Thomas Cook Is Dead, Long Live Thomas Cook — in Asia
Photo Credit: Chinese tourists take in the sights of the New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall National Memorial. UK-based Thomas Group collapsed on Sunday, but the brand lives on in China and India. The Associated Press / Mary Altaffer
Skift Take
Thomas Cook Group may have caved in, but in China and India, the companies that bear the name are profitable. Why?
The demise of UK-based Thomas Cook Group brings a wave of nostalgia to Asia and the reality that the traditional tour-operating model is incongruous in the internet age.
Another reality is that Chinese and now Indians are the new linchpins of Asia’s tourism growth, unlike before when the Western markets raring to explore “the exotic Far East” supported destinations.
It’s a sign of the times that the eponymous European name lives on in Asia through Thomas Cook India and Thomas Cook China. (At press time, the Nordics unit of Thomas Cook Group confirmed it will remain in business, but it's still unclear if the continental European business will continue.)
Both Thomas Cook India and China aren’t running on the traditional tour-operating model. Both are also highly diversified. They have just scratched the potential of their huge markets. And neither have the legacy systems and structures that weighed down Thomas Cook UK.
Fosun Tourism Group, the majority owner of Thom
