Thomas Cook and TUI ranked worst package holiday providers in survey

Two of the UK’s leading Tour Operators, Thomas Cook and TUI, have been ranked as the worst package holiday providers in a new survey conducted by Which? magazine.

The travel report carried out by the consumer publication asked over 4,000 customers to provide feedback and scores for 11 leading Tour Operators.  They were asked to rate each operator on a number of criteria, including customer service, accommodation, description vs reality, organisation and value for money.

Thomas Cook came out bottom of the pile, with 25% of respondents saying they had experienced a problem during their trip.

Thomas Cook respond to results

A spokesperson for Thomas Cook told Express.co.uk: “Many millions of loyal customers come back to Thomas Cook year after year.

“It seems they are not represented by the sample of fewer than 300 of our customers which was used for this Which? report.

“We take the views of our customers very seriously.

“Our own customer satisfaction scores – which incorporate the feedback of tens of thousands of customers – are significantly higher than those reported by Which? and this year, satisfaction is up in all areas, including our rep service and quality of hotels.”

Thomas Cook often give out customer satisfaction surveys to package holidaymakers returning to the UK, with the incentive of prizes including cash.

Best and worst of the rest

TUI, the UK’s largest Tour Operator, were ranked second-worst in the survey and a familiar theme across both companies was issues with tour reps.  Many respondents complained that they were unhelpful or impossible to track down, which is concerning given the importance these firms place on reporting of illness on-resort in holiday claims.

Bucking the trend, Tour giants Jet2 received good scores from participants, receiving four-star ratings across the board, with holidaymakers much more satisfied with the customer service they received.

Trailfinders were the top-ranked among the 11 package holiday providers, achieving an overall score of 91 per cent and five-star ratings for customer service and holiday organisation.

The company specialises in tailor-made trips all over the world and their customer-receptive approach also sees them ranked as the number 1 travel company on Trustpilot.