Thomas Cook plays an important role in the tourism industry. It is a large tour operator that often merges with other companies to increase its position in the market. In the UK tourism industry, the merger process is called integration and most large tour operators will integrate horizontally and vertically. Both integrations can help companies increase their economies of scale. According to the case study “The Thomas Cook – MyTravel merger in 2007” (Page & Connell, 2009), Thomas Cook was horizontally integrated with MyTravel to form Thomas Cook Group plc. Subsequently, according to the case study “Thomas Cook Pays Top Dollar” (BusinessLine, 2014), Thomas Cook was vertically integrated with Sterling Holiday Resorts, a hotel owned by 19 companies. As these two outcomes result from the above case study, Thomas Cook has integrated horizontally and vertically with both tour operators and suppliers. Integration with other companies can achieve the greatest benefits because it has different components in the supply chain and "offer the organization more strategic options in terms of market penetration and market product development" (Trible, 1997). Horizontal integration can improve the market share by merging with small tour operators. Thomas Cook not only merged with MyTravel but also merged with Co-operative Travel in 2008 (SMR, 2010) attracting more customers and making more profits. At the time of the merger, “the shares were up 52% ​​and 48% were owned by MyTravel Group shareholders” (BBC, 2009). On the bright side, the market share has increased due to the larger size of the companies. Also, merging with other tour operators can reduce research costs, then produce more products to satisfy customers...... middle of paper...... prepare the tour package because they have much more knowledge to do research and development. Additionally, “the top-up benefit can help provide physicians with greater income protection” (Sun Life Financial, 2010). From the PEST impacts above, risks such as taxes, exchange rate and aviation fuel costs must be included and cannot be estimated, so Thomas Cook had using the hedging process to minimize costs. This process can protect the company and avoid walking away from risks. Tour operators must have a financial assessment before planning tourism products, taking into account all factors that could be included to protect themselves and obtain more stable income. Hence, “new product revenue growth, web integration, profit improvement programs combined with an intense business focus and financial discipline, all underpinned by the Thomas Cook Business System” (Thomas Cook Group, 2014).