LGBTQ travelers now have another resource to turn to when booking their next vacation.
Thomas Cook Airlines has announced it will be offering specialized training to its retail staff on how to provide LGBTQ clients with the best possible service.
The LGBTQ holiday experts at Thomas Cook will receive guidance in the appropriate terminology to use when booking trips for gay and lesbian couples and families, as well as be trained in how to best address the fact that not all destinations are friendly to same-sex travelers.
Thomas Cook Airlines has supported the city of Manchester, England's Pride celebration for three years running. The announcement comes on the heels of the carrier's support of pride events throughout the UK, for which the airline designed special window displays in 14 stores that lined the various Pride parade routes.
Thomas Cook wanted to reflect the diverse nature of its client base, something that was evident over the 2016 holiday season when it introduced an ad campaign that featured same-sex parents and a gay kiss. Marketing director for Thomas Cook Group and UK Jamie Queen said: "It's 2016, our customers are as diverse as our holidays, and we wanted to reflect that in our marketing campaign."
In a statement issued at the time, Thomas Cook expanded upon that theme: "We wanted to reflect a modern Britain and a diverse Britain. That's what we feel like we've done throughout the whole piece of work. We've made sure we've got a true reflection of what we see out there every day."
In honor of Pride, the airline has blogged about some of the most gay-friendly holiday destinations. Among the destinations it suggests is the Greek island of Mykonos, known for its long history of warmly welcoming travelers of all sexual orientations. Also mentioned are Ibiza, Malta, San Francisco, New York City, Florida, Cancun, Phuket and Bangkok.
Thomas Cook Group Airlines includes Condor (Germany), Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium, Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia and Thomas Cook Airlines, one of the most recognizable names in leisure air in Europe. It features a fleet of 31 planes that fly from more than 20 airports throughout the UK to more than 60 destinations in North America, the Caribbean and India.
[READMORE]READ MORE: Thomas Cook Adds Manchester-JFK Service[/READMORE]
Thomas Cook Airlines, Europe's seventh-largest long-haul airline, was recently named the world's leading charter airline for the second year running at the World Travel Awards. Earlier this year, the airline underwent cabin upgrades and introduced 25 new Airbus A321s, as well as long-haul routes to the United States and the Caribbean.
The airline also added year-round service from Manchester to JFK in December of last year, and now offers year-round, thrice-weekly service between the airports. The addition made New York the third year-round U.S. destination for the airline.
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