Thomas Cook declared bankruptcy in 2019, leaving hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded overseas. The 178-year-old company was one of the biggest brands in travel. We take a look back at the long history, international expansion, and sudden downfall of this once great British company.
The origins of Thomas Cook
Not many travel companies today can trace their history as far back as Thomas Cook. The agency dates back to 1841, with Baptist missionary and cabinet-maker Mr Thomas Cook. Cook was a member of the anti-alcohol temperance movement in Leicester. He saw a chance to organize tours for members to attend anti-liquor meetings and rallies in other cities.
The first trip involved Cook hiring a Midland Counties Railway train to take 500 members from Leicester to Loughborough. And they paid well for it. This soon expanded to other meetings, and by 1845 to leisure outings. The first of these was to Liverpool and attracted 1,200 people.
Word traveled, and trips were soon being organized all other the UK, backed by other business figures. He organized transportation for workers from the Midlands and Yorkshire to London for the 1851 Great Exhibition. Thomas Cook tours were alive and expanding!
International expansion
Within a decade, Thomas Cook’s tours had expanded internationally. Crossing the channel from Essex gave rise to a circular tour that included Brussels, Cologne, Heidelberg, Baden-Baden, Strasbourg, and Paris. From 1865, tours expanded to North America, combining transatlantic sailings with rail tours of the US.
And in 1872, it organized its first around the world tour, crossing the US and touring Japan, China, and India.