The Co-operative Travel Trading Group (or CTTG) was the central buying group for co-operative travel agents in the United Kingdom. It was established along the same lines as the Co-operative Retail Trading Group when the Co-operative Group merged its own five travel operations in 2003.[1]
 | |
| Company type | Business of a consumer co-operative |
|---|---|
| Industry | Wholesale |
| Predecessor | Co-op Retail Trading Group |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Defunct | 2012 |
| Successor | The Co-operative Travel |
| Headquarters | |
| Products | Travel agent |
| Parent | The Co-operative Group |
The CTTG was disbanded following the merger of the Co-operative Travel (including Midlands Co-operative Travel) with the High Street branches of the Thomas Cook Group in 2011. Following its closure, Midcounties Co-operative Travel said it “had no alternative but to create a standalone commercial and marketing capacity [and] in the spirit of the sixth co-operative principle, has agreed to make this service available to the Channel Islands Co-operative and Chelmsford Star Co-operative, who have also been affected by the joint venture decision. The partnerships will help them optimise their continued development as prominent independent agents.”[2] Channel Islands’s Travelmaker is the leading independent in Jersey and Guernsey.
The East of England Co-operative travel business joined the Midcounties Co-operative Travel Consortium in 2013,[3] whereas Lincolnshire Co-operative travel agencies joined Worldchoice when their arrangements with The Co-operative Group came to an end in 2012.[4]
Freedom Travel
editFreedom Travel Limited, a subsidiary of Co-op Group Travel 2 Holdings Ltd., was established in 2001 and is an organisation of managed travel agents working together to secure a profitable future. It was originally formed to enable travel agents to become part of a larger buying group benefiting from better commissions, larger overrides, lower operating costs, lower bank charges and better technology.[5] The Co-operative Travel at Anglia Co-operative Society is a trading name of the Freedom Travel Group, part of the Thomas Cook Group.[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ UK Activity Report Archived 2009-02-20 at the Wayback Machine UK Business Park, 24 February 2003
- ^ Bowman, Dave Co-operatives launch new travel group in UK Co-operative News, 29 March 2012
- ^ Essex: New affiliation for East of England Co-op’s travel stores East Anglian Daily Times, 14 February 2013
- ^ Lincolnshire Co-op to join Worldchoice Travel Weekly, 5 December 2012
- ^ About us Archived 2013-05-20 at the Wayback Machine Freedom Travel Group (retrieved 8 May 2013)
- ^ The Co-operative Travel Anglia Regional Co-operative Society (retrieved 8 May 2013)