Thomas Cook plans expansion into China and Russia

www.thomascook.com

The larger travel companies have cut back on the number of holidays they offer their customers and the number of charter flights they operate, and are now looking to expand into new geographical areas as a means of compensating for the impact of the global economic downturn.

Thomas Cook, founded in 1841, is the oldest travel brand in the world and the most well-known British name in the package travel sector. Next year, the iconic blue and yellow shop window will appear on Moscow’s streets, and in the following year, on the streets of Shanghai. The company has announced that it will expand its operations into Russia later this year and into China next year, by operator acquisition.

TUI Travel is making similar moves, looking to gain a foothold in both Russia and the Ukraine via a joint venture with S-Group Capital Management.

“The European market is a mature market, so companies are having to use their skills to develop in other areas,” said Joseph Thomas, a travel industry analyst with Investec bank. He added: “Russia is ideal. It has an emerging middle-class market who like to go on sun-and-sea holidays.”

Thomas Cook has a presence in 20 countries outside the UK already. In comments regarding its expansion into Russia, the company’s chief executive, Manny Fontenla-Novoa said that Thomas Cook is “interested in tour and retail operators that service healthy demand there for beach holidays, especially in Turkey and Egypt”.

Thanks to www.guardian.co.uk for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

www.thomascook.com