Beach holidays group steps up marketing drive after Thomas Cook collapse

On the Beach Group, the Manchester-based beach holiday specialist, has geared up marketing spend to build its share of the market following the collapse of Thomas Cook Group last month.

In a market update for the 12 months to September 30, today, the firm said trading has remained in line with management’s revised expectations for the full year.

But it said: “The compulsory liquidation of Thomas Cook Group (TCG) on 23 September 2019 has had a significant impact on the package travel industry.

“For On the Beach, this has created an unprecedented opportunity to take additional market share at an increased rate.

“As a result, the group has started to strategically increase its marketing investment both online and offline to attract new customers to onthebeach.co.uk, sunshine.co.uk, Classic Collection and Classic Package Holidays, and is well positioned across all channels.”

It said it will update shareholders further on the release of its preliminary results for the year on November 27.

Chief executive Simon Cooper said: “I would like to thank all teams across the business for their exceptional response following the compulsory liquidation of TCG in ensuring that customers were either re-booked or refunded in the shortest possible time whilst maintaining our high quality customer experience standards.

“On the Beach has an exciting opportunity to significantly increase its market share over the short to medium term by leveraging its strong brand and core capabilities.”