After 178 years in business, Thomas Cook, the pioneering tour operator, is announcing its bankruptcy on 23 September 2019. This marks the demise of a giant with sales of ¤10 billion and more than 20,000 employees. Thomas Cook is the creator of the modern tourism industry. Yet the sector appears dynamic, with regular growth outstripping that of global GDP and a global turnover of more than 1,700 billion dollars. Behind the industry's dynamism, we need to look at what might explain Thomas Cook's difficulties. Indeed, the bankruptcy of this leader is illustrative of the upheavals transforming the sector, in particular the development of online services, which have led to the emergence of new players. However, explanations based on external causes are certainly useful, but insufficient. They need to be supplemented by an internal analysis, which shows Thomas Cook to be a paper tiger, due in particular to questionable strategic choices and a debt burden that has become unsustainable.
The case provides an opportunity to apply the tools of strategic analysis and to reflect on the causes of bankruptcy. It can also be used to fuel a more general discussion, as it illustrates the issues, encountered in many industries, linked to the appearance of new forms of competition and the emergence of new business models based on the development of digital technologies.