The title Thomas Cook is synonymous with affordable, worldwide junket, however this hard-working English cabinet-maker did not set off outside to popularize tourism for the Centre crowd. His initial argument was to boost attendence at temperance meetings. Walking in the northern English countryside in the Centre of the 19th century, the 32-year-old religious Baptist had a luminosity of inspiration when he realized the growing railroad method could be used to bring doozer numbers of person temperance advocates to a community association. The eminence of that head outing evolved into nowadays's worldwide junket association.
Inspiration
Thomas Cook was a devout mortal who believed alcohol was a scourge, expressly among working men and women in Great Britain, and that temperance coupled with education would support working community and English homeland. Once he epigram how typical his antecedent railroad excursion--500 temperance advocates paid a shilling to bring about a 12-mile railroad trip--he realized affordable organization peregrination could expand their horizons.
The Birth of Middle Class Tourism
Initially, Cook used the chain overnight image to motion temperance advocates to Bulk meetings. In 1845, Cook ran his headmost profit-making, low-cost liesure outing to Liverpool, quickly expanding his event biggie with trips to neighbouring Wales and Scotland. In 1851, 150,000 Cook customers from Great Britain's industrial north rode the train to London to flash the Big Exhibition. Four oldness subsequent, Cook began offering abroad trips to Europe.
Worldwide Travel
Cook's son, John Mason Cook, joined the family business in 1864. A year later, founder Thomas Cook was exploring and expanding his company's presence in the USA. An inveterate traveler himself, Thomas Cook also led a small group of travelers to China and the Far East, quickly establishing a new Cook innovation: the guided world tour. He also was instrumental in the introduction of the traveler's check.
Patriotic Service
The Victorian world was riveted in 1884 by a rebellion in Sudan and famed British Gen. Charles Gordon was dispatched to Africa to bring the region back under British control. The government turned to Cook to plan and execute the logistics, moving 18,000 men and 140,000 tons of supplies to the staging area. Cook fulfilled his mission, but Gordon died a year later under siege in Khartoum.
Worldwide Affordability
The legendary company--the second largest travel company in the United Kingdom with 19,000 employees--emphasizes its worldwide presence, affordability and comprehensive travel services with its slogan: "Don't just book it ... Thomas Cook it."When Paris fell to the Germans in World War II, the Wagons-Lits Paris headquarters was closed and the British government assumed ownership of Cooks.
Modern Travel
The Thomas Cook travel company revived after the war and passed to a series of private and then publicly traded companies, including American Express at one point. The company continued to innovate, buying airplanes, expanding its publishing company, operating high street agencies in England, offering travel insurance and financial services, developing a television travel channel and establishing an online presence.
