Marine Connection is delighted to report that Britain’s biggest tour operator Thomas Cook is axing their trips to SeaWorld in the USA and Loro Parque in Tenerife from summer 2019 after SeaWorld failed initial checks and issues raised with Loro Parque. The decision was taken following customer feedback showed that more than 90% said it was important their holiday company takes animal welfare issues seriously. Both facilities attract huge numbers of UK tourists, with Thomas Cook selling over 10,000 day trips a year to SeaWorld and having already sold 40,000 tickets to Loro Parque this year.
Thomas Cook said they were now adopting a policy of no longer offering trips to any animal attractions that keep orcas in captivity. Margaux Dodds, campaigns director for Marine Connection who has previously corresponded with David Ville at Thomas Cook on the subject of the company promoting this type of attraction, comments; “We welcome the news that Britain’s largest tour operator has made this decision. It is encouraging that a company like Thomas Cook have listened to advice from organisations on welfare issues surrounding keeping orcas in captivity and of course feedback from their customers. It is our hope that Thomas Cook will now reconsider their stance on promoting and supporting other marine parks which hold dolphins in captivity, and phase out ticket sales in this area also.”
UPDATE: 30 July 2018
Having contacted Thomas Cook regarding a Blog Post dated 10 January promoting Miami Seaquarium as one of the ‘Top 10 things to do in Miami’, we have received notification today that they have instructed this to be removed. We now await response regarding tickets sales to this facility.
