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Thomas Cook - the founding father of the package holiday
 Thomas Cook – the founding
father of the package holiday
1841
The history of the package tour starts here - the 32-year-old English publisher Thomas Cook organises a rail trip to a teetotallers‘ meeting for 500 passengers from Leicester to Loughborough on July 5th 1841.
1855
Thomas Cook organises the first European tour for British tourists. It takes them from London via Brussels, Cologne, Heidelberg, Baden-Baden, Strasbourg to Paris and then back to England.
1868
Thomas Cook introduces a key instrument of the package holiday – the hotel voucher.
1869
Thomas Cook organises the first Nile cruise.
1900
Thomas Cook becomes global market leader in the leisure travel industry.
 From C & N to Thomas Cook
1997
The Lufthansa subsidiary Condor and Karstadt holding Neckermann merge to form the new leisure travel group C & N.
2001
The UK leisure travel company Thomas Cook Holdings Ltd. is taken over by C & N Touristic AG. Europe‘s second-largest leisure travel group is born and given the name of Thomas Cook AG.
2002
The economic consequences of the terror attack of September 11th plunge the Thomas Cook concern into a serious crisis.
2004
Thomas Cook AG is on the verge of insolvency. A radical programme of restructuring is implemented under new management.
 Thomas Cook prepares for the future
2005
The restructuring programme is concluded successfully. The 2004/2005 financial year ends with the setting of a new earnings record.
2006
Thomas Cook changes its strategy and develops from a fully integrated tourism company to an asset light business model. On December 22th the shareholders agree on KarstadtQuelle‘s takeover of Lufthansa‘s share in Thomas Cook. The financial year 2005/2006 ends with a new record in earnings.
2007
By signing the contract on February 9th KarstadtQuelle is the sole owner of Thomas Cook. On February 12th the merger of Thomas Cook and MyTravel is announced.
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