Thomas Cook, which began life in 1841 by selling rail excursions to a temperance rally in Loughborough, has been trying to reinvent its business for the internet age after it almost collapsed in 2012 following a slump in bookings.
Travel brands are already using virtual reality to good effect – Thomas Cook had great success selling special excursions to people who had booked holidays in New York by letting them get a flavour of what to expect via virtual-reality headsets, allowing them to virtually visit before they book.
The company had decided last year to stop selling the Excursion after the 2004 model year because of declining sales, but said on Monday that it was reconsidering because industry demand had held up for the largest S.U.V.'s.
In the first half of this year, Ford sold 15,107 Excursions, down 16percentt from the pace in 2001, meaning it is likely to sell only about 30,000 this year.
Ford is on pace to sell 15,000 Excursions in the U.S. this year with no significant marketing.
The firm, which started by selling British railway excursions and is now Europe's second-biggest tour operator, has issued several profit warnings.
Nomad Safaris was one of the first tour operators to start selling a themed excursion when fans started arriving a decade ago.
Ford's Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs are, with help from the discontinuation of the Excursion, selling more than they did last year.
In 1884, the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Philadelphia and Reading Railway began selling special fair excursion tickets for the campground.
At the height of its popularity, Albion Motors sold about 10 Excursions a month.
