Thomas Cook says it's bullish about travel biz and receptive to new investments

Thomas Cook India has aforesaid its funds position is robust and it is not impacted by the recent challenges within the aviation sector. The company aforesaid it’s bullish about its travel and foreign interchange business and is receptive to new investments.

The tour operator issued a press release on Tuesday within the backdrop of financial crisis moon-faced by rival firm Cox & Kings. Thomas Cook’s stock has slipped 16 percent from the beginning of the month and over at Rs 193.60 on BSE on Tuesday.

Thomas Cook India chairman Madhavan Menon aforementioned the company had cash and bank balance of Rs 1,058 crore on a consolidated basis as on March 31. He aforementioned the company is debt free on a standalone basis having prepaid its Rs 67 crore of debentures, is seeing healthy booking growth and a turnaround in its destination management business.

"Our travel businesses have negative working capital and therefore do not require any external funding. We have witnessed a turnaround of our international destination management specialist companies during FY 2019. Additionally, during FY 2020, contribution to the profitability is anticipated from our recent acquisitions including Digiphoto Entertainment Imaging (DEI). Our forward booking position reflects a healthy increase of over 12 per cent," he said.

Travel services firm Thomas Cook India on Wednesday said it has witnessed 22 per cent growth in bookings this summer driven by various factors including rising demand from smaller cities and the country's transition from a saver's economy to a spender's economy.The company's data reiterated a strong shift in source markets to regional tier 2 and 3 cities and towns, Thomas Cook India said in a filing to BSE.According to Thomas Cook India, metro/mini-metro cities such as Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Chennai continue to witness an increase in demand with 20 per cent growth over last year.While, tier 2 and 3 markets such as Amritsar, Karnal, Guwahati, Ranchi, Aurangabad, Vishakapatnam, Hubli, Udaipur and Vijaywada have shown a high growth in demand upwards of 30 per cent."Summer has always been a peak travel season, this year, we have noticed a significant growth in bookings of 22 per cent as compared to the previous year," Thomas Cook (India) Holidays, MICE, Visa, President and Country Head Rajeev Kale said.Amongst others, one of the key highlights of this season was that there was an increase in the range of traveller segments, each one unique and clear about what they seek from their holidays, he added."A key highlight has been the shift from a saver's economy to a spender's economy with the rise in the number of vacations Indians take as a family each year," Kale said.Rise of millennial travellers has seen a shift towards experiential holidays, with demand for outdoor and adventure activities witnessing a surge of around 28 per cent, Thomas Cook India said.Another trend that has been witnessed is Indian travellers are moving from a single long annual vacation to multiple short recurring holidays or micro-breaks, it added.Shares of Thomas Cook India Ltd were trading at Rs 213 per scrip on BSE, down 3.09 per cent from its previous close.

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