China’s Fosun Tourism Group, which bought the Thomas Cook’s trademark following its collapse last year, is planning to relaunch the famous British brand as an online travel agent.
An announcement of the rebirth of the 178-year-old tour operator is expected in the coming days, even as British travel companies battle headwinds posed by the pandemic, according to a Sky News report.
However, the report added, the relaunch would also hinge on Fosun securing regulatory approvals as well as the introduction of further quarantine measures on British citizens.
An insider told Sky News that the timing of the relaunch is uncertain, but that plans for Thomas Cook to be reborn as an online travel agency was at an advanced stage. According to the report, Fosun has recruited a number of former Thomas Cook executives to work on the brand’s relaunch.
Fosun, which had been Thomas Cook’s biggest shareholder prior to the agency’s demise, had acquired the brand’s name and other intellectual property assets for £11 million (US$14.3 million).
