Cosmos

What Cosmos does

Cosmos Tours Ltd is a UK-based, value-oriented escorted tour operator founded in 1961, operating from Richmond, Surrey with 51-100 employees. The company is a sub-brand of the Swiss family-owned Globus family of brands, which also includes premium Globus tours and Avalon Waterways river cruises, and leverages shared Tour Director networks, local guides, and supplier relationships across 80+ countries to deliver over 740 holiday itineraries.

Cosmos's core product is bundled escorted tour packages covering transportation, hand-selected accommodations, guided sightseeing, and expert Tour Directors, with optional flight-inclusive variants departing from up to five UK airports (Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and others). Tour pricing ranges from approximately £989 Land Only for short European itineraries to over £6,000 for extended multi-country programs, with deposits starting from £150 per person. The product portfolio spans general escorted tours plus specialized sub-brands including Undiscovered Tours (off-beaten-path), Religious Pilgrimages, Private Touring (2-24 person groups), Africa Safari Tours, and dedicated Solo Travel packages. Supporting technology consists of the cosmos.co.uk booking platform, the MyCosmos customer portal at my.cosmos.co.uk, and the CosmosGO mobile app providing on-trip GPS navigation, restaurant recommendations, and daily schedules.

Cosmos generates revenue through one-time tour package sales (Land Only or Land & Air), optional excursion add-ons (cultural shows, game drives, winery visits), and ancillary services including travel insurance, flight arrangements, and airport transfers. Distribution is multi-channel: direct website self-service, phone-based Holiday Planners (0330 0588 237), a travel agent network with a dedicated Globus trade portal, and paid digital advertising across Google, Facebook, Bing, and impact.com. The target customer is the value-minded traveler, with secondary segments including solo travelers, faith-based pilgrims, and educators eligible for a 10% discount. The company has no external funding, no disclosed financial results, and operates as a privately held subsidiary of the family-owned Globus group.

Name

Cosmos

Legal name

Cosmos Tours Ltd

Website

https://cosmos.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Cosmos Tours Ltd is a UK-based value-oriented escorted tour operator, founded 1961, offering 740+ package holidays across 80+ countries to individual leisure travelers through its website, phone sales, and travel agent network, operating as part of the Swiss family-owned Globus family of brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Escorted Tour Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Cruise & Land Tour (Cruisetour) Package Operators (THAKADAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pilgrimage Packages (Land-Only) Tour Operators (THAKAHAJ), Concierge & Luxury Personal Itinerary Design (THAKAOAB)

Keywords

• Escorted tours
• Guided holidays
• Tour packages
• Value touring
• Travel operator

Headquarters

HQ city

Bromley

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Escorted Tour Packages: Cosmos generates revenue through sale of escorted tour packages, offering both Land Only and Land & Air options. Prices range from approximately £989 to over £6,000 per person depending on destination, duration, and included features. Deposits start from £150 per person with the remaining balance paid before departure.
2. Optional Excursions: Additional revenue is generated through optional excursions offered during tours, such as cultural shows, winery visits, helicopter rides, game drives, and special experiences that customers can purchase separately to enhance their trip.
3. Travel Insurance and Extras: Cosmos offers travel insurance, flight arrangements, airport transfers, and other travel extras as add-on services to tour bookings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cosmos designs and sells value-priced escorted tour packages that bundle hand-selected accommodations, ground transportation, guided sightseeing, expert Tour Directors, and Local Guides into single-price itineraries across Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific. Packages are offered as Land Only or Land & Air options departing from multiple UK airports, and are complemented by optional excursions, travel insurance, private touring upgrades, and the CosmosGO mobile app for on-trip support.

Product overview

Cosmos is a value-minded escorted tour operator offering a portfolio of tour products across global destinations. The core offering is Cosmos Escorted Tours, which bundles transportation, hand-selected accommodations, guided sightseeing, expert Tour Directors, and optional excursions into affordable packages. Tour & Fly Packages add flight-inclusive options departing from UK airports. The portfolio includes regional tour products (e.g., Brazil/Argentina/Chile Unveiled, Classic Japan, Heart of Canadian Rockies, Essential China, Best of India) as well as specialized sub-brands such as Undiscovered Tours for off-beaten-path experiences and Religious Pilgrimages for faith-based travel. CosmosGO Mobile App and MyCosmos provide customer-facing digital tools for trip management. Private Touring offers customization options for exclusive groups. Cosmos operates as part of the Globus family of brands alongside Globus (first-class tours) and Avalon Waterways (river cruises).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cosmos Escorted Tours Value-priced multi-day escorted tour packages bundling transportation, hand-selected accommodations, guided sightseeing, expert Tour Directors, and Local Guides for UK travelers exploring Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific.
• Tour & Fly Packages Flight-inclusive tour packages that bundle international flights from up to five UK airports (Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and others) with escorted ground arrangements for an all-in-one price.
• Private Touring Exclusive private tour option allowing groups of 2-24 travelers to convert any European Cosmos tour into a private experience with a dedicated Tour Director, private transportation, and customised pace.
• Undiscovered Tours Off-the-beaten-path escorted tours that focus on lesser-known destinations and authentic local experiences beyond typical tourist sites.
• Religious Pilgrimages Faith-based escorted tour packages to religious destinations including the Holy Land, Camino de Santiago, Lourdes, Fatima, and European shrines.
• Africa Safari Tours Safari holiday packages to Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa featuring game drives in custom-built safari vehicles, national park visits, and wildlife viewing experiences.
• CosmosGO Mobile App Mobile companion application for tour participants providing on-trip GPS navigation, restaurant recommendations, shopping locales, and daily tour schedules to support independent exploration during free time.
• MyCosmos Customer Portal Online booking and account management platform where customers can manage reservations, access travel documents, and personalise their Cosmos bookings.
• Optional Excursions Add-on experiences such as cultural shows, winery visits, helicopter rides, game drives, and special destination activities that customers can purchase separately to enhance their tour.
• Travel Insurance and Extras Ancillary offerings bundled with tour bookings including travel insurance, flight arrangements, and airport transfer services.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96.7 customer satisfaction score in UKCSI Tourism survey by the Institute of Customer Service
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Globus Family of BrandscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCosmos is a trading name of Cosmos Tours Ltd and is part of the Globus family of brands, which also includes Globus (first-class tours) and Avalon Waterways (river cruises). The Globus family was founded in Switzerland in 1928 and has grown into a global travel company spanning over 740 holidays across 80 countries. Cosmos leverages the expertise, supplier relationships, and operational infrastructure of the broader Globus family.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Jet2Holidays: Major UK package holiday operator with its own airline, offering beach and city breaks to mainstream destinations. Competes with Cosmos on UK outbound package travel but with a resort-beach focus rather than escorted touring.
• Thomas Cook (Online): Historic UK tour operator brand now operating as an online travel platform post-restructuring. Offers package holidays and some escorted tours that overlap with Cosmos's destination portfolio, particularly European city breaks.
• TUI UK: Largest UK integrated tour operator with proprietary airline capacity, hotels, and cruise ships. Competes with Cosmos across package holidays and escorted tours, but at much greater scale and with vertical cost advantages.
• Globus: Sister brand to Cosmos within the Globus family of brands, offering first-class escorted tours. Targets a more premium customer than Cosmos's value-oriented positioning but shares operational infrastructure, supplier relationships, and parent group backing.

Direct peers

• Riviera Travel: UK-based escorted tour and river cruise operator offering guided multi-day tours across Europe and worldwide destinations. Directly comparable to Cosmos on product model, UK customer base, and escorted touring approach, though with a stronger river cruise tilt.
• Insight Vacations: Premium escorted tour operator offering multi-country guided itineraries with luxury accommodations and small group sizes. Sister brand to Trafalgar within The Travel Corporation, competing with Cosmos for the upper end of the escorted tour market.
• Trafalgar Tours: Operates escorted multi-day tours across global destinations with similar inclusions (transport, accommodation, guided sightseeing, Tour Directors). Part of The Travel Corporation family of brands, making it a near-direct competitor to Cosmos within the same operational archetype but with a more premium positioning.
• Contiki: Escorted multi-day tour operator focused on 18-35 year old travelers. Comparable to Cosmos in operational model (guided multi-day itineraries with inclusions) but targets a younger demographic and more party-oriented experience.
• Cox & Kings: International escorted tour operator with strong heritage in cultural, historical, and pilgrimage tours. Comparable to Cosmos on guided multi-day international touring, particularly for destinations in Asia, Middle East, and Europe.
• Audley Travel: UK-based tailor-made and escorted tour operator specializing in long-haul destinations (Asia, Africa, South America). Comparable to Cosmos on global multi-country itineraries and UK customer base, with a more bespoke and premium service model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cosmosuk
• Facebookfacebook.com/cosmos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cosmostoursuk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cosmos