LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Last week, Tuesday, 5th July 2011, marked 170 years since the historic day when Thomas Cook, founder of the worldwide Thomas Cook holidays travel company, conducted his very first escorted tour – an 11-mile train journey from Leicester to Loughborough.
He could never have imagined that, on that day in 1841, that modest journey to take around 500 people to a temperance demonstration would be a turning point in history – the very first step in creating a global travel organisation that now carries more than 22 million customers a year and employs over 31,000 people worldwide.
To mark this milestone Thomas Cook are today launching A History of British Holidaymaking infographic – a graphically illustrated timeline taking in the last hundred and seventy years of holidaymaking history in the UK.
The infographic was designed by search engine marketing specialists Greenlight and utilised the skills of accomplished young illustrator Anna Trench – known for her political satire illustrations with the Guardian.
Once describing himself as “the willing and devoted servant of the travelling public”, many of the values that inspired Thomas Cook, and his son, John Mason Cook, are as relevant today as they were 170 years ago and the timeline highlights how Thomas Cook has aligned itself with the travel trends of the day.
A spokesperson for Thomas Cook said “With such a reputation and history as ours, our customers know they can always trust us with their important holiday plans, and the rest of the industry knows that Thomas Cook has something they can never match or recreate. Over those 170 years, it’s our people and the service we deliver that has been of utmost importance and given us the advantage.”
You can view the timeline right now at http://www.thomascook.com/history-of-british-holidaymaking.
ENDS
About Thomas Cook UK & Ireland:
Thomas Cook UK & Ireland is the second largest leisure travel group in the UK with around 19,000 employees offering holidays worldwide to destinations such as Turkey and Crete. The company has a network of more than 800 high street stores, leading websites, and some of the world's favourite travel brands.
Thomas Cook UK & Ireland is part of Thomas Cook Group plc. For more information please visit http://www.thomascook.com.