Thomas Cook India honoured at the French Ambassador’s Travel Awards

Conferred with the Diamond Award for registering the highest number

of French visa deliverances in India

  

 Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., India’s leading integrated travel and travel related financial services company, has been conferred with the premier Diamond Award for registering the highest number of French visa deliveries in 2019.The award was presented to Thomas Cook India by His Excellency, Mr. Emmanuel Lenain, Ambassador of France to India at the 5^th edition of the French Ambassador’s Travel Awards- established to recognise and reward outstanding performers in the travel and tourism industry in India.

Thomas Cook India’s internal data has revealed the strong and growing popularity of France and this is across its segments of Leisure, MICE and B-leisure; the destination featuring as a top international choice for Indians. Given the diversity of its appeal, Thomas Cook India has curated unique programmes, from signature cuisine on tour by renowned Chef Ranveer Brar that celebrates France’s acclaimed gastronomy; exclusive stays in a chateau or a vineyard in the heart of Champagne, Alsace and Bordeaux; vintage car drives amidst the glamour of the French Riviera; itineraries that capture stunning vistas of the Rhone Alps, to delightful local experiences in villages across Provence and Occitanie.

Commenting on the top award, Mr. Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head - Leisure Travel, M.I.C.E & Visas, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., said, “It is such an honour to receive the prestigious Diamond Award at the French Ambassador’s Travel Awards. This award for the fifth time in a row serves to highlight Thomas Cook India’s sustained contribution towards France visa issuances in India. In this success, I sincerely appreciate the dedication of all our Thomas Cook India visa and business teams; equally the unstinted support of the France Consular offices together, as also the outstanding spirit of partnership displayed by its Tourism Board, Atout France.”

He added, “France continues to hold favoured destination status across our range of consumer segments and we will continue to work closely with Atout France to maximise on the delightful diversity of its allure- to ensure longer and repeat stays, also infusion of fresh new experiences.”

Ms. Sheetal Munshaw, Director Atout France India, said, “Thomas Cook India has been a consistent forerunner in this category since the last 5 years and has driven volumes across different segments to France. Atout France India and Thomas Cook India have collaborated on diverse projects over the years and this has propelled our efforts in showcasing France in a diversified and versatile manner under brand Thomas Cook India. We are confident that with all our synergies earmarked for the coming year, 2020 will also be an extremely promising year for both our organisations. I would like to thank Thomas Cook India for their continued and dedicated support through the years.”

Statement from Madhavan Menon Chairman and Managing Director of Thomas Cook India

  

Mr. Madhavan Menon, Chairman and Managing Director, Thomas Cook India said “With regard to recent media reports pertaining to the sale of the Thomas Cook Global brand to Fosun of China, it is imperative to clarify that the reported sale of the Global Thomas Cook brand to Fosun of China does not include the regions of India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius.

The brand for these markets has been and continues to be protected for exclusive use by Thomas Cook India Limited (TCIL) until November 2024 as per a brand License agreement entered into in 2012 between Thomas Cook India's promoters (since 2012) Fairfax Financial Holdings and the erstwhile Thomas Cook Plc."

Thomas Cook India introduces a unique Double Protection Program

Thomas Cook India introduces a unique "Double Protection Program" comprising Trip Protection + Guaranteed Departures aimed at protecting traveller interests

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., India’s leading integrated travel and travel related financial services company, has introduced ‘Trip Protection Program’ and ‘Guaranteed Departures’, two unique offerings aimed at protecting the Indian traveller interests. The program ensure a stress free period between the booking and departure window, by guaranteeing departures*, as well as reduced cancellation fees*, incase of any unforeseen circumstances. Thomas Cook India operated 98% of the departures announced in 2019, which is amongst the highest in the industry, encouraging the brand to introduce the program.

Travel has become non-negotiable for Indians today. With schools closed, the summer and winter breaks continue to remain key vacation periods for the majority of Indian travellers. Thomas Cook India’s internal data further reveals a majority of consumers booking their vacations well in advance to ensure that their preferred dates are secured while making the best of early-bird offers. Keeping this in mind and to allow customers to rest assured that their holidays with Thomas Cook India are protected, Thomas Cook India’s Trip Protection and Guaranteed Departures Programs have been designed to secure its customers best interests.

Under the Trip Protection Program, customers can avail reduced cancellation charges* for international bookings depending on the number of days prior to departure date and in view of any unforeseen circumstances; including visa rejection or delay, hospitalization or death of a family member and blood relatives. The program covers Thomas Cook India’s Simply Series product offering as well as destinations such as Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe and USA. While normally customers stand to lose in case of any cancellations made between 46-59 days prior to departure, under this offering, the cancellation fee for the same period stands as low as 5%*. The Guaranteed Departures Program on the other hand ensures guaranteed group departure* to international destinations. 

Mr. Abraham Alapatt. President, Group Head - Marketing, Service Quality & Innovation, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., said, "We at Thomas Cook India, believe that a customer's holiday experience begins much before their actual date of travel. It is therefore important for us to ensure that the holiday that they have booked with us delivers a seamless experience including a worry-free period from the booking date to the actual date of travel. Our unique "Double Protection Program" comprising Trip Protection + Guaranteed Departures aimed at protecting traveller interests does precisely that. So now customers, particularly those availing our attractive early bird offers, can rest assured and look forward to the memorable experiences that a Thomas Cook India Holiday ensures!"

CRISIL assigns Thomas Cook India corporate credit rating of CCR AA

Reaffirms its ratings on the debt programmes and bank facilities of TCIL at ‘CRISIL AA-/Stable/CRISIL A1+’

 The CRISIL credit rating rationale, dated October 9, 2019, communicated to Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., and uploaded on its portal, has assigned its corporate credit rating of ‘CCR AA-’ to Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. (TCIL). Additionally, CRISIL has reaffirmed its ratings on the debt programmes and bank facilities of TCIL at ‘CRISIL AA-/Stable/CRISIL A1+’. This announcement further reflects that the ratings of Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. remain unaffected as the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook PLC in United Kingdom has no linkage with Thomas Cook (India) Ltd.

                                                                                                                     

The ratings continue to reflect Thomas Cook India group’s healthy business risk profile, driven by a dominant position in the forex business and strong brand equity in travel-related services; comfortable capital structure; and strong liquidity.

CRISIL CCR is a globally recognised rating of an issuer, indicating its degree of strength and ability to honour its debt obligations. Previously, on September 26, 2019, CRISIL’s credit bulletin, which was communicated to TCIL and uploaded on its portal, had presented a stable outlook for the debt programmes and bank facilities of TCIL, with its ratings remaining unaffected by the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook PLC in the UK.

The October 9 rating rationale, further clarifies this, assigning the corporate credit rating of ‘CCR AA-’ to Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., and the rating of ‘CRISIL AA-/Stable/CRISIL A1+’ for its debt programmes and bank facilities. The credit rating is assigned taking into account the business and financial risk profiles of TCIL and its subsidiaries, including Sterling Holiday Resorts Ltd (Sterling), TCI, SOTC Travel Ltd (‘CRISIL AA-/Stable’), Travel Circle International Ltd, Horizon Travel Services LLC, Travel Circle International (Mauritius) Ltd, and DEI, all of which, are together referred to as the Thomas Cook India group, and are strategically important to, and have considerable operational integration with, TCIL. While earlier, the business and financial risk profiles of Quess were also considered, following the company’s announcement of restructuring, Quess has not been considered a part of the group, to arrive at the ratings.

CRISIL further believes that Thomas Cook India Ltd. (TCIL) will continue to improve its cash accrual over the medium term, supported by a healthy business risk profile in the travel and forex segments. Moreover, recent investments in technology and synergic benefits of past acquisitions should result in improved profitability.

The bulletin further elaborates that Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. (TCIL) is a completely separate entity from Thomas Cook UK, post-acquisition of 77% stake by Canada based Fairfax Financial Holdings in 2012. While TCIL is a brand licensee of ‘Thomas Cook’ brand in India, there exists no shareholding or business linkage between the two companies.

Furthermore, while the brand has been licenced to TCIL until November 2024, TCIL is evaluating various options including transitioning to a new brand.

Mr. Madhavan Menon, Chairman & Managing Director, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., said, “CRISIL’s assigned and reaffirmed ratings for Thomas Cook India Ltd. continue to reiterate the strong leadership and financial position of the independent Thomas Cook India Group since its acquisition by Fairfax Financial Holdings in 2012.The report further highlights key strengths including its dominant position in the forex business and strong brand equity in travel-related services along with its comfortable capital structure.”