Thomas Cook has signed a deal with australiatravelmarket.com to sell flights through the flight comparison website.
A Thomas Cook spokeswoman said the move had been made in an attempt to attract new customers who do not fall in the operator’s traditional customer base and the operator will pay for each click-through it receives.
While the deal signed is currently for flight only, she added once customers have clicked on the Thomas Cook price they are sent to thomascook.com where they can organise accommodation and other ancillaries.
The spokeswoman said the move would make “thousands” of seats available on the site each week and hotel accommodation could be included in the future, following a review of the site’s performance.
She added: “Thomascook.com is not just a website for package holidays, thousands of flights and hotels are also sold online.
“A significant proportion of these are to Australasia, and working with Australia Travel Market communicates available prices to the right audience who may not necessarily think to check Thomascook.com. Thomas Cook works with various comparison sites to reach the right audience and drive traffic to its web pages.”
Initial results have proved so successful, the operator is now tripling its spend on the site for the January peaks market.
Global Travel Market chief executive Dave Simmons said: “We are thrilled to be working with Thomas Cook which is not only one of the more aggressive of the big four but also in the light of their increased focus on Australia as a profitable castle destination.
“With the ever-increasing popularity of the internet and the new markets it opens to traditional tour operators, we are offering them a highly cost-effective way of accessing a customer-base keen to go Down Under.”