Thomas Cook Group is targeting 50-60% of sales to be made online within three years, as it continues its digital transformation.
Currently the online share varies significantly across markets, from more than 70% in the Nordics to single figures in Germany.
Speaking at the recent Digital Travel Summit, Marco Ryan, chief digital officer, said that while the retail network was important, and acted as a differentiator as it competes against the likes of Expedia and other online travel agents, it also “came at a cost”.
Ryan, who joined Cook’s Digital Advisory Board just over two years ago, added that he believed the company was still in “remission”.
“Three years ago, we were close to bankruptcy,” he told delegates at the event.
“Three years in, we’re not as far as I’d like to be. I’d give us a C- or B+ grade, not because we’re doing badly, but because it’s bloody hard.
”We’re not well, we’re in remission, and a turnaround can take five to eight years."
“IT has been the biggest challenge in the past few years, but we will open up our APIs, in terms of enterprise layer, and move away from bespoke integration.”
He cited how at one point the company had 30 ways of producing content for hotels in 21 counties – meaning some countries were doing it twice. As a result, more emphasis was placed on sharing more content across the business.
Ryan also highlighted how the company’s “Let’s Go Digital” cultural programme was engaging staff at all levels.
“The culture of analytics is hardest to sell to any board, but they really have to understand how critical this is, as well as data. Data scientists are expensive, and in high demand, but accept that and bring them in.
“We weren’t customer focused enough, but over the next few weeks you’ll see some things to show how we changed,” he added.
*Thomas Cook asked TTG to amend this story because figures quoted at the Summit were inaccurate. We reported Thomas Cook Group was aiming for 70% online sales across the group, but Thomas Cook said it should have given a figure of 50-60%.
