The oldest travel company in the world
From city breaks to far-flung adventure travel, many tourists today take for granted the ease of booking a package holiday or package tour. But when did this process first start? It is worth reading this article because you will come across a beautiful history.
In 1841, Thomas Cook made his first journey by train from Leicester to Loughborough, and in 1866 he went to the United States, and his first round-the-world tour was completed in 1872.
Thomas Cook offers low-cost tours to dozens of destinations around the world, making it a popular choice for travelers looking for a budget-friendly stay. The business initially focused on one-day rail trips. According to the Thomas Cook website, Cook believed that alcohol was to blame for social problems and organized a special train to carry temperance supporters to a meeting 12 miles away. In the years that followed, Cook continued to arrange lay trips for lay societies and schools on Sundays until the summer of 1845, when he organized his first business venture – a trip to Liverpool. He eventually went beyond Britain to Europe and then further afield. Over the next several decades, the company expanded into hotels, resorts, cruises and airlines, to name just a few of its efforts targeting the British middle class. The brand became a household name along with its slogan: “Don’t just book it – Tune Thomas!”
1841: Thomas Cook organized his first journey, a return railway journey from Leicester to a temperance (anti-alcohol) meeting in Loughborough, 12 miles away. Cost? a shilling
1845: Thomas Cook organized his first for-profit voyage – a rail journey from Leicester, Nottingham and Derby to Liverpool. A guidebook – basically an early version of the travel guide that was for this tour.
1855: Thomas Cook made his first continental tour, traveling in two parties from Harwich to Antwerp, then to Brussels, Cologne, Heidelberg, Strasbourg, and finally to Paris for the International Exhibition. For the first time, the company offered a complete vacation “package”—a fare that included travel, lodging, and meals.
1864: Cook welcomes his son, John Mason Cook, age 30, to join the business.
1865: Thomas Cook opens his first high street shop in London’s Fleet Street.
1866: John Mason Cook personally conducted the company’s first American tour.
1869: Thomas Cook escorted his first party to Egypt and Palestine.
1871: The official name of the company became Thomas Cook and Son.
1872/73: Thomas Cook organized and led the first circumnavigation of the world. The journey takes 222 days and covers more than 29,000 miles.
1874: The forerunner of the traveler’s check, the “Cook Circular Note,” was launched by this company in New York.
1875: Thomas Cook’s first voyage in the seas around Scandinavia, when the company developed the Midnight Sun cruise to the North Cape of Norway in partnership with the Bergen Line.
1886: John Mason Cook, now in charge of the company, launched a new fleet of luxury Nile steamers to support Victorian society.
1892: Thomas Cook died at the age of 83.
1896: Thomas Cook & Son was appointed as the official travel agent for the first modern Olympic Games in Athens.
1899: John Mason Cook died suddenly at the age of 65. The company is passed down to his three sons: Frank, Ernest and Thomas (“Bert”).
1922: Thos Cook & Son (as the company was called for the next few decades) organized the first escorted tour in Africa, from Cairo to the Cape, a five-month tour that included a one-month safari.
1927: The company organized its first air tour. A group of six fly from New York to Chicago for the Dempsey-Tunney heavyweight boxing match. The package price—including flights, hotel accommodations and ringside seats—is $575.
1928: Frank and Ernest Cook, the two surviving grandsons, sold the business to the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits et des Grands Express Européens.
1948: Thos Cook & Son Ltd became state-owned by British Transport Holdings.
1965: Thomas Cook’s net profit exceeds £1 million for the first time.
1972: The company was privatized and bought by a consortium consisting of Midland Bank, Trust House Forte and the Automobile Association.
1984: The “Don’t Just Book It, Thomas Cook It!” The slogan has been introduced.
1989: Thomas Cook’s long-term contract with Wagons-Lits ends. The development of a new global network begins.
1990: Thomas Cook acquired Deak International’s foreign exchange retail operations, effectively becoming the world’s leading foreign exchange retailer.
1992: Westdeutsche Landesbank, Germany’s third largest bank, and LTU Group, Germany’s top charter airline, buy Thomas Cook Group from Midland Bank.
1994: Thomas Cook acquired the traveler’s check subsidiary of Barclays Bank plc to become the largest provider of traveler’s checks outside the United States. That same year, Thomas Cook sells its travel management business to American Express after a major review of its global operations.
1997: Thomas Cook On-Line is launched. It is the first retail travel agency in the UK to offer customers a way to buy holidays, foreign currency, traveller’s checks and guidebooks online.
1999: The European Commission approves the merger of Thomas Cook and Carlson Leisure Group in the UK.
2001: Thomas Cook completes the sale of its global services and financial division to Travelex. In the same year, Thomas Cook was bought by the German travel company Condor & Neckermann. It has been renamed Thomas Cook AG.
2003: Thomas Cook Airlines is officially launched in the UK under a new brand name.
2007: Thomas Cook AG and MyTravel Group plc merged to form Thomas Cook Group plc, bringing a stronger focus on Northern Europe with the merger of Ving, Spies and Tjäreborg.
2011: Thomas Cook merged its UK retail operations with the Co-operative Group and the Midlands Co-operative Society, creating the UK’s largest travel agency chain.
2013: Thomas Cook announced that Thomas Cook Airlines in the UK, Belgium and Scandinavia, along with Condor in Germany, would be merged into a single operating division within the Thomas Cook Group.
2015: Thomas Cook Group announced a new partnership with Chinese investment group Fosun International Limited.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/thomas-cook-history-timeline/index.html