Mumbai, October 20, 2022: The Cherry Blossom season is the perfect time to visit Japan as the country’s iconic sakura (cherry blossoms) flowers blanket the country in soft pink splendour and capture the attention of visitors. The re-opening of the destination after two years, ahead of the highly awaited Sakura Season has fuelled travel demand for Japan. To capitalise on this demand, Thomas Cook (India) Limited – India’s leading omnichannel travel services company and its Group Company, SOTC Travel, have launched an extensive range of ready-to-book, air-inclusive, land-only and customizable holidays across Japan, starting at Rs 2,75,500.00* per person for 8 days.

Thomas Cook and SOTC’s product range extends across affordable luxury and premium holidays. Consumers can avail of attractive deals like Buy One Get One – Companion Free offer and cash discounts. With a range of Japan Sakura tours, the Companies intend to target India’s families, millennials/young professionals, couples and honeymoon segments.

Japan offers Indian consumers a diversity of unique activities and offbeat experiences such as a visit to Suzuka Circuit to enjoy its motorsport-themed rides, Japan’s popular anime culture tours or a unique Ninja experience at its Ninja village resonating with millennials; bar hopping at Nonbei Yokocho, a little street bursting with character or Japanese whisky trails. Also, street shopping at famous Harajuku’s Takeshita Street or Osaka Shinsaibashi, hillside spa of Jozankei Onsen – for hot spa tours or indulging in local Japanese cuisine at Osaka. Additionally, the Sumida River Cruise allows tourists to see the Heart of Tokyo – the city of water.

Iconic locations in Japan that are popular among Indians include Mount Fuji, the country’s highest mountain peak; the city of Nara – hub of Japanese culture for centuries; Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, at the epicenter of the atomic blast and the Nara Deer Park in the first capital of Japan. The famed Osaka Castle, known for its contribution to the unification of Japan, encompasses a garden that is also a popular cherry blossom viewing spot.

In addition, Hakone is famous for hot springs, natural beauty and the view across Lake Ashinoko; Naritasan is a popular Buddhist temple in Narita with a history of over 1000 years and Kyoto is home to numerous Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, palaces and gardens.

“The reopening of Japan after over two years is a significant opportunity that we look forward to leverage via our Sakura tours. Our customers have a growing appetite for experiential destinations like Japan that offer unique activities for all segments and our product portfolio has been created to attract segments of families/multigenerational families, young professionals/millennials, couples and honeymooners. To help our customers plan their perfect holidays, we have launched an exciting range of Japan holidays with special offers like Buy One Get One Free. Customers can select from our array of ready-to-book and personalised options to plan their perfect holiday.”

Mr. Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head – Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India) Limited.

“The Sakura season is spectacular and represents Japan’s largest travel period and with positive customer sentiment, travel desire is at an all-time high. With the launch of our Japan holidays in sync with the reopening of the destination after over two years, we look forward to further capitalise on the growing travel demand for Japan. We have designed our itineraries with unique experiences and a range of exciting activities to explore the destination. Our strategic intent will focus on highlighting the unique sightseeing options, signature wellness experience and extensive range of local food & shopping attractions to drive demand. With exciting early booking offers on our range of Japan holidays, we welcome customers on a holiday that is cherished forever.”

Mr. Daniel D’souza President & Country Head – Holidays, SOTC Travel

About Thomas Cook (India) Limited:

Set up in 1881, Thomas Cook (India) Limited. (TCIL) is the leading omnichannel travel company in the country offering a broad spectrum of services including Foreign Exchange, Corporate Travel, MICE, Leisure Travel and Value Added Services. It operates leading B2C and B2B brands including Thomas Cook, SOTC, TCI, SITA, Asian Trails, Allied T Pro, Australian Tours Management, Desert Adventures, Luxe Asia, Travel Circle International Limited (TCI 勝景遊), Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited, Distant Frontiers, TC Tours, Digiphoto Entertainment Imaging (DEI), Go Vacation, Private Safaris East & South Africa

As one of the largest travel service provider networks headquartered in the Asia-Pacific region, The Thomas Cook India Group spans 28 countries across 5 continents

TCIL has been felicitated with CNBC-TV18 & ICICI Lombard India Risk Management Award – Travel & Leisure Category 2022 & 2021, The Best Travel Agency – India at TTG Travel Awards 2019, The Best Outbound Tour Operator at the Times Travel Awards 2018 & 2019 and Leading Company with Cutting Edge Travel Innovation at the Times Travel Awards 2018, Silver award for Asia’s Best Integrated Report (First Time) category at the Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards 2019, Best Risk Management-Framework & Systems at the India Risk Management Awards 2019; Best Cash Management Solution – India at the Asset Triple A Treasury, Trade, Supply Chain & Risk Management Awards 2018, Best Outbound Tour Operator at the SATTE Awards 2019, Excellence in Domestic Tour Operations at the SATTE Awards 2018, The French Ambassador’s Award for Exemplary Achievements in Visa Issuance 5 years in a row and the Condé Nast Traveller – Readers’ Travel Awards from 2011 to 2019.

CRISIL has reaffirmed the rating on debt programmes and bank facilities of Thomas Cook (India) Limited – ‘CRISIL A+/Negative on the long-term bank facilities of TCIL and CRISIL A1 rating on the short-term bank facilities and short- term debt of the Company. For more information, please visit www.thomascook.in

Fairbridge Capital (Mauritius) Limited, a subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited promotes TCIL by holding 72.34% of its paid-up capital and is responsible for the execution of acquisition and investment opportunities.

About SOTC Travel:

SOTC Travel Limited is a step-down subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings held through its Indian listed subsidiary, Thomas Cook (India) Limited (TCIL). SOTC India is a leading omnichannel travel and tourism company active across various travel segments including Leisure Travel, Incentive Travel and Business Travel. SOTC was established in 1949. Since then, it has escorted millions of travellers across the globe for more than 70 years to various destinations around the world. A new age innovative holidaymaker, SOTC strives to make holidays a priority for every Indian. ‘We are for holidays’ and we want Indians to prioritize their holidays.

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