Thomas Cook to keep 2012 sales on track

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Thomas Cook to keep 2012 sales on track

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Thomas Cook plans to create more attractive foreign holidays for Brits during the Olympic Games in 2012 to persuade them to continue travelling.

Speaking as Cook was revealed as the exclusive provider of domestic packages for London 2012, chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa said he was mindful of the impact the games might have on outbound travel.

Olympics committee chairman Sebastian Coe with Thomas Cook chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa

He added: “We are already in discussion with hoteliers [overseas] to make travelling more attractive during the Olympics. These events do have an impact.”

Fontenla-Novoa revealed the operator will have about 250,000 tickets to sell for the games and the Paralympic Games and he believes agents will make at least half of the sales.

Every shop now has a poster in the window and agents have been trained on how to sell Olympic packages, which will go on sale in 2011.

Fontenla-Novoa was not able to give an indication of prices but said Cook would use its purchasing clout to access good deals.

He urged any potential commercial partners to register interest now as he expected demand to outstrip supply.

The exclusive deal is the first of its kind in the history of the games, according to Fontenla-Novoa.

“More than a century after Thomas Cook escorted British travellers to the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 it is a privilege to once again have the chance to give British families and sports fans the opportunity to experience such a rare and special event in their own country,” he said.

“As a company we are extremely proud Thomas Cook will be a leading brand in this most prestigious global event.”

Cook joins Adecco, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte and UPS as the sixth domestic “tier two supporter”. Other sponsors include “tier one” partner BA and “tier three” partners Holiday Inn and Ticketmaster.

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