Billionaire business tycoon Samih Sawiris, through his Raiffeisen Touristik (RT) Group, has acquired the German travel agency franchise system of Thomas Cook, after the latter reported a major drop in sales and went bankrupt in late September, Invest-Gate reports.

The agreement entails the transfer of hundreds of travel agencies to Sawiris, driving the Egyptian businessman to rise as the most powerful travel contractor in German tourism, according to a press release on December 2.

Sawiris currently owns 74.9% of RT Group, which generates around EUR 3.5 bn (EGP 62.5 bn) in sales per year. The group includes Otto Group’s Reiseland brand, Thomas Cook Netherlands, and 700 other foreign private travel agencies.

According to the British Telegraph newspaper, Sawiris has made significant contributions to reviving the tourism industry worldwide, and his plans to place Andermatt village in the Swiss Alps on the global tourism map and “reinvent” the resort was commended by Switzerland.

Besides, the market guru is looking to expand further into the international tourism sector as his company, Orascom Development Egypt (ODE), is associated with hospitality development for owning 35 hotels in Egypt, Oman, Switzerland, and the UAE. Similar projects are also planned in Montenegro and Morocco.

On the impact of Thomas Cook’s bankruptcy, ODE revealed in a previous statement, “We do not foresee a big impact as our operations will fill the hotels’ rooms up with other tour operators. It is important to mention that the agreement with Thomas Cook constitutes only 244 rooms out of the ODE portfolio of 7,082 rooms; thus, the short term impact is excepted to be minimal.”

Earlier in December 2018, the Egyptian developer, through its hotel subsidiary Orascom Hotels Management (OHM), had signed a deal with the 178-year-old Thomas Cook to rebrand El Gouna’s 144-room hotel, or Arena Inn, to become a Cook’s Club hotel, alongside developing the new 100-room Casa Cook hotel.