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As Scotland votes Cook says strategy won’t alter

Thomas Cook boss Harriet Green weighed in on the Scottish independence vote this week as few industry figures were prepared to publicly back a Yes or No vote.


Harriet Green, chief executive of Thomas Cook, which has 85 stores in Scotland, said she would prefer the UK to remain united but said the operator’s plan of action would remain the same either way.


Her comments came as the Scottish Nationalist Party vowed to scrap Air Passenger Duty should the party form an independent Scottish government.


Green said: “My personal view is we’re stronger together [but] Scots have shown enormous resilience.


“Scotland has one of the worst climates in the world and vacation is extremely important.


“Scotland is an important region and business for us with key airline hubs in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.


“Our Scottish customers and employees are very important to us and as a European business we see no plans to change our approach whatever the outcome of the referendum on Thursday.


“Our approach as a group is international and pan-European.”


Gary Lewis of The Travel Network Group, which has about 15 Scottish members, said a Yes vote would cause “disruption and uncertainty” for all businesses.


He said licensing for Scottish agencies would need to be looked at if the Scottish people vote for independence.


Scottish agent Brian Potter, of Clyde Travel, declined to give his personal opinion but said he expected his business to be unaffected by a Yes vote on the assumption the currency remains the same.


Alan Bowen, legal adviser to the Association of Atol Companies, said he would be surprised if Scotland created its own version of the CAA rather than opting to buy in to the regulatory regime currently available.

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