Aftermath the Thomas Cook’s collapse sees a major blow to hotel industry in Spain and Greece. The demise of Thomas Cook Airlines, which transported many Brits to Spain on scheduled and charter flights, has left some destinations with significantly less airlift. In the meantime, hotels and resorts that had relied heavily on Thomas Cook’s wholesale business to sell the bulk of their inventory are now facing financial insolvency.
As reported, the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation expects that up to 1.3 million travelers will be unable to fly into Spain in the coming fall and winter months. Approxiamately 500 Spanish hotels are at risk of imminent closure.
The Spanish government has responded with rescue measures, including a credit line for struggling businesses and subsidies to buoy the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands, the two prominent winter destinations in Spain for Thomas Cook customers.
Greece is also going through a major financial hit. Alexandros Vassilikos, president of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, called the Thomas Cook situation “one of the biggest crisis we have had to deal with so far.”
A survey conducted by the trade group indicates that out of 10,000 Greek hotels, around 1,200 properties were working with various Thomas Cook organizations at the time of the company’s collapse. That number includes hotels branded under Thomas Cook Hotels & Resorts — which includes the Sentido, Casa Cook and Cook’s Club flags, among others. Many other hotels had counted on Thomas Cook for more than 75% of their sales.
“These hotels are on the priority list in all discussions, in order to apply measures that will allow them to operate again next year,” said Vassilikos. The Hellenic Chamber of Hotels will work with national and regional authorities to try to replace flights and increase advertising for impacted markets,he added.
