Cook aims to ‘Price Match’ rivals
Post-Christmas holiday price cuts are being made as travel companies jostle with each other to persuade people to book their summer breaks early.
Thomas Cook claims to have broken the mould by copying non-travel retailers’ with a Price Watch pledge designed to ensure prices at it 620 branches are the most competitive.
Cook aims to check prices in 2,500 high street agencies nationwide, claiming that consumers are “unlikely” to find the same holiday for less.
The company is to compare basic holiday prices sold through First Choice, Going Places, Thomson, Co-op Travel and Travelcare shops.
Cook’s managing director of sales Steve Finlan said: “We’re investing heavily in watching millions of high street prices every day. We’ll price match holidays and if we find a price that’s lower than ours, we will lower our price immediately.”
With an estimated two million people expected to book for summer ’05 in the next four weeks, the big companies are maintaining their support for traditional high street travel agencies despite the growth in online holiday sales.
First Choice started advertising on Christmas Day with average price cuts of 20% available from Boxing Day at 11 First Choice travel shops in major shopping centres around the country, followed by the rest of its retail network today.
Thomson has cut prices by up to 25% as part of a £12 million campaign to encourage sales through its agency chain, recently re-branded from Lunn Poly.
The discounts apply to destinations such as Croatia, Egypt, Florida, Greece, Italy, Spain and Turkey, mainly in early and late summer.
Thomson sales and marketing director Miles Morgan said: “Despite lots of talk about later booking, the reality is hat January remains by far and away the most popular month of the year to buy a holiday. This is the first time that people will have seen the Thomson name on the high street so we have invested in our biggest ever promotional campaign to create excitement and buzz around holidays.”
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025