TRAVEL GIANT BANKS ON BROWN TO LET BRITS HAVE IT OFF!
'Thomas Cook to give everyone a free day in its biggest Christmas campaign ever'
"Even Lithuania and Latvia get more Bank Holidays than us"
Thomas Cook, the nation's favourite travel company, has today launched a campaign urging the Prime Minister to introduce a new Bank Holiday.
The travel giant is calling on Brits to join the campaign and sign its petition for an extra Bank Holiday - and to prove it means business, Thomas Cook is offering millions of free days on holidays booked between now and the end of March.
In its biggest ever campaign, Thomas Cook will give holidaymakers a free day off millions of its holidays.
"Because we know how important holidays are and what a difference a day can make - be that a Bank Holiday or annual leave - we want to give holidaymakers in 2008 a chance to enjoy an extra free day. Normally at this time of year you'd expect holiday companies to offer just money off, but to show that we really want our campaign to make a difference we're prepared to offer our holidaymakers a day off now," said Simon Robinson, Executive Director - Distribution, Thomas Cook UK & Ireland.
Holidaymakers wanting to make the most of the 'Go For A Free Day' offer - and to sign the Bank Holiday petition - can do so at any one of Thomas Cook's 800 stores or online at www.thomascook.com.
Thomas Cook's Executive Director of Marketing, Simon Carter explained: "We're calling on the government to seriously look at the number of Bank Holidays that Brits have. At the moment its unbelievable that Brits sit at the bottom of the Euro Bank Holiday league, with only eight days off a year. Only Romanians rank below, with seven and a half days off a year. And with 121 days between the last Bank Holiday in August and the next public holiday at Christmas, we're really urging everyone to join us in our call to get this changed."
In a recent survey, 57 per cent of MPs said they were in support of the introduction of a new Bank Holiday and just over a third said they opposed it. Inspired by these findings, the company is going all out for success.
"We created holidays, as they are known today, back in 1841, so it's only right for us to take up this challenge now," said up Simon Carter.
To drive the campaign forward Thomas Cook will target the nation's MPs to gain their support and actively lobby the Government to make the change. And to prove it means business the company will even give all of its employees an extra day off in 2008.
"Why should we wait for the Government to take action - we value our employees and think they deserve that extra day off. And if it's good enough for our staff - why not for all Brits? That's why, in the meantime, we are offering all of our customers a free day on millions of holidays," summed up Carter.
