With the decline in holidays abroad due to climate change and the evolution of our technology, staycations in the UK are becoming more and more popular.
Even more reason to take the bell tent out of hiding or better yet hire a bell tent and go glamping with Tee&Toast !
We are sad to see the fall of the oldest travel agency who we are sure have provided many of great experiences and our hearts are with the hard working people who are now out of jobs and likewise the thousands of plans by holidaymakers disrupted/ruined by their sudden closure.
Below are some the main points in regards to the tragic news;
Speaking to BBC News from Manchester airport, travel expert Simon Calder said Thomas Cook "wasn't ready for the 21st Century".
"Now everybody can pretend they are a travel agent. They've got access to all the airline seats, hotel beds, car rentals in the world and they can put things together themselves.
Mr Calder, travel editor at The Independent, added that planes at the airport began to be impounded shortly after 00:00 BST. While the company was closing shops to try and cut costs, closing 21 in March, it still had more than 500 outlets, bringing large costs compared to online competitors. In another sign of its slow progress in mending its finances, it only stopped dividend payments to investors in November.
Thomas Cook in numbers
* 22,000jobs at risk worldwide 9,000 jobs at risk in the UK 150,000 British holidaymakers to be repatriated 450,000 customers affected internationally 34 planes owned (Airbus A321 and A330)
Source: Thomas Cook
What went wrong?
Thomas Cook had secured a £900m rescue deal led by its largest shareholder Chinese firm Fosun in August, but a recent demand from its banks to raise a further £200m in contingency funding had put the deal in doubt.
Fosun said in a statement: "We extend our deepest sympathy to all those affected by this outcome."
The holiday company spent all of Sunday in talks with lenders trying to secure the additional funding and salvage the deal, but to no avail.
Thomas Cook has blamed a series of issues for its problems, including political unrest in holiday destinations such as Turkey, last summer's prolonged heatwave and customers delaying booking holidays because of Brexit.
Source : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49796827
