The increasing incidence of terror attacks led Thomas Cook to slash its programme to Turkey and change the way it conveys Foreign Office travel advice to customers.
Yet Thomas Cook group chief executive Peter Fankhauser insisted: “Turkey is not unpopular. We still had two million guests who wanted to go to Turkey [last year].”
Speaking at the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Summit in Bangkok last week, Fankhauser said: “There were 15 terrorist attacks in destinations [we serve] last year and there was a demand drop of 30% to Turkey.”
As a consequence, he said: “We shifted 1.2 million seats from Turkey in January 2016.
“We managed to do it in two weeks and at the same time provide beds in Spanish destinations and in Portugal.
“We had 45 [flight] departures a day to Turkey from Europe in 2015 [and] we went to 30 a day.”
The group also changed the way it imparted Foreign Office advice to customers. He said: “In the past, we shied away from security and safety topics. Now we talk about it.
“We put a lot of effort into the information we make available before travel. We translate the language of advisories into language customers understand, so people can make up their own minds.”
Fankhauser said: “We inform customers of the risk; but there is also a risk to go to Paris or London.”
He acknowledged government advice can vary from one country to another, but defended the travel advisory system, saying: “The threat level for different nationalities can differ. British government advice can be different from Swiss. [But] we have to rely on government. We are not an intelligence company or a security company. As soon as there is a travel warning we stop flying. It is a clear line.”