ESky Group is buying Thomas Cook – the world’s oldest brand in the travel industry. The acquisition agreement signed with the Fosun Tourism Group fund will allow the Polish company not only to open a new chapter in the over 180-year history of the British icon of the world of travel, but also to enter the top companies selling dynamic packages in Europe.
In 1841, the Briton Thomas Cook came up with the idea of organizing the first trip to England. This undertaking initiated the development of organized tourism, as well as the long process of building one of the largest travel companies in the world. Over 180 years later, the Thomas Cook brand is passing under the wing of a new owner – the Polish eSky Group intends to support the British brand in its further development and use its experience to strengthen its position in Great Britain and Western Europe. These steps will pave the way for eSky to enter the forefront of companies selling dynamic packages in Europe.
ESky travel platform is a company rooted in e-commerce. Thanks to investments in technology, the company created, among others, the first search engine in the region for comparing and booking airline offers – eSky Travel Search launched in 2008. A year later, the company opened its first foreign branches in Bulgaria and Romania, and in 2016, it was one of the first in the industry to launch a mobile application. In 2022, eSky Group entered the dynamic packages segment, a product combining flights and hotels in one booking. A global perspective and analysis of trends in real time give it insight into the needs of customers in local markets, which it reaches using the latest technologies. Another strong point of eSky Group is performance marketing, and it also plans to support the acquired brand in this area.
In 2020, Thomas Cook – less than a year after declaring bankruptcy as a tour operator – returned with an expanded offer in the Online Travel Agencies segment. Until now, the brand belonged to the investment fund Fosun Tourism Group, which also owns such global brands as Club Med, which operates around 70 all-inclusive resorts.
Thomas Cook is currently at the forefront of British travel platforms in terms of brand awareness and trust. As a result of the acquisition, the company will gain access to eSky’s airline portfolio consisting of over 500 regular and low-cost carriers, such as Lufthansa Group and Ryanair. As a result, customers will benefit from attractive offers from various airlines, which will translate into increased competitiveness of the brand and package product offered by Thomas Cook.
The acquisition of Thomas Cook is another important step in global expansion and strengthens the position of the eSky Group in the highly developed British market, from which the share in the company’s revenue is the largest among all Western European countries, accounting for 40 percent of the Group’s sales in 2023. The company does not rule out introducing the acquired brand to the Polish market and to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe in the future.
The agreement between the eSky Group and the Fosun Tourism Group fund concerns the acquisition of the Thomas Cook brand, except for its operations in China and India. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed. The finalization of the transaction is subject to the fulfillment of the conditions of the British Civil Aviation Authority.
