Gillian Tans Quotes

Powerful Gillian Tans for Daily Growth

About Gillian Tans

Gillian Tans (born March 28, 1963) is a renowned Dutch entrepreneur and executive, best known for her significant contributions to the global travel industry. Born in Amsterdam, Netherlands, she studied Economics at the University of Groningen before joining Thomas Cook in 1987. Tans' career at Thomas Cook spanned nearly three decades, during which she held various leadership positions and played a pivotal role in shaping the company's strategy. In 2003, she was appointed as the CEO of Thomas Cook Netherlands, and in 2010, she became the first woman to hold the position of Chief Executive Officer for Thomas Cook Group, leading it to become one of the world's largest travel companies. Throughout her career, Tans has been a strong advocate for gender diversity and women's empowerment. She was instrumental in launching the "Women in Travel" initiative within Thomas Cook, aiming to promote more women in leadership roles within the industry. One of Tans' most notable achievements came in 2016 when she orchestrated a successful restructuring of Thomas Cook, which saved the company from bankruptcy. However, in 2019, despite her best efforts, the company ultimately collapsed due to insurmountable debts. Post-Thomas Cook, Tans has continued to make her mark as an influential business leader. She is currently serving as the Chairwoman of Booking.com, one of the world's largest online travel agencies, a position she has held since 2016. Tans' quotable quotes often reflect her pragmatic approach to business and leadership, with statements like "You don't have to be perfect, but you do have to be decisive" encapsulating her philosophy. In conclusion, Gillian Tans' life and career serve as a testament to the power of determination, resilience, and strategic vision. Her influence on the travel industry is significant, and her commitment to gender diversity continues to inspire many.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Believe in yourself and take risks."

This quote by Gillian Tans highlights the importance of self-confidence and the spirit of adventure. Believing in oneself implies having faith in one's abilities, skills, and potential, which is essential for personal growth and success. By encouraging individuals to take risks, Tans suggests that stepping outside of one's comfort zone can lead to new opportunities, experiences, and learning. This quote serves as a reminder that embracing self-belief and seizing opportunities can help one overcome challenges, foster resilience, and ultimately achieve their goals.


"Success is about taking smart risks."

Gillian Tans' quote emphasizes that success is not merely about playing it safe, but rather about intelligently assessing and taking calculated risks that have the potential for significant rewards. It suggests that those who are able to evaluate opportunities wisely, and make decisions accordingly, are more likely to achieve greater success than those who avoid risks altogether. In essence, it highlights the importance of balancing caution with ambition in the pursuit of achieving one's goals.


"Always be open to learning new things."

Gillian Tans' quote emphasizes the importance of embracing continuous learning throughout one's life. By remaining open to new experiences, information, and ideas, we foster intellectual growth and adaptability. Adopting this mindset allows us to expand our perspectives, develop essential skills, and stay relevant in a rapidly evolving world. Ultimately, openness to learning fuels personal and professional success, fostering a sense of curiosity and a passion for lifelong education.


"Don't be afraid of failure, it's a part of success."

This quote emphasizes that the path to success often includes failures or setbacks. It encourages individuals to persevere despite potential failures as they are inherent in the process of achieving one's goals. Success is not just about reaching the destination, but also learning from and overcoming challenges along the way.


"Dare to dream big and work hard to make those dreams a reality."

This quote by Gillian Tans emphasizes the importance of aspiring for significant goals (daring to dream big) and the commitment required to transform these dreams into tangible realities through persistent effort and hard work. It underscores that ambition alone is insufficient; one must also be prepared to exert the necessary energy, time, and determination to achieve their lofty aspirations.


If firms were made to hire according to quotas, it might optimize the percentage of women in the industry, but that doesn't necessarily translate into more quality products for the customer.

- Gillian Tans

Hire, Made, Might, Percentage

Japan is a very important market for us and has grown remarkably as one of the most popular travel destinations in the world.

- Gillian Tans

Very, Japan, Destinations, Remarkably

On the one hand, you have markets such as Singapore and Thailand, with an extremely strong inbound booker market and a well-developed tourism industry. You also have markets that are just opening up to tourists, like Myanmar, that have massive growth potential and then markets that are extremely fragmented within themselves such as Indonesia.

- Gillian Tans

Strong, Tourism, Industry, Singapore

We are putting a lot of investments behind building customer loyalty. We need to make sure we keep investing in the right tech that will help customers. If we keep doing that well, we will keep progressing.

- Gillian Tans

Doing, Behind, Tech, Progressing

Pack snacks. Food prices once you pass through airport security or within blocks of a major tourist attraction can be double the price. Pack travel-friendly snacks or visit a grocery store in the destination you are visiting to get a better price.

- Gillian Tans

Through, Visiting, Attraction

Booking.com is one of the biggest translation companies in the world.

- Gillian Tans

World, Companies, Biggest, Translation

Instead of traveling on a weekend, begin your trip on a Tuesday or Wednesday, which are often the cheapest days to fly. Being flexible with timing can help with savings.

- Gillian Tans

Timing, Weekend, Which, Flexible

Starting a business and building a product are not for the faint of heart. You have to learn to not let little disappointments get you down and to stay focused on the big picture.

- Gillian Tans

Business, Product, Big, Starting

There is a misperception among job seekers that opportunities for women in tech exist only for those with coding or engineering experience. To be sure, technology firms do need women with these skills, but they also need women with expertise in other areas, like marketing and finance.

- Gillian Tans

Experience, Other, Expertise, Coding

Tech is a key driver of social and economic change, and around the world, women like me are transforming businesses, industries, and communities.

- Gillian Tans

Like, Social, Tech, Key

There are a lot of threats out there. Amazon can enter the travel market. Google could enter the accommodation space. But that is not something that we actively focus on.

- Gillian Tans

Focus, Google, Could, Actively

Education is crucial in determining which profession women will choose, so it's important to spark interest in technologies at an early age.

- Gillian Tans

Education, Profession, Which, Spark

I travel very light. I never want to check a bag. My only standards are a few sets of clothes, my white sneakers, my blue backpack, and my laptop. I don't have any special things otherwise.

- Gillian Tans

Bag, Laptop, Very, Backpack

One in five of our customers books for business. But it's scaling very fast. As a result, we have tools for medium or small-sized companies to allow them set their price and give basic reporting functionality.

- Gillian Tans

Give, Very, Allow, Reporting

Understand tipping culture. Whereas Americans tip 15-20% when dining out, most European countries don't tip, as a service charge is typically included in the bill. Make sure you're not over-tipping by doing research before traveling.

- Gillian Tans

Research, Doing, Before, Whereas

Both business and leisure travellers are enjoying unprecedented levels of choice.

- Gillian Tans

Business, Choice, Travellers, Unprecedented

What always drove me was my curiosity. That's what made me join Booking and not be afraid to leave a very successful job and then go into a startup.

- Gillian Tans

Always, Very, Booking, Startup

If you're afraid of failure or getting it wrong, you'll never truly innovate or disrupt the market.

- Gillian Tans

Never, Market, Getting, Disrupt

The culture of Booking.com has been very good for me because it's a culture where you're allowed to fail. When you think about taking risks, if it's OK to fail, you actually do a lot more. And you learn a lot quicker.

- Gillian Tans

Been, Very, Allowed, OK

Eventually, we want to be able to say, whether in your own neighborhood or a city across the globe, our technology will be needed to break through barriers - whether it's money, time, languages, or simply choice.

- Gillian Tans

City, Through, Languages, Neighborhood

From our earliest days, Booking.com has been deploying technology to help strip the friction out of travel.

- Gillian Tans

Technology, Been, Our, Friction

Friction still exists in travel, and we are on a quest to go even further to make the entire experience - from planning to staying and beyond - even easier with technology.

- Gillian Tans

Go, Still, Staying, Friction

With any previous transition we made with technology, it hasn't been the case that we need less people.

- Gillian Tans

Need, Been, Previous, Transition

A long time ago, we had to build interfaces to connect with other companies, and I thought that was a great idea. The company had to pay a lot of money to build it and basically launched it, but our whole operating system almost broke. So, we couldn't continue it. In the end, I had to go on the train to Paris to explain that I had spent millions.

- Gillian Tans

Thought, Other, Explain, Train

We have many accommodation owners - people who own small hotels, villas and bungalows - and the digital economy has opened up a world of possibility for these business owners. Now, they can sell to and communicate with people around the world, and where Booking.com comes in is to help these accommodation owners adapt to the digital world.

- Gillian Tans

Small, Own, Communicate, Possibility

As CEOs or board members, women are still underrepresented, and that gap is actually growing.

- Gillian Tans

Growing, Still, Actually, Board

Booking travel is not like shopping or groceries or booking a restaurant. It's much less frequent, so understanding what works just takes a lot more time.

- Gillian Tans

Like, Booking, Works, Shopping

Whether you are checking luggage or bringing a carry-on, always weigh and measure your bags to make sure they are below the airline's size and weight restrictions. Excess baggage fees can be costly. Avoid all baggage fees by only bringing a carry-on.

- Gillian Tans

Fees, Checking, Weigh, Luggage

We found we were able to create better, customer-centric product features more quickly with a more diverse product team.

- Gillian Tans

Product, Better, Features, Diverse

We wanted to go much bigger than anybody else. That's why we've targeted so many countries.

- Gillian Tans

Bigger, Go, Anybody, Targeted

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