Cook: Costa tragedy will not have significant impact on cruise bookings
Thomas Cook said it doesn’t believe the Costa Concordia tragedy will have any significant impact on cruise bookings
Cook, which is the largest cruise retailer in the UK, admitted bookings had been "very slightly" affected by last Friday’s disaster, but said it was confident they would bounce back.
Chief executive mainstream UK Ian Ailles said: "It is a tragic incident. It is too early to say how this will affect bookings, but UK holidaymakers are pretty resilient so they will pause and reflect but they will take a long-term view.
"Cruising has had a long period of growth in the UK and it will recover and continue to grow."
Cruise bookings account for 12% of Thomas Cook’s overseas bookings, but the Costa brand is not well-known in the UK, which should help lessen the impact of Friday’s tragedy which has claimed at least 11 lives. A further 24 passengers are still missing.
Passengers already booked to travel on the Costa Concordia are being offered a 30% discount to switch to another Costa cruise. For those who wish to cancel cruises with other cruise lines, normal booking conditions apply.
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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