Thomas Cook is the only tour operator or travel agency to have made it into the list of top 100 Superbrands in the UK for 2008/09.
The travel giant is hundreds of places ahead of its travel agent and tour operator competitors at 72nd in the Superbrands’ annual list.
Rival operator Kuoni is listed at 340th, and online agency Expedia is 401st and Lastminute.com 476th. Main rival Thomson, which was 161st on the list last year, does not appear in the top 500 most popular UK brand names.
Other travel brands fared better however, with British Airways scooping fifth place in the list despite the chaotic delayed opening of Heathrow’s Terminal 5 and reports this week it is expected to cut routes by 5% because of soaring fuel costs.
Also in the list, which is independently administered by The Centre for Brand Analysis and looks at the views of more than 1,500 consumers, are Hilton in 20th place, Eurostar (47)and Virgin Atlantic (70).
Thomas Cook executive director for marketing Simon Carter said: “For the past three years we have been steadily moving up the rankings and are now at our highest ever position in the top 100.”
He claimed the company’s campaign for an extra bank holiday was successful because the brand is seen as a “consumer champion”. Last year, Thomas Cook featured 83rd in the list.
Google topped this year’s list, followed by Microsoft, Mercedes-Benz and the BBC.