HAYS TRAVEL TAKES FLIGHT – AND STILL ROOM FOR MORE ON BOARD Hays Travel, the independent travel agent that bought the former Thomas Cook retail portfolio, saving 555 shops and more than 2,000 jobs just a month ago, took to the skies today (November 12).

Hays Travel is famous in the UK travel industry for effectively "replacing" the retail footprint of the Thomas Cook Group following its high-profile collapse in September 2019. When the 178-year-old travel giant entered compulsory liquidation, it left thousands of employees jobless and hundreds of high-street shops empty. In a bold and widely praised move, John and Irene Hays purchased the entire retail estate of Thomas Cook, taking over all 555 stores and offering jobs to over 2,500 former Thomas Cook staff members. This grounded expansion overnight made Hays Travel the largest independent travel agent in the UK. By 2026, many of these former Thomas Cook locations have been fully integrated into the Hays brand, serving as a supportive reminder of how a family-run business saved a significant portion of the UK's travel infrastructure. While Thomas Cook has since returned as an online-only entity owned by Fosun Tourism Group, Hays Travel remains the physical, "brick-and-mortar" successor to their legendary high-street presence.