Agency (OTA).
The Fosun Tourism Group acquired the Thomas Cook brand and online assets in November of last year. The Asian group acquired the brand name to capitalize on its popularity in the European market.
According to Alan French who was Managing Director of Thomas Cook UK and is now UK chief executive of the new online travel agency, “we have reinvented one of the most recognizable names in British travel. Our new business will combine fantastic UK-based customer service with an up-to-date, Atol-protected operating model backed by a multi-million dollar organization.”
French added that “relaunching Thomas Cook as a business designed for today’s vacationer is an honor. What happened last year was a personal tragedy for many thousands of my former colleagues, our business partners and, of course, our loyal customers.”
The newly reinvented travel agency does not have planes or offices like the old Thomas Cook. The new version, which is an online only travel agency, began selling holidays September 16.
The Chinese firm Fosun Tourism Group acquired the brand for £11 million after the 178-year-old travel company collapsed in September 2019. The failure of Thomas Cook led to the repatriation of around 150,000 holidaymakers who were overseas, many of whom, were in Cancun and Riviera Maya at the time of the company’s announcement.
According to the Secretary of State Tourism, approximately 3,300 tourists were left stranded in the Cancun, Riviera Maya region after the company ceased operations in September of 2019.
