It's prime time for a story with a British flavor. So make yourselves comfortable and read further.
Once upon a time, in the mids of the 19th century, lived in the UK an Englishman named Cook, Thomas Cook. This man will later be called in the business books the father of the modern tourism. But how did i all begin?
In the summer of 1841 Cook worked together with the Railway Society, offering the first touristic package that was ever drafted to a group of 540 members and supporters of the Temperance Movement (He was also a member). The tour started in the Campbell Street Train Station in Leicester and ended 11 miles further in Loughborough, where a horse race took place. For the price of 1 shiling, the tourists were entitled to the ride and lunch aboard the train car. For this service Cook received a part of the profits. Three summers later, in the meantime organizing other trips, he decided to launch his own company - Thomas Cook.
And the wheel started to spin. In 1846 he made the first tour of Scotland with 350 tourists from Leicester and 4 years later he organized the first tour outside the United Kingdom, in France, for the Great International Exhibition in Paris.
In 1855 he organizes the first continental tour through cities like Antwerp, Brussels, Cologne, Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Strasbourg and finally Paris. The year 1866 brings the marks the first tour in America and in 1869 in Egypt and Palestine.
In 1871, his son, John Mason Cook joins the company, and they change its name to Thomas Cook & Son.
Among the innovations brought by the company, worth mentioning are the hotel voucher, the circulary note, which is an incipient form of the travelers cheque, but also the first touristic brochure.
After the death of both the founder and the son, the company was taken over by the 3 nephews, which continue the legacy of the family, transforming it in one of the biggest tourism companies in the world.
This story crossed my mind while I was visiting a very good friend of mine, who lives in Leicester at the moment. Below you can see the statue of Thomas Cook, which you can find at the entrance of the Campbell Street Train Station.
Finally I offer you a piece of English humor: " How do you call a deer without eyes? ... No idea!"
R.C.
Once upon a time, in the mids of the 19th century, lived in the UK an Englishman named Cook, Thomas Cook. This man will later be called in the business books the father of the modern tourism. But how did i all begin?
In the summer of 1841 Cook worked together with the Railway Society, offering the first touristic package that was ever drafted to a group of 540 members and supporters of the Temperance Movement (He was also a member). The tour started in the Campbell Street Train Station in Leicester and ended 11 miles further in Loughborough, where a horse race took place. For the price of 1 shiling, the tourists were entitled to the ride and lunch aboard the train car. For this service Cook received a part of the profits. Three summers later, in the meantime organizing other trips, he decided to launch his own company - Thomas Cook.
And the wheel started to spin. In 1846 he made the first tour of Scotland with 350 tourists from Leicester and 4 years later he organized the first tour outside the United Kingdom, in France, for the Great International Exhibition in Paris.
In 1855 he organizes the first continental tour through cities like Antwerp, Brussels, Cologne, Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Strasbourg and finally Paris. The year 1866 brings the marks the first tour in America and in 1869 in Egypt and Palestine.
In 1871, his son, John Mason Cook joins the company, and they change its name to Thomas Cook & Son.
Among the innovations brought by the company, worth mentioning are the hotel voucher, the circulary note, which is an incipient form of the travelers cheque, but also the first touristic brochure.
After the death of both the founder and the son, the company was taken over by the 3 nephews, which continue the legacy of the family, transforming it in one of the biggest tourism companies in the world.
This story crossed my mind while I was visiting a very good friend of mine, who lives in Leicester at the moment. Below you can see the statue of Thomas Cook, which you can find at the entrance of the Campbell Street Train Station.
Finally I offer you a piece of English humor: " How do you call a deer without eyes? ... No idea!"
R.C.
