British travel firm Thomas Cook collapses, stranding hundreds of thousands

reuters.com ^ | September 23, 2019 | Reuters

[PghBaldy]

Thomas Cook customers say they were ‘held hostage’ at Tunisian hotel

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-49787563

[headstamp 2]

[[[I bet they were doing exactly that, getting money from customers and using it to make payroll. And using money from new customers to pay the travel expenses for the 1st group of customers. Sounds like a pyramid scheme. Then it fell apart without new money coming in.]]]

Ponzi Travel.

[Winniesboy]

In this case the travel agent IS the carrier - TC has [had] its own fleet of planes.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

Yes, they did. Several decades ago, credit cards weren’t generally acceptable as “show money” at borders (cash to show you wouldn’t burden the welfare system) — but, traveler’s cheques were. I used Thomas Cook travelers cheques; and never had any trouble getting them cashed. They were a lot safer than carrying a large amount of cash. Credit cards are easier, and currency conversion is cheaper.

[Cronos]

There aren't any no-go zones, not even in the banlieus of Paris. yes, those banlieus are scary, but far less scary than San Francisco or parts of Brooklyn. Furthermore, they don't have anything touristy. If you are planning a visit and want to be free of Muslims, head to Poland --> Warsaw-Kraków-Wrocław-Toruń-Płock-łódż and if you want the country side then Białowieża

[Cronos]

Brits have 5% Muslims. Most of Thomas Cooks customers are white Brits on holiday

[Cronos]

we can only hope that hard Brexit goes through

[NorseViking]

Originally it was lemon and limes were substitute in Americas. Irony is lime doesn’t have that high vitamin C content.

[SaveFerris]

Wonder if a whole lot of these (traveling) folks now have useless paper in their hands?

I don’t know what their current operations involve (disclaimer).

[SaveFerris]

Meaning if any of them DO have that, I suppose it’s basically worthless paper now.

[Cronos]

You really want the British to rule over the USA?

[Cronos]

you can see it from the hotel’s point of view - the purchaser (Thomas Cook) has skipped, but the purchaser bought on behalf of the tourists.

[Cronos]

I understood that travellers cheques were discontinued in 2008

[SaveFerris]

Thanks

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

We just got back from Cornwall and France. Only spent one night in Paris, the one before our trip. Rented a car in both countries, stayed out in the rural areas visiting WWII and WWI sites in northern France. I was really, I’ll admit it, fearful, but we had a wonderful time and may go back. Not to Paris.

[M1903A1]

Note the reference to waiters called Manuel....

[VietVet876]

Behind every dark cloud is a silver lining.

[dfwgator]

Wonder what happened. The tourist industry right now is better than its been in years.

With the Internet, you can pretty much do it yourself.

[dfwgator]

Note the reference to waiters called Manuel....

¿Qué?

[CodeToad]

This is what incompetence looks like: lots of customers, high demand, years in business, ran into the ground.