Thomas Cook

German tour operator Tui AG is signing new, long-term contracts with Greek hoteliers who were not previously in its portfolio, in a bid to expand further in Greece after the collapse of rival British company Thomas Cook.

As the latest estimates regarding just how hard Greek hotels have been hit by the collapse of UK travel giant Thomas Cook are pointing to unpaid invoices of some 230 million euros, and the government is assessing its options in terms of response measures, the now-dominant European tour operator, Tui AG, is sending one of its big bosses to Greece.

Efforts to cultivate optimism are welcome, given the fact that positive public sentiment is a required condition for economic growth. That said, Greek government officials should be reserved in their forecasts.

The consequences arising from the collapse of British tour operator Thomas Cook cannot be easily tackled. However, the clock is ticking and the insecurity felt by the Greek tourism industry - both for businesses and employees - is deepening.

The collapse of British tour operator Thomas Cook is "credit negative" for Greek and Cypriot banks because it reduces the cash flow of businesses in the tourism sectors of these countries, ratings agency Moody's said in a report on Thursday.

In connection with the announcement of the bankruptcy of the Thomas Cook tour operator subsidiaries, the Ministry of Tourism has created an expert group for emergency work and a 24-hour hotline. This was announced at an extraordinary press conference by the Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova, quoted by the BNR.

British authorities have returned home more than 95% of the customers of the failed British tourist company Thomas Cook. The harvesting of the blocked people will continue in the coming days, the British Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) announced.

British tourists are leaving Turkey's Mediterranean resort city Antalya and other coastal provinces following the collapse of the U.K. tour operator Thomas Cook, the British Embassy in Turkey said on Sept. 25.           

The bankruptcy of a tourism giant such as Thomas Cook has naturally rocked international tourism and this has had dramatic repercussions on Greece.

An unexpected domino of developments has affected hotels, tourist agents, procurers, workers, and travelers.

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There was no information so far on any Greek nationals stranded abroad due to the collapse of British tour operator Thomas Cook, Greece's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday evening, citing information gathered by the country's diplomatic and consular authorities.
The ministry said it was "closely monitoring" developments and has taken measures to address any problems that may arise.