Passengers line up in front of Thomas Cook counters at the airport of Heraklion, on the island of Crete, Greece, on September 24 2019. Picture: REUTERS/STEFANOS RAPANIS
“October is basically lost,” he said. “Many of the hotels have debts as high as €10m. They’re looking into getting credit, contacting banks, any sort of aid to get them through next year, when clients will hopefully be replaced by other agencies.” “An earthquake just happened and it’s seven on the Richter scale, but what worries us the most is the tsunami that will follow,” said Michalis Vlatakis, chair of Crete’s Association of Cretan Tourism and Travel Agencies.
In Spain, one of the world’s top tourist destinations, the Canary Islands may bear the brunt of the company’s fall. Tourism accounts for 40% of the archipelago’s employment and 35% of its €46bn economy. Thomas Cook brought in about a quarter of the tourist volumes on the islands, said Jose Maria Manaricua, chair of the Federation of Hotel and Tourism Businesses of Las Palmas.
For Cyprus, the challenge will be to make up for the 250,000 visitors Thomas Cook has been bringing to the country every year, who on average spend about €700 each. The Sandy Beach Hotel in Larnaca, Cyprus, is bracing for empty hotel rooms.