Thomas Cook India and SOTC launch India’s first Safe Holiday Helpline

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., its Group Company, SOTC Travel Ltd., have announced the launch of India’s first Safe Holiday Helpline, a free service to assist and support customers in safe holiday planning, with comprehensive guidance across country-specific health & safety protocols, visa and travel updates with documentation, requirements including COVID-19 negative certification, etc. The pioneering Safe Holiday Helpline is an extension to the Thomas Cook & SOTC Assured Safe Travel Program in partnership with Apollo Clinics, that ensures meticulous health and safety protocols - at every stage of the customer journey.

The ongoing updates/changes in safety protocols issued by various health/government authorities (both India and international), coupled with conflicting news in the public domain, have left travellers confused and insecure. Therefore, in a meaningful initiative to provide clarity and guide customers in safe travel planning, Thomas Cook & SOTC have introduced the Safe Holiday Helpline – offering comprehensive, country-specific information across visa-immigration regulations, health & safety protocols, on-ground destination updates, etc.

Customer benefits include:

·      Safe & Free holiday planning advice from experts
·      Easy access via a toll free helpline 77150 44444 between 9.30am- 9pm
·      Comprehensive travel guidance: across country specific health-safety measures, visa-immigration regulations, on-ground protocols and operational status of local attractions, important emergency contact information, quarantine details, etc.

Mr. Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head – Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. said, “There is much uncertainty in the minds of India’s travellers when it comes to planning their holidays in this new COVID-19 era with several questions, such as: which countries can one can travel to, what are their specific rules/health requirements, what are the new visa formalities, etc. So, to build customer confidence, our pioneering Safe Holiday Helpline intends to hand-hold our customers - clarify all their doubts and guide them in safe holiday planning. Our Teams have meticulously put together a set of guidelines - working in close co-ordination with Tourism Board partners as well as global government and health authorities - to ensure accuracy and ongoing updates.”

He added, “Our Safe Holiday Helpline is yet another meaningful consumer initiative and forms an extension of our Assured Safe Travel Program in partnership with Apollo Clinics that ensures meticulous health & safety protocols across every customer touch-point. This launch follows in close succession to our recently introduced end-to-end COVID-negative certification services in partnership with ICMR accredited labs, with contactless facilitation – across India.”

Mr. Daniel D’souza, President & Country Head, Leisure, SOTC Travel said, “As India plans ahead to extend its travel bubbles, to facilitate safe and smooth travel amongst travellers, SOTC has launched the Safe Holiday Helpline to provide up-to-date information on intra-state and country-specific regulations, on-ground safety measures, health and visa protocols, etc. – under our Assured Safe Travel Program. With safety being the #1 concern for every traveller, this novel initiative helps restore confidence in customers, putting them at ease and helping them make informed travel decisions. Our focus has always been customer centric and this initiative is an extension of that journey.”