Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
as Florida, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand and
the Far East, as travellers seek out new destinations
and experiences.
1.0m
Expedia
0.8m
Activity 1.7
0.6m
0.4m
Choose one of the 'big two' UK tour operators
(Thomson Holidays or Thomas Cook) and, working
in a small group, fi nd out about the history of the
company, its roles and responsibilities, the products
that it sells, the destinations it fl ies to and the names
of some of the other travel companies that are part
of the same group. Researching on the internet and
in brochures should give you all the information you
need. Explain how the tour operator that you have
chosen interrelates with other travel and tourism
component industries.
Destination Group
Flightbookers
Travelocity
0.2m
0
02
03
05
06
04
(projected)
Year to September
Source: CAA
Fig 1.9 - Growth of online tour operators
Weblink
Check out these websites for more
information on the holiday products
offered by these online tour operators.
www.expedia.co.uk;
www.lastminute.com;
www.ebookers.com;
www.travelocity.co.uk
This activity is designed to provide evidence for P2 and
M1.
FOCUS ON INDUSTRY
Types of tour operators
THOMAS COOK
There are approximately 600 UK-based tour operators,
most of which are small companies specialising in
a particular destination of type of product. Tour
operators can be grouped into one of the following
four categories:
Thomas Cook UK & Ireland is the second largest
leisure travel group in the UK with around 19,000
employees. It is now part of Thomas Cook plc, which
was formed in 2007 by the merger of Thomas Cook
AG and MyTravel Group plc. Thomas Cook operates
a fl eet of 45 aircraft, has a network of more than
800 high street stores (Thomas Cook and Going
Places), travel websites, its own television channel
Thomas Cook TV on Sky and a wide range of travel
brands, such as Club 18-30, Bridge, Cresta, Direct
Holidays, Manos, Neilson, Thomas Cook Signature,
Thomas Cook Sport and Tradewinds. The company's
airline, Thomas Cook Airlines, fl ies from various UK
regional airports to destinations worldwide. Thomas
Cook is a vertically-integrated travel group, since
it owns its own sales outlets (travel agencies, call
centres, internet sites, TV channel), airline and tour
operating business.
•
Mass-market operators;
•
Specialist operators;
•
Domestic operators;
•
Incoming tour operators.
Mass-market operators
These tour operators sell large numbers of holidays
and include some of the best-known names in the
industry, such as Thomson Holidays, Thomas Cook
and First Choice Holidays. As well as offering popular
Mediterranean holiday destinations, tour operators are
selling more packages to long-haul destinations, such