Thomas Cook TV leads sales drive
TRAVEL firm
It is timed to hit the crucial post-Christmas booking period. The industry has seen a fall in bookings, but it hopes New Year discounts of up to 50% will bring in bookings for next summer.
The channel will sell mainly in-house products. The company says it is the first High Street retailer to put its brand on national TV. Sainsbury's and Boots ran TV channels under different names, but both failed.
Thomas Cook said: 'We expect the channel to break even within two years. It will broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but it is a low-cost operation and we haven't invested anything like the money that other retailers have, so we can get to profit fast.
'Rival channels have shown that people will buy holidays on TV and we expect to take a significant chunk of the market pretty quickly.'
The channel will offer exclusive Thomas Cook deals, and holidaymakers can book either by phone, travel agent or via its website.
Cook expects the 2002 holiday market to be 15% down on this year, so it has trimmed the number of holidays it will sell next summer.
The company said: 'As well as the September 11 terror attacks, there is uncertainty about the economy, and we are taking a cautious approach.'
