Chapter I Introduction

Travel refers to the activity of travelers. A traveler is someone who moves between
different geographic locations, for any purpose and any duration. Defining tourism is
not a simple matter, as it is a complex industry made up of many different
businesses, the common theme being that they provide products and services to
tourists. The most-usually accepted definition of tourism is that provided by the
World Tourism Organization:
Tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places
outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for
leisure, business and other purposes.

It is acknowledged by the World Tourism Organization that Travel & Tourism is the
fastest growing economic sector, bringing foreign exchange earnings to countries
and creating jobs. Jobs are not only created directly in tourism but in related
industries, for example in construction. Much tourism development occurs in
developing countries, bringing economic opportunities to local communities.

1.1

Industry Overview

Tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places

outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure,
business and other purposes. It is acknowledged by the World Tourism Organization
that Travel & Tourism is the fastest growing economic sector, bringing foreign
exchange earnings to countries and creating jobs. Jobs are not only created directly
in tourism but in related industries, for example in construction. Much tourism
development occurs in developing countries, bringing economic opportunities to local
communities.
Trends and Competition:

Travel and tourism is one of the leading industries in many countries. It is expected
to have generated around 9.4% of world GDP and 8.2% of total employment in 2009.
The contribution of the industry to the global economy remains high despite a 4.38%
decline in 2009. During the year, travel and tourism investment too declined by more
than 12%.
International tourist arrivals rose from 682 million in 2001 to 920 million in 2008. The
global travel and tourism industry experienced a downturn in 2009 due to the global
economic and financial meltdown. The industry was affected by low business
volumes and consumer confidence, given the uncertainty about factors such as
availability of

credit, exchange rates, employment, and the H1N1 virus.

Consequently, tourist arrivals fell 4% worldwide in 2009.

Nevertheless, tourist arrivals increased 2% in the last quarter of 2009, led by

recovery in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
The industry is expected to have improved in 2010, as most of the leading
economies are exiting the recession since end-2009. However, it is expected to be
gradual as corporations, households and governments slowly recover. Given the
improvement in global economic conditions, the UNWTO (United Nations World
Tourism Organization) forecasts a 3-4% increase in international tourist arrivals

during 2010. Asia is expected to continue showing the strongest rebound, while
Europe and Americas are likely to recover at a more moderate pace.
The expected rebound in tourism materialized in the first four months of 2010. This is
reflected in the 7% increase in international tourist arrivals during January-April
2010. Tourist arrivals grew at a faster pace of 8% in emerging markets, while
advanced economies reported a 5% increase.
In 2009, following the trend in tourist arrivals, international tourism receipts also
recorded a decline. It is estimated to have declined by 5.7% to US$ 852 bn. The
decline in earnings is sharper than in arrivals, as during periods of slowdown, tourists
tend to stay closer to home and prefer to travel for a shorter duration of time.The
European region continues to attract the largest number of tourists, accounting for
around 52% of total traffic in 2009. The Asia Pacific and Americas follow with shares
of 21% and 16% respectively. France, USA and Spain were the top three tourist
destinations in 2009; China and Italy rank fourth and fifth respectively in terms of
tourist arrivals.
The travel and tourism industry can be divided into inbound and outbound
tourism;
a) Inbound refers to countries attracting the largest number of tourists.
b) Outbound refers to countries from where the largest number of tourists
originate.

International tourist arrivals were 880 million in 2009.International tourist receipts

were down 5.7% in 2009. USA, Spain and France were the top three earners during
2009 in that order; Italy and China ranked fourth and fifth respectively. Germany,
USA and the UK are the leaders in terms of international tourism spending. During
2009, China overtook France to become the fourth-largest tourism spender. Air
transport, which plays a significant role in the global travel and tourism industry for
both business and leisure travel, was also adversely affected during 2009.
The 2013 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) reveals that Switzerland,
Germany and Austria lead the world in terms of travel and tourism competitiveness,
with Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Canada, Sweden and
Singapore completing the top 10.
Structure of the tourism industry:
Tourism comprises activities of people travelling to and staying in places outside
their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business
and social, recreational, and knowledge seeking purposes.
The tourism industry is primarily service and people oriented; it is made up of
businesses and organizations belonging to various other industries and sectors.
There is interplay among these businesses and organizations/persons which offer
travel experience to tourists. The tourism industry comprises hospitality (related to

accommodation and dining), travel (transportation services through different modes),

and various other businesses which offer services and products to tourists. The
components of the tourism industry are shown in Exhibit 1.1.

Most of the players in the tourism industry are SMEs. The unorganized sector
dominates the industry in India. Hotels, airline companies, and tour operators form
the organized sector.
Specialist travel service providers assist tourists with travel arrangements. These
providers include travel agencies who are involved in retailing of travel products
directly to the tourists (individuals or groups). They provide information on different
travel destinations and advise customers on travel plans. They also sell associated
products such as insurance, car hire, and currency exchange.
Business Travel Agencies specialize in making travel and accommodation
arrangements for business travelers and promoting conference trades. The tour
operators provide packages for individuals while the principals provide basic travel
and tourism related services.
Tour Operators offer holiday packages which comprise travel (road, rail, sea, air as
well as to and from the destination airport, car hire, excursions, etc) and
accommodation (hotels, guesthouses, apartments, etc) services.

Transport Service Providers could be airlines, cruise lines, car rentals, and rail
companies. A tourists choice of transport would depend on the travel budget,
destination, time, purpose of the tour, and convenience to the point of destination.
Accommodation could be hotels and motels, apartments, camps, guest houses,
lodge, bed and breakfast establishments, house boats, resorts, cabins, and hostels.
In addition, tourists also require catering facilities, which a variety of outlets for food
and refreshments offer. These include hotels, local restaurants, roadside joints,
cafeterias, and retail outlets serving food and beverages.
Another major component of the travel and tourism industry is Attractions such as
theme parks and natural attractions including scenic locations, cultural and
educational attractions, monuments, events, and medical, social or professional
causes.
The Tourist Information and Guidance providers include a number of service
providers such as those offering insurance, recreational, communication, and
banking services; government agencies; tour guides; industry associations;
packaging agents; ticketing agents; and holiday sellers.
Different forms of tourism:
There are different types of tourism. The recent trend is moving toward niche
segments of tourism:
a) Medical/Healthcare Tourism
b) Adventure Tourism
c) Heritage Tourism
d) Ecotourism
e) Rural Tourism
f) Wildlife Tourism
g) Pilgrimage Tourism
h) MICE Tourism
They are all explained below:

a) Medical Tourism:
Medical tourism also known as health tourism has emerged as one of the important
segments of the tourism industry. The term has been coined by travel agencies and
the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of travelling across
international borders to for healthcare. Travelers typically seek services such as
elective procedures as well as complex specialized surgeries such as joint
replacement (knee/hip), cardiac, dental, and cosmetic surgeries. Psychiatry,
alternative treatments, and convalescent care are also available.
Several factors have contributed to growth in medical tourism worldwide. These
include:
1. Low Travel Costs: Significant reduction in travel costs worldwide has made
travel to other countries for medical treatments more affordable. This has also
boosted industry growth.
2. High Growth of World-class Medical Treatments in Developing
Countries: Healthcare facilities in many developing countries have improved
significantly in recent years and their standards of healthcare are now on par
with that in the US or Western Europe.
Medical tourism has done exceptionally well in India and the number of medical
tourists coming into the country is increasing. Rising healthcare costs in the
developed economies, especially the US and the UK, is forcing patients from the
region to look for cost-effective and alternative forms of treatment. India, with its pool
of highly trained and specialized doctors, good healthcare infrastructure facilities,
relatively lower cost of treatment and availability of alternative forms of treatment
such as Ayurveda, Yoga, Siddha, and Naturopathy is seeing strong growth in
medical tourism.
Medical tourism is promoted through suitable packaging of identified best hospitals
and price banding as per treatment requirements. The medical costs in India are
much lower at around 25% of the costs in the European and US markets. Medical
tourism has grown swiftly despite the economic slowdown. The industry is still at a
nascent stage and holds immense potential.

The key benefits of medical treatment and medical tourism in India are:

World-class treatment at fraction of the cost in western countries

Patients from more than 55 countries availing treatment in India

Medical technology, equipment, facilities and healthcare infrastructure in

India at par with international standards

The Indian doctors recognized among the best globally.

Various medical treatments that can be availed in India include knee replacement,
hip replacement, cosmetic surgery, dental treatment, and cardiac care.
The government is also taking several measures to promote medical tourism in the
country. This includes issuance of Medical Visa for patients and their attendants
coming to India for treatment. It has also requested the state governments to
promote healthcare packages. Under the Market Development Assistance Scheme,
financial assistance would be provided to medical tourism service providers (MTSP),
i.e. accredited hospitals and medical tourism facilitators (travel agents and tour
operators approved by the Ministry of Tourism and engaged in medical tourism).
3. Wellness Tourism: Wellness tourism is regarded as a sub-segment of
medical tourism. Here, the primary purpose is achieving, promoting or
maintaining good health and a sense of well-being. India with widespread
presence of Ayurveda, Yoga, Siddha, and Naturopathy, complemented by its
spiritual philosophy, is a well-known wellness destination. Wellness tourism
includes ayurvedic therapies, spa visits, and yoga meditation. The
government is promoting this form of tourism with publicity and promotional
activities.

b) Adventure Tourism:
Travel for the aim of exploration or travel to remote, exotic and possibly hostile areas
is known as adventure tourism. With tourists looking for different options, adventure
tourism is recording healthy growth. Adventure tourism refers to performance of acts,
which require significant efforts and some degree of risk or physical danger. The

activities include mountaineering, trekking, bungee jumping, mountain biking, river

rafting, and rock climbing.
India with its diverse topography and climate offers tremendous scope for adventure
tourism. The mountain regions offer lot of scope for mountaineering, rock climbing,
trekking, skiing, skating, mount biking and safaris; rushing rivers provide
opportunities for river rafting, canoeing and kayaking; and oceans provide
tremendous opportunity for diving and snorkeling.
The government is undertaking measures such as financial assistance to
governments of states and union territory for development of adventure tourism
destinations. It has also provided financial assistance for organizing mountain biking
expedition. The Ministry of Defense has given permission for opening of 104
additional peaks in Leh area of Jammu & Kashmir for adventure tourism, while
customs duty on inflatable rafts, snow-skis, sail boards and other water sports
equipment has been exempted.
c) Heritage Tourism:
Heritage tourism is defined as travel undertaken to explore and experience places,
activities, and artifacts that authentically represent the stories and people of the past
and present. It is oriented toward cultural heritage of the tourist location. It involves
visiting historical or industrial sites, religious travel or pilgrimages. India is well known
for its rich heritage and ancient culture. The countrys rich heritage is amply reflected
in the various temples, majestic forts, pleasure gardens, religious monuments,
museums, art galleries and urban and rural sites which are citadels of civilization. All
these structures form the products of heritage tourism.
d) Ecotourism:
Ecotourism, also known as ecological tourism, is travel to natural areas to appreciate
the cultural and natural history of the environment, while not disturbing the integrity
of the ecosystem and creating economic opportunities that make conservation and
protection of natural resources advantageous to local people. It involves travel to
destinations where flora, fauna and cultural heritage are primary attractions.

Ecotourism also minimizes wastage and the environmental impact through

sensitized tourists. It can be one of the medium to preserve local culture, flora and
fauna and other natural resources.
India, with its great geographical diversity, offers several eco-tourism destinations. It
is home to a wealth of ecosystems which are well protected and preserved. These
include:

Biosphere reserves

Mangroves

Coral reefs

Deserts

Mountains and forests

Flora and fauna

Seas, lakes and rivers

Caves

The basic principles to be followed in ecotourism are:

Minimize the impact

Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect

Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts

Provide direct financial benefits for conservation

Provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people

Raise sensitivity to political, environmental, and social climate of the host

country

Support international human rights and labor agreements.

A few places for ecotourism include the Himalayan region, Kerala, North East India,
Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands. Thenmala in Kerala is the first
planned ecotourism destination in India. Some most popular ecotourism locations in
the country are Rishikesh, Kerala and Pondicherry. Ecotourism consists of:

Eco parks

Eco places

Eco fauna

Eco flora

Eco destinations

Eco trivia

Eco treks

Eco adventures

e) Rural Tourism:
Rural tourism showcases rural life, art, culture and heritage of rural locations,
benefitting the local community economically and socially as well as enabling
interaction between the tourists and locals for a more enriching tourism experience.
Rural tourism is multi-faceted and may entail farm/agricultural tourism, cultural
tourism, nature tourism, adventure tourism, and ecotourism.
Rural tourism has certain characteristics: it is experience oriented; locations are
sparsely populated; it is predominantly in a natural environment; it meshes with
seasonality and local events; and it is based on preservation of culture, heritage and
traditions. Indias rural geographical and cultural diversity enables it to offer a wide
range of tourism products and experiences.
Increasing levels of awareness, growing interest in heritage and culture, improved
accessibility to rural areas, and environmental consciousness are playing an
important role in promoting rural tourism. This form holds immense potential in India,
where more than 70% of the population resides in villages.
The Ministry of Tourism along with UNDP undertook the Explore Rural India
Campaign, to give tourists a chance to experience life in rural India. It is one of the
most successful tourism campaigns so far. During the Visit India Year 2009
campaign, 15 rural tourism sites were selected as rural eco-holiday sites.

f) Wildlife Tourism:

Wildlife tourism, one of the fastest segments of tourism, involves travel to different
locations to experience wild life in natural settings. Due to its varied topography and
distinctive climatic conditions, India is endowed with various forms of flora and fauna
and it has numerous species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and plants and
animals.
To tap the potential of wildlife tourism, the government has launched some wildlife
packages for travelers. Wildlife Tourism in India includes wildlife photography, bird
watching, jungle safari, elephant safari, jeep safari, jungle camping, ecotourism etc.
The country offers immense opportunities for wildlife tourism. The strong heritage of
wildlife in India comprises more than 70 national parks and about 400 wildlife
sanctuaries including bird sanctuaries. However, concrete steps by both the
government and the private sector need to be taken to promote wildlife tourism. Taj
Hotels & Resorts has a joint venture with Conservation Corporation Africa to provide
wildlife enthusiasts, circuit tourists and high-end domestic travelers with fascinating
wildlife experiences within India through an ecologically-sustainable model. In a bid
to preserve the natural habitat, the Ministry of Tourism has launched an initiative,
Tigers: Our Natural Beauties.
g) MICE Tourism:
MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) tourism is also one of the
fastest growing in the global tourism industry. It largely caters to business travelers,
mostly corporate. It caters to various forms of business meetings, international
conferences and conventions, events and exhibitions. Hong Kong, Malaysia and
Dubai are the top destinations for MICE tourism. India is also present in this
segment.
This form of tourism combines annual business meetings and conferences with
pleasurable events for delegates and attendants. India can be competitive with other
MICE tourism destinations owing to its natural beauty, rich heritage and geographical
diversity. One of the requisites for this form of tourism is world-class convention
centers. The Ashok, New Delhi; Hyderabad International Convention Centre,

Hyderabad; and Le Meridian, Cochin are forerunners in the Indian MICE tourism
industry, facilitating domestic and International business meetings and conferences.
Some other forms of tourism include cruise tourism, beach tourism, pilgrimage
tourism, monsoon magic, luxury tourism.
Indian Travel and Tourism Industry Growth and Trends:
Indian tourism offers most diverse products globally. The countrys rich history,
cultural heritage, beauty, diversity of religion and medicine fascinate budget and
luxury travelers. Tourism in India has registered significant growth over the years.
This has been led by growth in both leisure and business tourism.
Rising

incomes,

increasing

affordability,

growing

aspirations,

increasing

globalization, and a growing airline industry along with improvement in travel-related

infrastructure have supported industry growth. Tourism holds immense potential for
the Indian economy. It can provide impetus to other industries through backward and
forward linkages and can contribute significantly to GDP.

Indias travel and tourism industry is expected to generate revenue of Rs. 1,970
billion (US$ 42 billion) in 2010, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council
(WTTC). This would be around 3.1% of total GDP. However, since travel and tourism
touches all sectors of the economy, its real impact is greater and the travel and

tourism economy directly and indirectly accounts for ` 5,533 billion (US$ 118 billion),
equivalent to 8.6% of total GDP.
Personal travel and tourism is the most significant contributor, accounting for 55% of
the total market, while business travel forms only 9%. Capital investment is also
significant with a share of 24%. Hotels, air transport, surface transport, basic
infrastructure, and facilitation systems environment are some of the related sectors.
The share of the Indian travel and tourism industry globally is very less. However the
industry holds immense potential. In fact, India has been ranked among the leaders
by the WTTC (World Travel & Tourism Council) for long-term (10-year) growth
prospects. Further, a globally renowned travel magazine, Conde Nast Traveler,
ranked India among the top 10 tourist destinations of the world. JBIC has also
ranked India as the fifth most attractive investment destination. India is probably the
only country that offers various categories of tourism with its geographical diversity
and rich cultural heritage.
Performance of the Indian travel and tourism industry:
The tourism business in India can be broadly classified into: inbound tourism,
domestic tourism, and outbound tourism. Inbound tourism Foreign tourist arrivals in
the country increased steadily from 2.4 million in 2002 to 5.3 million in 2008. It,
however, fell to 5.1 million in 2009, recording a decline of 3.3%.
The slowdown in Indias core markets, the US, Europe and UK, travel advisories
issued by countries against travel to India following the terror attacks in Mumbai, and
postponement of holidays by travelers affected tourist inflow into the country in 2009;
nevertheless, the impact on the Indian industry was much lesser compared with
other countries.
Foreign tourist arrivals are expected to increase in 2010. International events to be
held in India and the governments sincere efforts to promote the country as a tourist
destination are likely to drive foreign tourist arrivals. International events to be held
during the year Commonwealth Games, ICC World Cup Cricket and Formula 1
are expected to attract a number of sports fans across the world to India. Improving

infrastructure, low-cost airlines, and improved road connectivity are expected to aid
the increase in tourist inflow.

Tourism in India is a large industry. The World Travel and Tourism Council
calculated that:

Tourism generated $121 billion or 6.4% of the nation's GDP in 2011.

It was responsible for 39.3 million jobs, 7.9% of its total employment.

The GDP of the tourism sector has expanded 229% between 1990 and 2011.
The sector is predicted to grow at an average annual rate of 7.7% in the next
decade. In a 2011 forecast the World Travel and Tourism Council predicted
the annual growth to be 8.8% between 2011 and 2021.

This gave India the 5th rank among countries with the fastest growing tourism
industry. India has a large medical tourism sector which is expected to grow at an
estimated rate of 30% annually to reach about 9,500 crore by 2015.
According to provisional statistics 6.29 million foreign tourists arrived in India in 2011,
an increase of 8 to 9% from 5.78 million in 2010. This ranks India as the 38th country
in the world in terms of foreign tourist arrivals. Domestic tourist visits to all states and
Union Territories numbered 850.86 million. In 2011 Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and
Delhi were the most popular states for foreign tourists. Domestic tourists visited the
states Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu most frequently. Chennai,

Delhi, Mumbai and Agra have been the four most visited cities of India by foreign
tourists during the year 2011.
Worldwide, Chennai is ranked 41 by the number of foreign tourists, while Delhi is
ranked at 50, Mumbai at 57 and Agra at 65.
The

Travel

&

Tourism

Competitiveness

Report

2011

ranked

the

price

competitiveness of India's tourism sector 28th out of 139 countries. It mentions that
India has quite good air transport (ranked 39th), particularly given the countrys stage
of development, and reasonable ground transport infrastructure (ranked 43rd). Some
other aspects of its tourism infrastructure remain somewhat underdeveloped
however.
The Ministry of Tourism designs national policies for the development and promotion
of tourism. In the process, the Ministry consults and collaborates with other
stakeholders in the sector including various Central Ministries/agencies, state
governments, Union Territories and the representatives of the private sector.
Concerted efforts are being made to promote new forms of tourism such as rural,
cruise, medical and eco-tourism. The Ministry also maintains the Incredible India
campaign.
India's rich history and its cultural and geographical diversity make its international
tourism appeal large and diverse. It presents heritage and cultural tourism along with
medical, business and sports tourism.
Foreign exchange earnings from tourism:
The travel and tourism industry contributes significantly to the countrys foreign
exchange earnings. Foreign exchange earnings (FEE) from tourism increased
steadily from US$ 3.1 billion in 2002 to US$ 11.7 billion in 2008. In line with lower
tourist arrivals, FEE fell 3.0% to US$ 11.39 billion in 2009. In rupee terms, earnings
rose 8.3% to Rs. 549.6 bn. FEE in rupee terms had recorded double-digit growth in
each of the years during 2003-08.
Domestic tourism:

Domestic travelers recorded an all-time high of 650 million during 2009, 15.5%
higher than the previous year. After rising 18% and 14% respectively in 2006 and
2007, rise in domestic travel slowed down to 6.9% during 2008. The increase in
2009 reflects recovery in sentiment in the later part of the year and preference for
domestic visits over international visits.
Although the Indian economy was not as severely affected by the economic
slowdown as other economies, Indian consumers are cautious and are either
postponing their travel plans or opting for shorter duration holidays and travelling
within the country. Indians travel within India mainly for pilgrimage/religious reasons,
leisure, visiting families/friends and business. Three states, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, accounted for almost 63% of domestic tourist visits during
2009. The domestic tourism is set to boom in the coming years along with emerging
trends that will allow travelers to indulge more in exploring India and the varied
experiences it offers.

Outbound tourism:
The trend observed in outbound tourism during 2009 was no different from that seen
in inbound and domestic tourism. Number of outbound visits grew a marginal 1.8%
to 11.1 million during 2009. After growing 15-17% during 2004-2007, outbound visits
slowed down to 11.1% in 2008. A booming economy, higher disposable incomes,
higher aspirations, cheaper international travel, and better tourism products boosted
outbound tourist flow.
Emerging trends:
With changing times and global business conditions, significant changes have been
observed in the Indian travel and tourism industry. Demand for niche and customized
tourism products have increased.
Lifestyle changes and higher disposable incomes have resulted in shifting travel
preferences and travelers are looking for out-of-the-box experiences. Consequently,
travel service providers are offering niche, customized tourism products. This has led

to emergence of niche segments such as wine tourism, pop-culture tourism, cruise

tourism, wellness tourism, monsoon tourism, etc.Tour companies are also willing to
customize products as per travelers choices/preferences.
Rising online sales:
Online travel sales have increased drastically in recent years. Greater proliferation of
the Internet, growth in low-cost air carriers, secure payment mechanisms, and
coming-up of the Indian railways portal have led to rise in online sales in the travel
industry. A number of low-cost carriers operate on certain routes, and hence online
booking offers choice of air carriers to customers. Airline ticket booking constitutes
more than 70% of online travel sales. However, a shift is being seen from air to nonair segments in the online travel market. This shift is due to the non-air ticket booking
segment growing swiftly with launch of the Indian Railways online portal
(www.irctc.co.in) and many online travel agencies providing bus tickets. Indian
Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation is the largest travel website in the APAC
in terms of transaction volumes. A number of hotels also use the Internet for booking
of rooms.
Travel portals and hotel chains used to provide 360 degree virtual tours, audio tours
and photographs, and text reviews to the travelers. They are now marketing through
video reviews and video blogs, either put up by themselves or travelers on the travel
agency portal or a social media video platform.Online travel market sales are
expected to grow in the coming years.

Spontaneous travel:
Online travel booking has become simpler and easier. High pressure lifestyle
coupled with simpler online travel booking has led to travelers taking short, random
trips during the year. This has given rise to the concept of spontaneous travel.
Realizing the potential in this segment, travel companies also offer services for lastminute bookings.

Finite travel:
Another emerging concept in the travel industry is finite travel. A number of people
see places and/or species that are endangered or entail some form of time-related
environmental risk or natural phenomenon.

Chapter II - Company Profile

COMPANY PROFILE:

HISTORY:

Thomas Cook is one of the largest integrated travel and travel related financial
services company in the country offering a broad spectrum of services that include
Foreign Exchange, Corporate Travel, MICE, Leisure Travel, Insurance, Visa &
Passport services and E-Business. The Company set up its first office in India in
1881, and has been providing world-class travel service for 132 years. TCILs
footprint currently extends to over 251 locations (including 28 airport counters) in 101
cities across India, Mauritius & Sri Lanka and is supported by a strong partner
network of 131 Gold Circle Partners and 162 Preferred Sales Agents in over 100
cities pan India. Thomas Cook (India) Limited is promoted by Fairfax Financial
Holdings Limited through its wholly owned subsidiary, Fair bridge Capital. Fair bridge
is responsible for the execution of acquisition and investment opportunities in the
Indian subcontinent on behalf of the Fairfax family of companies. The Company
derived the synergy benefits in 2008 arising out of various initiatives like network
harmonization, closure of non-core and loss making units, manpower realignment,
and contributions from tourism boards for marketing spends, re-negotiation with
vendors due to increased bargaining power. The one-time cost of integration
amounted to Rs. 69.8 million. Thomas Cook organized a 19 city Summer Holiday
Sale, a pan-India Holiday road-show offering the best Holiday deals. The road shows
were very successful giving a boost to the Domestic Business. The year 2008 was
focused on Domestic Tourism with its launch through the brand name: My India, My
Way. During the year, packages catering to the needs of different segments of
customers were created. the Company was the first Travel Company to offer Indian
Rail Bookings online in partnership with IRCTC on its portal. Further, the Company
also integrated with Hotels4u real time on www.thomascook.in giving its online
customers first hand access to over 30,000 hotels in the Hotels4u inventory. The
Company also tied-up with Axis Bank for pre-paid forex card which offers exchange
upto 7 currencies. Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. is the largest integrated Travel and
Travel related Financial Services Company in the country offering a broad spectrum
of services that include Foreign Exchange, Corporate Travel, Leisure Travel, and
Insurance. The Company launched its Indian operations in 1881 and is celebrating

its 127 years of world class service in India. Thomas Cook (India) operates in the
following areas of business, namely: Leisure Travel, Corporate Travel Management,
MICE, Foreign Exchange, SWIFT Network, Travel Insurance, Credit Cards, Pre-Paid
Cards, Life Insurance and E-Business. Post March 31st 2008, Thomas Cook (India)
Limited (TCIL) is a part of Thomas Cook Group plc UK (TCG). On March 7th 2008,
TCG announced its decision to acquire TCIL from Dubai Investment Group. Thomas
Cook Group plc is one of the largest travel groups in the world with a market
capitalization of approximately US$6 Billion. In June 2006, Thomas Cook (India)
acquired LKP Forex Limited and Travel Corporation (India) Pvt. Ltd. (TCI).TCIL
presently operates in over 61 cities across almost 166 locations in the country. The
company has overseas operations in Sri Lanka which is a branch of TCIL and
Mauritius which is a subsidiary of Thomas Cook (India). The Company employs over
2,500 resources and is listed on both the Bombay Stock Exchange as well as the
National Stock Exchange. Thomas Cook (India), over the years has received several
prestigious awards such as the Golden Peacock Award for excellence in Corporate
Governance and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Golden Award for Best
Travel. Recently, the Company won the Best Tour Operator at the CNBC Awaaz
Travel Awards 2008 and was also accredited the P1 rating which is the highest
financial rating given by Crisil.

Foreign Exchange: Products and Services

As an Authorised Dealer, our services includes wholesale and retail purchase and
sale of currency notes, Purchase and Sale of Traveller Cheques ("TC"), pre paid
international cards, inbound and outbound remittances and Money Transfers ("MT").
Some of our products and services are:

Currencies and Travellers Cheques

Currency notes

Thomas Cook deals in 26 major destination currencies of the world. A customer

generally prefers to buy cash in the destination currency as he gets benefited in the
exchange conversion rates. Thomas cook is also an exporter, importer and dealer in

bulk operations. We have the privilege of importing the currency required for
requirements in bulk (eg. Haj operations) on specific occasions which differentiate
Thomas Cook from others. Thomas Cook is the largest bulk note consolidators and
the largest exporter/importer of currency notes. We are the members of VISA and
SWIFT. We have tie ups with almost all the private and public sector banks across
India for the purchase of the currency notes and Travellers cheques. We also have
tie ups with many foreign banks and hotels across India for currency notes pickup.
Money changers and travel agents trust Thomas Cook for remitting their foreign
currency to their suppliers abroad.

Travellers cheques

Thomas Cook sells Amercian Express brand of Travellers cheques. Traveller's

cheques are one of the safest modes of carrying currency. Thomas Cook is one of
the largest sellers of Amex Travellers cheques. Travellers Cheques are available in
USD, GBP, EURO, AUD, CAD, and JPY. Thomas Cook offices in India are also a
part of the refund network of Amex TC; which enables quick payout of refunds to
Travellers in case of loss or theft.
Traveller's cheques user guide

Encashment of Travellers Cheques

Procedure:
Request the presenter for all the travelers cheque that he would like to encash. Flip
through them to ensure that they

Bear the prominent security features,

That the travelers cheques bear no obvious erasures,,

That they all bear one signature i.e. the original signature and that none of
them are in a blank condition

Follow the simple Watch and Compare Procedure i.e.:

Watch while the Travelers' Cheques are being countersigned.

Look for the confidence with which the presenter is countersigning.

Compare the counter signature with the original signature on each travellers
cheques. If the signatures are similar, you can safely encash the travelers
cheques.

Leisure and Corporate Travel

Foreign Exchange for the Corporates and Business houses

We offer a wide range of products and services to the modern day business traveller
which includes, currency notes in 26 destination currencies, Travellers Cheques in 6
currencies, Prepaid cards in 3 brands and 7 currencies. We also provide assistance
and remittances on account of fees for participation in overseas conferences,
international events, trade fairs and remittances for subscription and membership
fees. In addition to our wide network of locations at high streets, we have presence
at 8 international airport locations thus facilitating the business traveller 24/7. We
also take care of the foreign exchange requirements of film production houses. We
also offer a facility whereby a business house can remit their money through their
EEFC accounts. We can also set up Implants and temporary counters at the request
of the business houses if informed to us in advance for the special group tours or
MICE.

Foreign Exchange for Leisure Travel

Individual Travellers who wish to travel abroad on leisure can get their destination
currency. At Thomas Cook they can get a wide range of services on foreign
exchange such as the guidance on types of currencies to take and a variety of
products to choose from, be it prepaid card, Currency or Travellers cheques. We
deliver the currency at the doorstep of the customer. A leisure traveller can also
remit money through Thomas Cook for their hotel and logistics payments to their
suppliers abroad. We also take back the unspent foreign exchange at premium
rates.

U-Special

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd, India's leading integrated travel and travel related financial
services Company has launched Thomas Cook Wings Scholarship', a unique offer
for students travelling abroad for further studies. Thomas Cook Wings Scholarship is
a once in a lifetime opportunity for students travelling overseas for further studies to
avail of a lucky chance of winning a scholarship - One way free* air-ticket upto a
maximum of Rs 35000. To avail of this scholarship, the student will have to submit
their 2 page university statement of purpose (SOP) at any Thomas Cook Branch in
their city. 10 best SOP's will be short listed. There is also a newly introduced special
VISA assistance for students, offering a smooth travel experience for all, catered by
Thomas Cook.

Remittances

Thomas Cook will help you remit your monies out of India for various purposes.

Medical remittance
Patients can transfer the advance amount due towards Hospitals as T.T. into
THOMAS COOK account and THOMAS COOK will make payment to the Hospitals
in Indian Rupee within 48 Hours of receiving the T.T.

Payment to Crew wages

We have the capability of paying the requisite foreign exchange as crew wages to
the Master of Ship for Crew Wages Disbursement. Film shoots Thomas Cook is the
largest non banking institution which is catering to the film industries for their foreign
exchange requirement.

Speedy documentation as compared to the banks.

For film shoots they require lagre amount which can be easily available even
within the short notice to THOMAS COOK.

A gamut of products available which is in the form TC's and prepaid cards.

The amount can also be remitted to their respective foreign correspondent

bank accounts if the same is provided and this remittance can be done within
24 hrs.

Edge Over Competitors

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. has an Authorized Dealer Category II license granted by
the Reserve Bank of India. Thus the company is Member of Society of Worldwide
Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) Authorized by the Reserve Bank
of India to operate a Foreign Exchange Dealing Room Authorized by the Reserve
Bank of India to hold Nostro Accounts Member of the Foreign Exchange Dealers
Association of India (FEDAI). Member of VISA International.

Thomas Cook Credit Card

The Company offers Thomas Cook credit card in association with ICICI Bank
Limited. Thomas Cook and ICICI Bank are marketing and issuing a co-branded
credit card to the customers for using the same at various Master Card retail
merchant establishments for availing benefits attached to the said card. The card
has been devised as part of loyalty program for the products of the company with
benefits attached to spend through the card at Thomas Cook outlets.

Salient Features:

Thomas Cook Titanium MasterCard features in brief:

The card has been specially designed for frequent travelers.

Attractive 6 reward points for each spend of Rs.100 on the card on Thomas
Cook products.

Free Delivery of Foreign Exchange within city limits Rs. 5,000 discount on any
Thomas Cook product.

A Free Air ticket to a domestic destination on the issuance of new card.

Complimentary travel inconvenience insurance policy. Access to MasterCard

travel lounges at Airports across the world.

Redemption of reward points for Thomas Cook holiday packages, hotel stays,
air tickets, airline upgrades,etc.

Conversion of Thomas Cook reward points to frequent flyer miles - convert

the reward points earned on card to frequent flyer miles on select domestic
airlines.

Positioned as a comprehensive travel card

Assured gifts for the joining fees - free air ticket / discount voucher

Higher reward points for card swipes at Our Company's outlets

Redemption of reward points against Thomas Cook products encouraged

Travel Insurance

Insurance business of being carried out through our 100% subsidiary - Thomas Cook
Insurance Services (I) Ltd. ("TCISL"). TCISL is a corporate agent of Tata AIG
General Insurance Company Limited. TCISL entered insurance distribution in 2001
and offers the following products and services:

"TravelCare" (Overseas Travel Insurance)- Travel Care offers security for

travelers which covers travel insurance, hospitalization, loss of documents,
Repatriation of Remains, emergency Cash Advance or any other crises which
requires assistance.

"FamilyCare"- An Overseas travel Insurance cover for entire family of 4-5

persons with single overall sum insured.

"ScholarCare" (Overseas Student Insurance)- A customized product for all

students studying abroad which ensures timely assistance in case of
unexpected surprises in a foreign land.

CorporateCare (Overseas Corporate Travel Insurance)- For Companies

where employees travel abroad frequently on work, we have customized
group policies. All foreign trips undertaken by employees in a year are
covered under a single policy.

TCISL provides all insurance products at all our outlets, leveraging on ability to cross
sell insurance products to our Travel and Forex customers.

Foreign Exchange

Thomas Cook India is the largest non banking authorized Dealer in India providing
an array of foreign exchange products and services to various customer segments in
India, Srilanka and Mauritius It has the largest network of branches with 144
locations across 53 cities in India including 28 airport counters in major cities working
24 x7x 365 days. It also has a vast presence in Mauritius with 12 locations including
international airport and also in Sri Lanka at 3 major locations. It has been awarded
the best foreign exchange company by CNBC Awaaz for the year 2008 and 2009.

Service Strategy of Thomas Cook

To deliver exceptional service to all internal and external customers

By Being By Providing By Ensuring

Proactive Professional Service Personal Care

Speedy

Flexible

Transparent

Reliable

Creative

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Thomas Cook has been granted an authorized dealers' license (category II) by RBI
to deal in foreign exchange through its designated branches. Under this license, we
have been, inter-alia, granted permission to undertake the following activities:

Retail purchases of foreign currencies and travelers cheques.

Bulk purchases/sales of foreign currencies from/to authorized dealers, money

changers and franchisees.

Release / remittance of foreign exchange for the following activities:

o Private Visits

o Remittance

by

tour

operators/travel

agents

to

overseas

agents/principals/hotels
o Business Travel (including for Central and State Government officials)
o Fee for participation in global conferences and specialized training
o Payment of crew wages
o Film Shooting
o Medical Treatment abroad
o Overseas Education
o Remittance under educational tie up arrangements with universities
abroad
o Maintenance of close relatives abroad
o Stall rentals and participation fees in connection with participation in
overseas exhibitions / fairs
o 4. Import and export of foreign currency and export of encashed
Traveler's Cheques
o 5. Maintenance of foreign currency accounts with banks abroad and
undertaking forex cover operations in India and abroad.
The activities permitted by RBI are carried out only at the specific locations permitted
by RBI. As an Authorized Dealer, we are a member of the Foreign Exchange
Dealers Association of India.

Our Company provides the foreign exchange and payment solutions for:

Individual Travelers

Foreign exchange for leisure outbound travelers

Foreign Exchange for migration, employment, medical treatment

Remittances for students studying abroad, gift remittances etc

Encashment services & inward remittances for inbound tourists visiting India,
Non Resident / Resident Indians.

Corporates

Travel money and remittances for business travelers.

On site support for inbound tour conferences.

Film production houses traveling for shoots abroad.

Remittances of tour proceeds for tour operators.

Institutions

Bulk purchases and sales of foreign currencies from Banks, Non Bank
Retailers and Money Changers.

Our business model revolves around leveraging its position as an Authorized Dealer
with systems, ability and experience of handling large volumes of forex transactions
for both wholesale and retail customers in a highly cost-efficient manner.

Network

The strong network enables TCIL to attract large wholesale clients such as public
and private sector banks, FFMC's and RMC's to use our services. TCIL has a strong
network of approximately 160 offices in 55 cities and 100 RMCs & Hotel Franchisee.
The Company has foreign exchange counters at the international airports of Mumbai,
New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Cochin and Trivandrum which are open 24 hours and
365 days a year to cater to the needs of the international travellers. It also has a
round-the clock Foreign Exchange counter at the New Delhi Railway Station.

Promotional Activities :

Advertisements were also posted in the free listing websites like Quikr and OLX
which is the next generation revolution of marketing that gives a better reach to the
target consumers at free of cost. Tele-calling and e-mails were sent to the existing
customers in order to maintain relationships with the customers who usually make

bulk of the transactions in the branch. The responses varied with some of them were
linked via LT and some were student related transactions and the customers were
generally happy with the services done by TCIL and this makes them to come back
to TCIL. A set of 29 banks were approached for referrals relating to forex
requirements coming to their banks and requesting to divert all transactions which
the banks are unable to perform. Most of the banks in these localities dont have a
separate forex department and hence approaching the banks could provide useful
business to the branch.

For an Effective Distribution model

Designing a marketing channel system involves analyzing customer needs,

establishing channel objectives, identifying major channel alternatives, and
evaluating major channel alternatives. it could be better analysed by using the Value
Adds versus Costs of different channels.

As it could be seen, the cost per transaction is less in the case of Online Forex
store and through Just dial customers but the revenues decrease as we move into
retail segment and is costlier when channel partners are added. Hence TCIL should
look for cost effective ways in increasing the channel network, since the Forex
business is a low-margin business where adding value to the product is extremely
difficult. The strategy so far has been Selective distribution which relies on more
than a few but less than all of the intermediaries willing to carry a particular product,
but in order to sustain such a heavy competition the strategy has to shift to intensive
distribution where the firm places the services in as many outlets as possible. The
firm could look to open outlets to spread its network all over the city , the firm could
look for cheaper alternatives like opening counters in fuel stations or look for Kiosk
type counters in big retail outlets or malls.

Advantages:

Financial: Franchising creates another source of income for the franchisor,

through payment of franchise fees, royalty & levies in addition to the
possibility of sourcing private label products to franchisees. This capital
injection provides an improved cash flow, a higher return on investment and
higher profits. Other financial benefits that the franchisor enjoys are reduced
operating, distribution and advertising costs. Of course that also means more
allocated funds for research and development. Additionally, there will always
be economies of scale with regard to purchasing power.

Operational: The franchisor can have a smaller central organization when

compared to developing and owning locations themselves. Franchising also
means uniformity of procedures, which reflects on consistency, enhanced
productivity levels and better quality. Effective quality control is another
advantage of the franchise system. The franchisee is usually self motivated
since he has invested much time and money in the business, which means

working hard to bring in better organizational and monetary results. This also
reflects on more satisfied customers and improved sales effectiveness.

Strategic: To the franchisor, franchising means the spreading of risks by

multiplying the number of locations through other peoples investment. That
means faster network expansion and a better opportunity to focus on
changing market needs, which in its turn means reduced effect from
competitors.

Administrative: With a smaller central organization, the business maintains a

more cost effective labour force, reduction of key staff turnover and more
effective recruitment.

Disadvantages:

The requirement to pay the franchise fees and royalty to the franchisor, which
in some cases can be exaggerated.

The transfer of all goodwill built in the local market to the franchisor upon
expiration or termination of the franchise contract.

The necessity of abiding by the franchisors operating systems, standards,

policies and procedures.

Reduced corporate profit margin due to payment of royalties and levies.

Considering the present scenario TCIL could look for more GCPs as it
reduces running cost and since Thomas cook is an established brand hence
getting franchisees will also not be a difficult task.In order to maintain
relationships with the channel partners ,the following steps could be
implemented

NSAs and Educational consultant could be given targets and their

commissions will be based on the numbers shown rather than by negotiations
as it would streamline and integrate the channel partners.

Events for these channel partners can be held like a dinner or High tea once
in a year or before the start of the business season apart from these
commissions as it would create long time relationships with these channel
partners.

Rewards and recognitions can be given for those channel partners who
perform exceptionally well.

At the retail level, existing customer list should be tracked and a membership
program can be started by giving membership cards and points reimbursement could be done on repeat purchases just like how the banking
sector started in the Credit card and now such a facility could be seen in even
a Saloon like Naturals or Green Trends.

Seasonal discounts or offers could be given to select currencies at off-season

times . The trend in the BTQ customers will be get currencies for INR worth
30,000 to 35,000 but if lured they can buy still around 50,000. These
customers have the willingness to buy and have considerable buying power.
A small gift can also be given to them for buying for 50,000 , thereby creating
a customer delight and could make them to come back to the same store.

A facebook page could be created for every branch and customers may be
instructed to like the page and any updates on Price, Offers, etc could be
given. For example, consider the current situation where the dollar prices are
on a historical rise , dollar purchasing customers could be updated with a
sudden price decrease or similar kind of service. Such services would make
TCIL differentiated from its competitors.

Selling BPC in other FFMCs and banks could be an option which would
create a new platform for growth.

Moneygram sub-agents could be scouted by converting big retailers and

jewellers at prime locations as Moneygram provides commissions to TCIL and
creates greater visibility for the brand .

Newer market segments like NRI services and NRI guest houses could be
targeted. A database was created during the tenure of the project and even

mails were sent , though there wasnt much response, the sales team could
work in converting them into channel partners.

Meetings, Incentives, Exhibitions & Conferences

One Stop Shop for all your travel needs i.e. air tickets, accommodation, event
management, forex, visas, travel insurance etc. Hands on approach of senior
management, including travelling along with the group Dedicated team in each hub
providing specialised services Most experienced and cooperative Tour Managers in
the industry Operations geared up to handle large groups. TCIL has successfully
handled several groups of over 300 pax in the year 2008 A specialised quality
control department that would ensure smooth delivery of services at every stage.

Experience: This refers to the experience of the travellers right from the time they
board the airline to the foreign destination till the time they come back. The travel
here is a REWARD for the dealers/employees of the company who have done well
over a period of time. The company (as well as the employees) expects the trip to be
an enjoyable, hassle free and fun filled "experience". Thomas Cook understands
their concern and provide them this experience through our:- Experienced,
dependable and extensively travelled Tour Managers, who are available with the
group 24 X 7, provide their personalized services to the group and at times, act as
crisis managers. In contrast, the other tour companies often send their ticketing
person as the "tour manager". The requests for special Dietary requirements are
taken care of completely. The Indians are very particular about the food they eat
(e.g.) Jain food. It is made sure that the clients get the same, irrespective of the
location they are traveling to. The sightseeings that are offered are often exotic and
different from the rest of the tour operators.

Customer Focus/Customer Centric/Exceptional Service: This primarily refers to the

experience of the corporate with the sales representatives. There is a huge extent of
customization in case of a MICE trip in terms of destinations, hotel requirements,
conference needs, sightseeings to be covered, gala dinner venue, team building

activities etc. The prime focus is always to cater to our customers' specific needs and
the intent is to delight the customer by always delivering more than promised by
us/expected by them.

Dependable: This comes out of the reputation of the company (TCIL) and the vast
experience of handling a large number of MICE movements in the past. The fact that
TCIL has trusted business partners (suppliers) for every destination and that there is
always an experienced tour manager with the group ensures that the clients feel
secure when they travel with us. Moreover, the reputation of the company ensures
that there will be no let up in the service quality and there won't be any trivial
financial issues.

Reservoir of Knowledge:The experienced employees of the MICE business make

sure that they function as a "travel consultant" to the client rather than being a "travel
agent" to them. It is believed that with the expertise, TCIL is in a position to provide
multiple options to our customers. This is especially true in case of clients who have
a budget constraint. Once the client is provided with multiple options along with the
pros and cons for the same, they are in a much better position to take a decision
regarding the destination as well as the services that they expect us to provide them.

Value for Money/Cost Effective: TCIL is committed to provide quality service to its
clients and they do not believe in any compromise on the same (0% Compromise). It
is made sure that the experience that our clients get is of a greater value than the
cost that they pay for it. If TCIL's cost is more than the competition, then there is
always a very strong reason for the same (which could be better quality of hotels,
better airlines, EXTRA inclusions etc.).

Product Innovation: Over the last decade or so, the MICE industry has been
booming. Since then, some of the companies have been traveling each year (with
multiple incentives/conference tours). They are always looking out for new
destinations for the incentive trips. TCIL's endeavour is to be ahead of the
competition at all times and product innovation is one way of doing that. TCIL has
promoted new destinations at different points of times which have traditionally never
been thought of for a MICE trip. E.g. Jordan, Japan, Macau, Canada. Moreover,

within the same destinations, TCIL has managed to change the product mix by
changing the venues for Gala Dinner (at cruise, Desert Safari etc.) or including some
exotic sight seeings or providing some out of the box team building
activities or in any other way.

Wide Reach: TCIL is confident of providing our customers with the best of the
services at any destination that they wish to visit. This is due to the vast resources of
the company and due to the number of trusted business partners that we have all
over the world.

One Stop Shop for MICE needs/Integrated travel services: It's the firm belief that
once the customer enters one of our offices, all his travel needs will be catered to.
TCIL provides the customer with the forex services, insurance cover and a travel
card. Moreover, TCIL can service their visa requirements better than any other tour
operator because of our goodwill and the relationships that we have with the various
embassies/consulates. We have the ability to provide the customer with a 360
degree experience on a consistent basis.

Work with Play: This is particularly true in case of the corporates who have an offsite
for a conference/meeting. TCIL ensures that after a hard day's work, they have a
relaxed and fun filled evening. This can be done by sending them on a night cruise
or by treating them to a Gala Dinner with free flow of liquor and a Live DJ. In one of
the cases, we had sent a couple of VJs and RJs (RJ Taraana) from India who made
sure that everyone from the group was involved in the fun activities.

Foreign Exchange Services

All over the world Thomas Cook is well represented by its travel business, but in the
case of India it is the other way around. The forex division brings in more revenue
than the travel business close to 60%. Thomas Cook was one of the first companies
to secure the AD-2 licence from the RBI. It was one of the first company to foray into
such a segment and had a huge market share and was almost a monopoly, but the
situations have changed with competitors making a tough competition to Thomas
cook. By AD-2 license category it could provide foreign exchange services only to

certain restrictions and they cannot deal with forex requirements related to business
which the banks alone could do. The products that the company deal with is as
follows

Currency
Multi-currency cards
Travellers Cheque
Remittances
Demand Drafts
Money transfers (Moneygram and Express money)
Bulk of the transactions happen through currencies , but from the firms perspective
they prefer to sell through cashless means as it prevents importing currencies and
gets backend revenue from the third-parties .

In addition to this , the branches are inquiries and to them and transactions. The
relations with the NSAs will vary as they share their profits on the transactions made
and sharing basis is left to the satisfaction of these travel agents .There is also
franchise model at Thomas Cook where the franchisee is termed as Partners TCIL is
supported by a strong partner network throughout the country. The future of TCIL as
its gaining popularity in the metros and profits could be reaped without any costs. In
order to make a study on the preference of these conducted with the educational
consultants in the city. It was more like interview sessions with these consultants to
identify what Forex requirements are there for them and their students. In order to
understand the market better, a visit was made to the Education fair at HYATT
regency conducted by EDWISE. Bigger consultants like LYC up and requires the
support of the head office to strike a deal with these consult. While these consultants
are also well segmented to deal with UK universities and with Australian universities
.Most of the consultants prefer requirements happens only for those students who
pay with their savings or Fathers money , hence it is a niche segment with huge
volumes though which the company could never neglect.

Financial Facts of the Company

Revenues as on December 31, 2010 as declared in the annual report was Rs 2588
million crore. A dividend of37.5% on the equity share capital had also been the
proposed dividend on the equity capital and preference Capital absorbs Rs. 93
million for dividend and Rs. 16 million for Dividend Tax.

Listing of Shares

THOMAS COOK INDIA LIMITED is listed on two Stock Exchanges in India viz.
Bombay Stock Exchange Limited, Mumbai and National Stock Exchange of India
Limited, Mumbai.

Principal Bankers:

State Bank of India

ICICI Bank Limited

HDFC Bank Limited

IDBI Bank Limited

Deutsche Bank

Standard Chartered Bank

The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation

On July 5, 1841, young Thomas Cook arranged an 11-mile train journey priced at
merely 1 shilling, for a motley group of 570 passengers from Leicester to
Loughborough. And this marked the beginning of a chapter in travel history. He went
on to introduce a railway tour of Europe. It wasn't until the early 1860s that he began
the travel firm, Thomas Cook & Son, which included tours of the USA. The Company
also started operations for military transport and postal services for England and
Egypt during the 1880s.The Company launched its Indian operations in 1881 and is
celebrating its 132 years of world-class service in India. Thomas Cook (India)
operates in the following areas of business, namely:

Leisure Travel

MICE

Corporate Travel Management

Foreign Exchange

Insurance

E-Business

Product Profile:

Leisure Travel

Travel Insurance

MICE

Corporate Travel Management

Foreign Exchange

Visa

E-Business

1. Leisure Travel:
Leisure Travel at Thomas Cook comprises of a number of holiday packages both
Domestic and International. A holiday package is a product which takes care of
Flights, Hotels, Sightseeing, Travel Insurance, Transfers and Visas if required into
one price. However its not necessary every Holiday package includes all above
services, it completely depends upon the inclusion and exclusion of the package the
customer plans on booking.
There is also an availability of products for groups who want to travel together.
Group tour means tours which have fixed departure dates and Tour escorts. Thomas
Cook also provides assistance to its customers for filling your visa however to grant
the customers Visa is completely at the discretion of the Embassy. The Company
also helps its customers buy travel insurance also. Vehicles during travel are also
provided and would be mentioned in the travel details before the holidays are being
booked.

2. Travel Insurance

Anybody can avail a comprehensive Travel Insurance policies including cover for
personal accident, medical expenses and repatriation, loss/delay of checked
baggage, loss of passport, curtailment/ Cancellation and much more. Thomas Cook
also provides specially designed Insurance policy for senior citizens who are about
to

travel

abroad.

Each policy is customized to cater to specific needs of the customers be it that of a

student, a businessman, a corporate executive, a senior citizen or a family. Thomas
Cook in association with Principal insurance partner presents a Travel Insurance
policy that keeps the minds of the customers tension free during travel. This helps to
take care of the customer during its journey. A Travel Insurance policy & kit takes
care of any unforeseen events and as such leaves the customer with enough space
to pack memories from the vacations. Thomas Cook will cater to all the travel
requirements - whether business or leisure.
Thomas Cooks Insurance Partners are ICICI Lombard for Overseas Travel
Insurance and Bajaj Allianz for Student Travel. A standard travel policy covers death,
personal accident, medical expenses, repatriation, loss/ delay of checked baggage,
passport loss and third party liability. The cost of travel insurance depends on a
number of factors

Age of the customer

The duration of the trip,

The country planned for visit and

The benefits included in the plan.

Refund on policies depends on which policy was taken and when the cancelling is
done.

3. Meetings, Incentives, Exhibitions & Conferences:

One Stop Shop for all the travel needs i.e. air tickets, accommodation, event
management, Forex, visas, travel insurance etc.

Hands on approach of senior management, including travelling along with the

group

Dedicated team in each hub providing specialized services

Most experienced and cooperative Tour Managers in the industry

Operations geared up to handle large groups.

A specialized quality control department that would ensure smooth delivery of

services at every stage.

Experience: This refers to the experience of the travelers, right from the time they
board the airline to the foreign destination till the time they come back. The travel
here is a REWARD for the dealers/employees of the company who have done well
over a period of time. The company (as well as the employees) expects the trip to be
an enjoyable, hassle free and fun filled "experience". Thomas Cook understands the
customers concern and provides them this experience through their:

Experienced, dependable and extensively traveled Tour Managers, who are

available with the group 24 X 7, provide their personalized services to the
group and at times, act as crisis managers. In contrast, the other tour
companies often send their ticketing person as the "tour manager".

The requests for special Dietary requirements are taken care of completely.
The Indians are very particular about the food they eat (e.g.) Jain food. We
make sure that our clients get the same, irrespective of the location they are
traveling to.

The sightseeing that is offered, are often exotic and different from the rest of
the tour operators.

Customer Focus/Customer Centric/Exceptional Service: This primarily refers to

the experience of the corporate with the companys sales representatives. There is a
huge extent of customization in case of a MICE trip in terms of destinations, hotel
requirements, conference needs, sightseeing to be covered, gala dinner venue, team
building activities etc. The prime focus at Thomas Cook is always to cater to their
customers specific needs and the intent is to delight the customer by always
delivering more than promised.
Dependable: This comes out of the reputation of the company (TCIL) and the vast
experience of handling a large number of MICE movements in the past. The fact that
the company has trusted business partners (suppliers) for every destination and also

that there is always an experienced tour manager with the group ensures that the
clients feel secure when they travel with them. Moreover, the reputation of the
company ensures that there will be no let up in the service quality and there wont be
any trivial financial issues.
Reservoir of Knowledge: The experienced employees of the MICE business make
sure that they function as a "travel consultant" to the client rather than being a "travel
agent" to them. Thomas Cook believes that with their expertise, they are in a position
to provide multiple options to their customers. This is especially true in case of
clients who have a budget constraint. Once the client is provided with multiple
options along with the pros and cons for the same, they are in a much better position
to take a decision regarding the destination as well as the services that they expect
the company to provide them.
Value for Money/Cost Effective: Thomas Cook is committed to provide quality
service to their clients and do not believe in any compromise on the same (0%
Compromise). The experience that their clients get is of a greater value than the cost
that they pay for it. If their cost is more than the competition, then there is ALWAYS a
very strong reason for the same (which could be better quality of hotels, better
airlines, EXTRA inclusions etc.). Thomas Cooks endeavor is to have customers
delighted by their services so that, the customer feels that they have got something
EXTRA than the worth of the money that has been spent on it.
Product Innovation: Over the last decade or so, the MICE industry has been
booming. Since then, some of the companies have been traveling each year (with
multiple incentives/conference tours). They are always looking out for new
destinations for the incentive trips. Thomas Cooks endeavor is to be ahead of the
competition at all times and product innovation is one way of doing that. They have
promoted new destinations at different points of times which have traditionally never
been thought of for a MICE trip. E.g. Jordan, Japan, Macau, Canada. Moreover,
within the same destinations, Thomas Cook has managed to change the product mix
by changing the venues for Gala Dinner (at cruise, Desert Safari etc.) or including
some exotic sightseeing or providing some out of the box team building activities or
in any other way.

Wide Reach: Thomas Cook is confident of providing their customers with the best of
the services at any destination that they wish to visit. This is due to the vast
resources of the company and due to the number of trusted business partners that
Thomas Cook has all over the world.
One Stop Shop for MICE needs/Integrated travel services: Its the Companys
firm belief that once the customer enters one of its offices, all his travel needs will be
catered to. The customer is provided with the Forex services, insurance cover and a
travel card. Moreover, their visa requirements are serviced better than any other tour
operator because of their goodwill and the relationships that the company has with
the various embassies/consulates. The Company has the ability to provide the
customer with a 360 degree experience on a consistent basis.
Work with Play: This is particularly true in case of the corporate who have an offsite
for a conference/meeting. Thomas Cook ensures that after a hard days work, they
have a relaxed and fun filled evening.

4. Corporate Travel Management:

Corporate Travel forms a dominant share of overall travel business of Thomas Cook.
The Company manages the travel budgets of several large national and
multinational companies. The Companys large scale of operations enables it to
effectively manage travel budgets of several MultiNational Companies, Blue-Chip
companies and Multinational banks to their advantage. The Company provides
Integrated Travel Management / Advisory Services to more than 300 Corporate.
The Company provides customers a complete basket of products for all their travel
needs:

Air Reservations

Hotel Reservations

Land arrangements which include sightseeing, car rental, transfers etc.

Passport / Visa Service

Conference / Incentive tour arrangements

Foreign Exchange

Insurance

Thomas Cooks branches specialize in offering tailor-made Travel Policies for each
corporate, thereby bringing savings on spend. Based on requirements and volumes
of business, corporate are serviced either by having a dedicated relationship team
visiting client's office regularly or having a dedicated & expert travel consultant with
Centralized Reservation System located at the client's site as an 'implant'.

5. Foreign Exchange:
Why Thomas Cook?

Best Online rates

Free home delivery for transaction value of USD 500 (or equivalent) and
above

No extra charges on purchase of Travelers Cheques or Prepaid Cards

Credit Card Payment option

Convenience of ordering from your desk

Cash is the oldest and commonest method of carrying foreign exchange overseas.
Carrying small amount of local currency or internationally acceptable currency
variants in your wallet when you travel overseas is reassuring and convenient especially to make payments for the services you may require on your arrival at the
destination.
According to FEMA guidelines, the maximum amount of currency that can be availed
of for any purpose of travel is the equivalent of USD 3,000.
A tried and tested way of carrying foreign exchange overseas, American Express
Foreign Currency Travelers Cheques are widely accepted globally as a mode of
payment in many parts of the world. Thomas Cook offers them in 6 different
currencies to make your foreign travel easy and secure. It is always recommended

taking some of your foreign currency in Travelers cheques as they provide great
security and convenience along with cash.
Features

Accepted widely in the world

Can be replaced if stolen

Signature based security

Valid forever

Thomas Cook's offerings in Prepaid Forex Cards have only one objective to make
travelling abroad a truly memorable experience. Available off the shelf at your
nearest Thomas Cook Branches across 77 cities as well as online, the Prepaid
Forex cards are a secure, convenient and easy way to carry money and make
payments whenever you travel abroad.
Features

Available in 8 different currencies

Directly swipe your Prepaid Forex Cards without any transaction fee

Accepted at all outlets accepting Visa/MasterCard.

Withdraw funds in the local currency from the Visa branded ATMs if required.

Send money abroad in a secure and convenient way. Thomas Cook offers Outward
Remittance Facilities enabling you to remit money abroad through reliable and
quick transactions. With their nationwide presence across 77 cities and towns and
global tie ups, sending money abroad is easier than ever. Just walk into any Thomas
Cook branch and send money abroad the fast, reliable and convenient way.
Reasons for sending money:

College or University Fees

Living expenses of loved ones abroad

Medical remittance

Film shoots

Payment to Crew wages

How to send money:

Transfer through Wire Transfer (SWIFT)

Transfer through Foreign Currency Demand Drafts

Currency notes are the physical notes. In India we typically use notes of Rs.10, 20,
50, 100, 500 and 1000 denomination. Similarly, each currency has its own
denomination set.
Currency Notes which are available in 30 leading currencies of the world at Thomas
Cook are a great way to carry foreign currency for your everyday needs during your
foreign travel. Thomas Cook has 30 different currencies for your needs and with our
expertise we provide notes which are reliable and authentic and which will not land
you in trouble when you land abroad.
At Thomas Cook, a seamless service is provided for anyone to walk-in to any of the
branches with a Valid passport, a confirmed ticket or Visa, Basic Travel Quota (BTQ)
Form and Residence Permit in case of Foreign Nationals and a LERMS letter (For
business travel) and purchase of foreign currency notes can be done. In case of
buying foreign currency online, the details of the customer on the left of the page on
the portal are filled and booked.
The Foreign Currency Travelers Cheques are convenient and easy to use while
travelling abroad and allows the convenience of cash as well as purchases (At select
establishments) and hence are a great way to carry your foreign currency while
travelling.
Thomas Cook makes it convenient for us to carry our money in the following
currencies through a Foreign Currency Travelers Cheque:

United States Dollars (USD)

Great Britain Pounds (GBP)

EURO Japanese Yen (JPY)

Australian Dollars (AUD)

Canadian dollars (CAD)

Every Travelers Cheque issued at Thomas Cook is secure and has Signature based
Security to ensure that our money is secure in its hands. Hence, even if they are lost,
they cannot be used unless the signatures on our Travelers Cheque and at the
encashment point/merchant establishment match along with that on the Photo ID
proof. Thomas Cook also encashes your Travelers Cheques across its network in
India.

6. Visa:
Thomas Cook endeavors to be a zero-error visa facilitation organization. The
Companys highly professional and competent team is always ready to assist the
customer with Visa queries. Checking out Visa Knowledge Center on the
Companys portal to get a complete list of countries for Visa assistance can be done.
The Companys dedicated support team is just a phone call / sms away. Anyone
can avail Thomas Cook Visa services at Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Chandigarh, Kolkata,
Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Cochin.

7. E business:
Leveraging Accentures travel technology solutions, Thomas Cook realized its ecommerce vision and regained control of its Web distribution channel to deliver a
personalized customer experience.
Helping Thomas Cook achieve high performance with a flexible, scalable ecommerce platform delivers a highly personalized customer experience. With
increasing numbers of consumers booking their holiday arrangements online,
companies operating in todays highly competitive travel industry needat a
minimuma strong and dynamic Internet presence.
Even more important is a customer-centric distribution strategy that pushes the right
product at the right price to customers based on their individual preferences.

For help in creating its new e-commerce platform, the company turned to its longtime service provider, Accenture. In addition to having deep e-commerce skills
expertise and the strong business and functional knowledge of online travel services

needed to help Thomas Cook drive its change agenda, Accenture had already
demonstrated its commitment to helping Thomas Cook achieve high performance.

Thomas Cook asked Accenture to bring to the table skills and experience from
Accenture travel Distribution Services to help them address their on-line distribution
challenge. Most notably, the solution needed to:
Support all existing booking functionality and an enhanced content management
system.
Accommodate the rapid, efficient implementation of new products and services
and also enable the sourcing of third-party products to be sold as part of a Thomas
Cook package or as a stand-alone offering.
Recognize website visitors, track their online behaviors and preferences, and
deliver a personalized customer experience.
Seamlessly integrate with Thomas Cooks complex legacy IT architecture and align
with other IT plans within the company.
Underpin an e-commerce center of excellence, which would potentially provide a
full set of tools, features, content, functionality and business services for the
companys multiple brands, initially within the Thomas Cook organization and
eventually across the Thomas Cook enterprise.

To achieve this vision for e-commerce, Thomas Cook first focused on regaining
control of its Web distribution channel and the customer experience. The team also
selected an e-commerce framework from Art Technology Group, Inc. (ATG) to serve
as the solutions core ecommerce engine. The ATG platform enabled Thomas Cook
to bring best practices from on-line retailing in the Financial Services and
Telecommunications industries to the travel industry, enabling a number of new and
improved features such as customer reviews, a utility that allows customers to
compare various holiday packages, and a deals section to promote last-minute
offers. Since launching its new platform, the company has significantly improved its
websites functionality, scalability and flexibility. And it has created the ability to offer
a broader variety of higher-margin, in-house products and third-party content, either
singly or combined.

By providing an optimal end-to-end customer experience, the website serves as an

important channel for driving customer loyalty and by providing add-ons like
insurance helping to optimize the average passenger value.

Thomas Cook has widely been acclaimed as the founder of world tourism, and in
addition to the worlds first package tour in 1841, Thomas Cook introduced a number
of customer empowering innovations that we take for granted today: pre-paid hotel
coupons (in 1868), holiday brochures (in 1858) and travelers cheques (in 1874). The
world got around and by the early 1900s, the who's who of the era - kings,
politicians, bishops and professors - patronized Thomas Cook's travel itinerary. The
Company introduced the world to a whole new concept of leisure and business
travel. Driving innovation in the business, it connected continents and presented the
people an economic and state mode of travel and tourisum across the world.

In 1881, Thomas Cook started its India operations, with its first office being set up in
Mumbai. As it expanded its horizons across the subcontinent, the Company came to
be known as Thomas Cook Overseas Ltd. and on 21st October 1978, it was
christened Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., with its first public issue in February 1983.
In the year 2000, the Group commenced its operations in Mauritius and also
acquired the Sri Lanka business from Thomas Cook Overseas Ltd, UK. In 2006,
Thomas Cook (India) Limited acquired LKP Forex Limited and Travel Corporation
(India) Pvt. Ltd. (TCI). In May 2012, Thomas Cook Group plc, UK (the erstwhile
parent) sold its investment in Thomas Cook (India) Limited (TCIL) to Fairbridge
Capital (Mauritius) Limited (Fairbridge). Fairbridge made an open offer to the nonpromoters and post August 14, 2012, TCIL is part of Fairfax Group, Canada.
Thomas Cook Group is one of the world's largest travel service businesses,
operating in the UK, India, North America, and across Europe. The group books
flights, hotels, and vacations, including mainstream and independent holiday options,
and offers travel-related financial services, for 23.6 million consumers. Brands
include Club 18-30, Condor, Direct Holidays, Neckermann, Ving, as well as Thomas

Cook. It also runs a fleet of some 40 aircraft, Thomas Cook Airlines. Created in 2000
by C&N Touristic buyout of Thomas Cook Holdings Ltd., the group traces to 1841,
when 32-year-old cabinet maker and former Baptist preacher Thomas Cook
began organizing excursions for temperance societies and Sunday-school children.
In May 2012, Thomas Cook Group plc, UK (the erstwhile parent) sold off its
investment in Thomas Cook (India) Limited (TCIL) to Fairbridge Capital (Mauritius)
Limited (Fairbridge). Fairbridge made an open offer to the non-promoters and post
August 14, 2012, TCIL is part of Fairfax Group, Canada. Fairbridge is a whollyowned step-down subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (Fairfax), a
Toronto-based financial services holding company with a global presence in
insurance and reinsurance and a portfolio of assets in excess of US$30 billion
invested worldwide. Fairfax has almost 20 insurance subsidiaries and joint ventures
globally, including several market leading companies such as Odyssey Re (USA),
Crum & Forster (USA), First Capital (Singapore), Fairfax Brazil, Gulf Insurance
(Kuwait) and ICICI Lombard (India). TCIL presently operates in over 101 cities
across over 253 locations (including 27 airport counters). The company has
overseas operations in Sri Lanka which is a branch of TCIL and Mauritius which is a
subsidiary of Thomas Cook (India).
TCIL is supported by a strong partner network of 131 Gold Circle Partners and 169
Preferred Sales Agents in over 100 cities pan India. The Company employs over
2,802 resources and is listed on both the Bombay Stock Exchange as well as the
National Stock Exchange. The company along with their subsidiaries has their
presence in 166 locations in India and 7 countries outside of India. The company
operates in two segments, namely
a) Foreign exchange and financial services, and
b) Travel and related services.
Foreign Exchange and Financial Services deals with providing travel related
foreign exchange & payment solutions. The company also offers credit cards and
financial services relating to travel insurance.

Travel and Related Services include consumer leisure travel retailing, travel
management services, leisure inbound service and general sales agency business.
Vision and Mission:
Working to a consistent vision and an agreed set of values helps a company to set
itself apart from its peers.
Mission Statement

Exceptional Service From Exceptional People

Taking Personal Responsibility For Achieving the Mission

Pursuing Excellence in Everything We Do

Values

Displaying Honesty and Trust in all our Relations with Customers to

deliver outstanding service to them at all times

Recognizing and Respecting the Needs of Individuals

Since 2003, Thomas Cook has been living the PROUD values. We go further to
make dreams come true, the PROUD values ensure that all employees across the
Group are united in their approach to delivering the very best service to our
customers.
The PROUD values are:
Pioneering our future: Inspiring energy and enthusiasm. Seeking
constantly to be creative and innovative and challenge constructively the
status quo. Thriving in an ever-changing and dynamic world.
Results orientated: Taking responsibility for achieving results. Reliable and
always delivering what is promised. Committed and determined to
challenge and overcome barriers and solve problems. Always working to
improve own and others' performance and capabilities.

Obsessed with customer service: Delivering the best-possible experience

for customers at all times. Listening and responding to their personal
needs.
United as one team: Supporting and respecting each other and working
openly and collaboratively with their colleagues as a single, worldwide
team. Trusting each other and always demonstrating integrity and honesty.
Driving robust decisions: Striving for quality, speed and clarity of decisions.
Learning from the past. Ensuring that decisions are based on facts and are
fair.
Vision and Mission: Implementation in India
When it came to implementing the vision and values at Thomas Cook India, the first
decision made was to tailor the language of the values slightly so as to be as
impactful as possible for Indian employees, without losing the underlying meanings.
This meant changing PROUD to PRIDE:
1. Pioneering our Future
2. Respect for Individuals and United as a Team
3. Integrity
4. Delighting the Customer
5. Excellence.
The vision and these tailored values were rolled out from May 2009, with thorough
planning and great attention given to really embedding them in the organizations
culture. Managers from Thomas Cook Indias various divisions were trained in the
vision and values, then they cascaded the training down to all employees.
Importantly, this training included discussion of the relationships between vision,
values, mission and business strategy. It also incorporated time for employees to
explore the practical steps they could take to make the vision a reality. An innovative
step taken by the team in India was to consult with employees on how they thought
the company was already performing in relation to the vision and values. Everyone

was asked to rate how well Thomas Cook goes further to make dreams come true
for different stakeholders, with the results:

Customers

78%

Employees

69%

Shareholders

75%

Business partners

75%

Society

59%

Overall average

70%

Employees were also asked how well they perceived the company to be performing
on each of the PRIDE values. The results were:
Pioneering our Future

77%

Respect for Individuals and United as a Team

67%

Integrity

98%

Delighting the Customer

72%

Excellence

68%

Overall average

76%

Both these sets of measurements will be taken regularly, through the employee
survey, to measure progress and identify areas for improvement.
And that is not the only way in which Thomas Cook India is embedding the vision
and values for the long term:

1. Employee appraisals now include competencies structured around the

PRIDE values;

2. The recruitment and induction processes for new employees also

include consideration of the values; and

3. Materials such as cards and screensavers have been created to act as

continual reminders.
Moreover, a cross-functional team is now looking at further innovations, such as
structuring the management of customer feedback around the PRIDE values.
All in all, this has been a comprehensive and very successful implementation, and
one that has won the support of Thomas Cook Indias employees. As Prasanth Nair,
the companys President and Head of Human Resources and Special Projects,
comments, We didnt want the vision and values to be an add-on or easily forgotten
we wanted to make them the very definition of the organizations culture. So we
really committed to doing this well and it has paid off. Employee feedback has been
very positive and Im thrilled by the progress that has already been demonstrated.
Companys Annual Turnover, Management Practices, Drivers And Competitive
Advantage:
Annual Turnover:
Thomas Cook is fundamentally a sound business with revenues of 9.5 billion in the
financial year ending September 2012 and, with a strong market position in each of
our source markets:
It already featured as number one or two in their core markets of the UK, Continental
Europe, and Northern Europe. Their business model has consistently delivered
strong gross margins in excess of 20%, demonstrating the trust and the value that
the 23 million customers who travelled with us in 2012, place upon our products.

The Business Transformation of the last six months has delivered results
substantially ahead of expectations through a clear focus on the priorities,
simplification of approach, and the acceleration of the initiatives already underway.
The Transformation actions of the last 6 months have been focused on addressing
costs and cash, building an effective organization and creating a strategy for the
future.

Foreign exchange contributes 65 per cent of their revenue. They have 50 per cent
market share in the business and it is growing at 9-10 per cent rate. The demand for
travel products is good.

Major Drivers:
Thomas Cooks strategy remains focused on strengthening our core mainstream
business and investing in areas of future growth, primarily independent travel, travelrelated financial services and other opportunities via mergers, acquisitions and
partnerships. The key growth drivers are as follows:
1. Maximize value of mainstream
Their core business remains our mainstream business, which is primarily the sale of
charter packages where two or more components of travel, such as flights, hotels,
transfers and rep services, are bundled together in advance and sold to customers
through brochures and agents in stores, online through our various websites or over
the phone from call centers. The charter package holiday remains very popular as
customers appreciate the value for money it provides, the ease of choice and
selection, and the security offered. However, in the longer term, growth is expected
to be moderate in established economies. The strategy, therefore, is to maximize the
value of their mainstream business through cost efficiencies and through increasing
the proportion of higher value product such as all inclusive board basis, four and five
star properties and medium haul destinations. It will also continue to grow the
proportion of products sold online, making the most of the efficiencies offered by this
distribution channel, as well as continuing to improve product and destination mix.
2. Become a leading independent travel provider
Independent travel, where consumers build their own trip either on their own or with
the help of an agent, has gained in popularity boosted by greater online penetration
and new technologies that allow consumers to create their own packages (dynamic
packaging). This area of travel also includes scheduled tours where consumers
either tailor make their trips or buy pre-packaged itineraries. It also includes their

wholesale business, where they operate as an intermediary between suppliers and

other agents providing them with the ability to build holidays for their customers.
In independent travel, they plan to make further changes and investments in ecommerce capabilities to strengthen our position as an online travel agent,
leveraging our brands, inventory, buying organization and multi-channel model.
There is also continued investment in dynamic packaging capabilities and
independent product portfolio in general.
Independent travel will continue to grow helped by technology improvements and
continued consumer demand. Their strategy is to take advantage of that growth, in
particular the increase in online penetration. They plan to significantly grow both
sales of in-house inventory online and sales of third party products, performing the
role of an online travel agent.
3. Become the leading travel-related financial services provider
Travel-related financial services broadly fall into the categories of travel money,
which are products that help customers pay for goods and services whilst travelling
such as pre-paid foreign exchange; travel assurance, which are products that cover
the various risks associated with travel such as insurance for accidents and thefts;
and travel finance which are products that allow customers to finance their travel,
such as credit cards. These are typically high margin products, and are naturally sold
alongside other holiday components. Their strategy is to make the most of our
brands and distribution capabilities to continue to grow this important part of our
business.
In travel-related financial services they are looking both to maximize cross-sell
opportunities and to grow our direct-to-consumer sales within existing markets. They
are also planning to launch a number of innovative new products across the Group
and are looking at opportunities to use the Thomas Cook brand to expand into new
source markets.

4. Capture growth and value through M&A and partnerships

To support the growth drivers, they are constantly open to opportunities to bolster
their business through mergers, acquisitions or partnerships. As developed markets
mature, they are focused on the one hand on ways to consolidate these markets and
maximize the value from them, and on the other on the new growth areas of
emerging markets, in particular, large fast growing markets such as India (where we
are already a leading player), Russia, China and parts of South America. In addition,
they are always on the lookout for smaller deals that enable us to maintain our
competitive advantage.

Strategy and Competitive Advantage:

The Companys strategy is built around their vision of going further to make dreams
come true. At the same time they also aim to deliver outstanding long-term value to
our shareholders. The Companys strategy has been refreshed regularly to adjust to
changes in their marketplace. The foundation of the strategy is their outstanding
team of people and their shared values. They work together to deliver the four tenets
of their strategy, their growth drivers, supported by key enablers such as their
portfolio of leading travel brands, their products and their technology backbone.
Strategic Highlights:

A Strategy of simplification, focused on delivering trusted, personalized

holiday experiences delivered through a high-tech, high-touch approach.

New strategy has been based upon extensive research and analysis including
a comprehensive, in-depth survey measuring the attitudes and changing
needs of almost 18,000 travelers, validated against the experiences of many
of Thomas Cooks own customers.

The strategy will deliver on-going product and service innovation through four
major initiatives:
o Expand their successful, proven international hotel concepts across our
markets
o Creating a new portfolio of flexible, trusted, products and services

o Creating a single, consistent, Omni-channel gateway for customers to

access personal recommendations from our extensive range of
products and services
o All underpinned by the powerful Thomas Cook brand and an integrated
IT platform

The operational credibility of this strategy rests on the success of our self -help
measures to date, our trusted brand and the clear targets and KPIs against which
they are ready to be judged. They have real options now, with the prospect of
delivering improved revenues, strengthened gross margin, better cash flow and
disposal opportunities, to build a strong and exciting future for the Thomas Cook
Group, worthy of their customers and their heritage. In response the Groups new
strategy involves four major pillars:

Expand and leverage Thomas Cooks proven successful, exclusive, and

international hotel concepts.

Product and Service Innovation: This is the creation of a new portfolio of

flexible, trusted products and services based on feedback and trends
demonstrated through the survey.

Single customer gateway: This will enable a consistent, personalized

customer experience with access to a full range of products, services and
personal recommendations across all channels allowing deeper, more
insightful customer relationships which go beyond the booking transaction.

Execution supported by brand and technology: Drawing together the IT

capabilities across the Group into a consistent platform that will enable the
extension of the Groups dynamic packaging capability to customers in all
markets, assist

with yield management across the portfolio and create a

seamless, unified, multi-channel customer interaction experience across

mobile, web, and in store will add considerable value.
Awards:

Thomas Cook(India) Ltd. has been honored with the Favorite

Specialist Tour Operator" award at the Cond Nast Traveler
Readers' Travel Awards 2011 & 2012.
o TCIL was conferred with the CNBC AWAAZ - Best company
providing foreign exchange in India for the third year in a
row.
o ThomasCook(India) Ltd. has been awarded the Best
Corporate Travel Management Company by World Travel
Brands, 2012.
o TCIL was awarded the Most Trusted Tour Operator Brand
by the Times Travel Honors 2011.
o It was recognized as a Superbrand 2011-2012 by
consumers for excellence in travel services by Superbrands
for Travel Smooth.
o CRISIL has reaffirmed Thomas Cook (India) Limited with the
CRISIL A1+ and AA- rating.
o

The Brand Trust Report, India study 2012, has ranked

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd as The most Trusted Brand in
Services.

o Travel Corporation (India) Ltd. (TCI) a 100% subsidiary of

Thomas Cook(India) Ltd. was awarded the prestigious
National Tourism Award (2010-2011) for Outstanding
Performance as an Inbound Tour Operator.
o Centre of Learning has received IATA accreditation as Top
10 South Asia IATA Authorized Training Centers, 2012

Apart from this Thomas Cook has won the following awards:
Best Travel Agency Award2004 given by TTG Asia - Part of Pacific Asia Travel
Association (PATA) for the 5th year in succession. The Golden Peacock Award for
Corporate Governance, for the second time in a row. The Criteria for this award are
transparency, excellence in conducting business, various levels of management,
social and environmental responsibility, ethical business practice and Consistent
creation of value for all the stakeholders. The National Tourism Award for 2001-2002

& 2002-2003, winning the second rank in category 1 for the company that achieved
the highest foreign exchange earnings from Ministry of Tourism. National Tourism
Award - Best MICE Operator2006-07 National Tourism Award - 3rd prize Inbound
Operator2006-07 The Association of Business Communications of India(ABCI)
where the company won the first prize for its website - www.thomascook.co.in
Awarded "The Best Outbound & Inbound Tour Operator of the Year" award at the
Hospitality India Awards 2006 hosted by Hospitality India. Recipient of the
prestigious Government of India Ministry of Tourism award for "Excellence in
Conference Tourism" Best Travel Agency - India for the year 2008by TTG Asia - Part
of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Best Tour Operator by CNBC Awaaz in
2008 Best Outbound Tour Operator in the 4th Hospitality India & Explore the world
Annual International Awards 2008.

Major Competitors

The major players in the foreign exchange market:

VKC

FRR

WEIZMANN

FCM

TT FOREX

CENTRUM

RR SEN

MERCURY

Following are the major bifurcations:

Full fledge moneychangers - these are the firms and individuals who have been
authorized to take both, purchade and sale transaction with the public. Restricted
moneychanger - these are shops, hotels, etc that have been authorizes only to
purchase foreign currency towards cost of goods supplied or services rendered by
them or for conversion into rupees. Authorized dealers - these are the ones who can

undertake all types of foreign exchange transaction. Banks are the only authorized
dealers. The only exceptions are Thomas Cook, Western Union.

Participants in foreign exchange market

The main players in foreign exchange market are as follows:

Customers: The customers who are engaged in foreign trade participate in

foreign exchange market by availing the services of banks.

Commercial Banks: They are the most active players in the foreign exchange
market. Commercial banks dealing with international transaction offer services
for conversion of one currency into another. They have a wide network of
branches.

Central Bank: In all countries Central Bank have been charged with the
responsibility of maintaining the external value of the domestic currency and
this is achieved by the intervention of the bank.

Exchange Brokers: Forex brokers play a very important role in the foreign
exchange market. However the extent to which the services of foreign brokers
are utilized depends on the tradition and practice prevailing at a particular
Forex market centre.

Overseas Forex market.

Speculators.

Chapter III - Research Methodology

3.1 Introduction to the study

Statement of the problem:

Study and recommendations for effective distribution model for foreign exchange
business at thomas cook branches

Scope of the study:

The project mainly deals with the below mentioned objectives

Study on the existing distribution model of Thomas Cook Foreign Exchange
Services.
Feasibility of the Online Forex Store of Thomas Cook Foreign Exchange
Services.
Increasing Consumer Walk-ins.
Recommendations for Effective Distribution model of Thomas Cook.

About the research:

Thomas Cook Pvt. Ltd has launched a state-of-the-art forex solution for the travelling
sector. While this forex solution is technically superior to other companies as it deals
in

eight different currency for the customers who are travelling abroad for their

education, business etc available in the market, it is not easy to quickly raise
awareness and penetrate the market, particularly foreign exchange centers. Several
competitors had already tied up with a large number of the education consultancies,
corporates etc which raise the difficulty in capturing the market quickly. A major
targets are education consultancies, corporates and other forex providers. The major
challenges include identifying high-potential target customers, educating them on the
benefits they can realize from the solution that others in the market do not provide,
and eventually getting them on board to close the deals. A perfect storm of prevailing
market winds and advances in foreign exchange is poised to usher in the longawaited era . The final tack needed to ensure widespread of forex which can be
accessible to customers in a way which supports their preferences.

Objectives of the study:

Gain knowledge and have a realistic approach towards the market in travel
and tourism sector.

Understand the competitive advantage of Thomas cook over its competitors.

Understanding of the positioning strategy in travel and tourism sector in

Bangalore City.

Learn required skill to mould and convince to adopt forex provided by Thomas
Cook and hence convert them to customers.

Various business models employed by the companies are explained and

analyzed .

B2B and B2C model is focused more since its an upcoming channel for
various businesses

Methodology:
Pragmatic approach (Combination of Qualitative & Quantitative)
The pragmatic approach to this research involves using the method which appears
best suited to the research problem and not getting caught up in philosophical
debates about which is the best approach. Going by the nature of the problem that
has been laid down, it seems necessary that I grant myself the freedom to use any of
the methods, techniques and procedures typically associated with quantitative or
qualitative research as I feel that every method has its limitations and that the
different approaches can be complementary.
I may also use different techniques at the same time or one after the other. For
example, I might start with face-to-face interviews with several consultancies and
student or have a telephonic interview or focus group discussions and then use the
findings to construct a questionnaire to measure attitudes in a large scale sample.
Depending on which measures have been used, the data collected shall be analyzed
in the appropriate manner. However, it is sometimes possible to transform qualitative

data into quantitative data and vice versa although transforming quantitative data
into qualitative data is not very common.
Being able to mix different approaches has the advantages of enabling triangulation.
Triangulation is a common feature of mixed methods studies. It involves, for
example:

The use of a variety of data sources

The use of multiple perspectives to interpret the results

The use of multiple methods to study a research problem

In this research, qualitative and quantitative methods may be used simultaneously,

or else, I may start with one approach at first and then go for the next. For example,
a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews or focus group discussions might
serve to obtain information which will then be used to contribute towards the
development of an experimental measure or attitude scale, the results of which will
be analyzed significantly.
Pragmatic researchers grant themselves the freedom to use any of the methods,
techniques and procedures typically associated with quantitative or qualitative
research. We recognize that every method has its limitations and also different
approaches can be used as complementary. We use different techniques at the
same time.

Cold Calling technique was being used to reach decision makers (students,
educational consultancies) to deliver solutions or customization, based on
their queries/requirements.

Some studies, qualitative and quantitative methods are used simultaneously

in this research. In others, first one approach was used and then the next,
with the second part of the study perhaps expanding on the results of the first.

Data Collection: (Both Primary & Secondary)

Data collection is a term used to describe a process of preparing and collecting data.
The main source of information for this study is based on the data collection.
The purpose of data collection are follows:

To obtain information

To keep on record

To make decisions about important issues.

To pass information on others.

Primary Data:

The data which are collected from the field under the control and supervision
of an investigator.

Primary data means original data that has been collected specially for the
purpose in mind,

These types of data are generally afresh and collected for the first time.

It is useful for current studies as well as for future studies

For example: your own questionnaire

Data Collection Technique:

There are two sources of data collection techniques. Primary and Secondary data
collection techniques, Primary data collection uses surveys, experiments or direct
observations. Secondary data collection may be conducted by collecting information
from a diverse source of documents or electronically stored information, census and
market studies are examples of a common sources of secondary data. This is also
referred to as "Data Mining."
Primary Data:
Primary data means original data that has been collected specially for the purpose in
mind. It means someone collected the data from the original source first hand. Data
collected this way is called primary data.
Sources of Primary Data:
Sources for primary data are limited and at times it becomes difficult to obtain data
from primary source because of either scarcity of population or lack of cooperation.

Regardless of any difficulty one can face in collecting primary data; it is the most
authentic and reliable data source.
The Approach we followed was Questionnaires and Personal Interview
o Questionnaire is the most commonly used method in survey.
Questionnaires are a list of questions either an open-ended or close ended for which the respondent give answers. Questionnaire can be
conducted via telephone, mail, live in a public area, or in an institute,
through electronic mail or through fax and other methods.
o Interview is a face-to-face conversation with the respondent. It is slow,
expensive, and they take people away from their regular jobs, but they
allow in-depth questioning and follow-up questions.
The interviewer can not only record the statements the interviewee speaks but he
can observe the body language or non-verbal communication such as face-pulling,
fidgeting, shrugging, hand gestures, sarcastic expressions that add further meaning
to spoken words and other reactions to the questions too.
Advantages of Primary research:

Targeted Issues are addressed : The organization asking for the research
has the complete control on the process and the research is streamlines as
far as its objectives and scope is concerned. Researching company can be
asked to concentrate their efforts to find data regarding specific market rather
than concentration on mass market.

Data interpretation is better : The collected data can be examined and

interpreted by the marketers depending on their needs rather than relying on
the interpretation made by collectors of secondary data.

Efficient Spending for Information : Unlike secondary research where the

marketer may spend for information that is not needed, primary data
collections focus on issues specific to the researcher improves the chances
that research funds will be spent efficiently.

Decency of Data : Usually secondary data is not so recent and it may not be
specific to the place or situation marketer is targeting. The researcher can use
the irrelevant seeming information for knowing trends or may be able to find

some relation with the current scenario. Thus primary data becomes a more
accurate tool since we can use data which is useful for us.

Proprietary Issues : Information collected by using primary research is their

own and is generally not shared with others. Thus, information can be kept
hidden from competitors and potentially offer an information advantage to
the company that undertook the primary research. This gives an edge over
competitors replying on secondary data.

Disadvantages of primary research:

Time Consuming : To be done correctly primary data collection requires the

development and execution of a research plan. Going from the start-point of
deciding to undertake a research project to the end-point to having results is
often much longer than the time it takes to acquire secondary data, which can
be collected in much lesser time duration.

Inaccurate Feed-backs : In case the research involves taking feedbacks

from the targeted audience, there are high chances that feedback given is not
correct. Feedbacks by their basic nature are usually biased or given just for
the sake of it.

More number of resources is required : Leaving aside cost and time, other
resources like human resources and materials too are needed in larger
quantity to do surveys and data collection.

Secondary Data:
Secondary data is the data that has been already collected by and readily available
from other sources. When we use Statistical Method with Primary Data from another
purpose for our purpose we refer to it as Secondary Data. It means that one
purpose's Primary Data is another purpose's Secondary Data. So that secondary
data is data that is being reused. Such data are cheaper and more quickly obtainable
than the primary data.
These secondary data may be obtained from many sources, including literature,
industry surveys, compilations from computerized databases and information
systems, and computerized or mathematical models of environmental processes.

Importance of secondary data:

Secondary data can be less valid but its importance is still there. Sometimes it is
difficult to obtain primary data; in these cases getting information from secondary
sources is easier and possible. Sometimes primary data does not exist in such
situation one has to confine the research on secondary data.
Sometimes primary data is present but the respondents are not willing to reveal it in
such case too secondary data can suffice: for example, if the research is on the
psychology of transsexuals first it is difficult to find out transsexuals and second they
may not be willing to give information you want for your research, so you can collect
data from books or other published sources.

Sources of secondary data:

The data we collected from are as follows:

General Websites: Generally websites do not contain very reliable

information so their content should be checked for the reliability before
quoting from them.

Weblogs: Weblogs are also becoming common. They are actually diaries
written by different people. These diaries are as reliable to use as personal
written diaries.

Advantages of Secondary Data:

Ease of Access:
There are many advantages to using secondary research. This includes the
relative ease of access to many sources of secondary data. In the past
secondary data accumulation required marketers to visit libraries, or wait for

reports to be shipped by mail. Now with the availability of online access,

secondary research is more openly accessed. This offers convenience and
generally standardized usage methods for all sources of secondary research.

Low Cost to Acquire:

The use of secondary data has allowed researchers access to valuable
information for little or no cost to acquire. Therefore, this information is much
less expensive than if the researchers had to carry out the research
themselves.

Disadvantages of secondary data:

Quality of Research:
There are some disadvantages to using secondary research. The originators
of the primary research are largely self-governed and controlled by the
marketer. Therefore, the secondary research used must be scrutinized closely
since the origins of the information may be questionable.
Moreover, the researcher needs to take sufficient steps to critically evaluate
the validity and reliability of the information provided.

Not Specific to Researchers Needs:

In many cases, secondary data is not presented in a form that exactly meets
the researchers needs. Therefore, the researcher needs to rely on secondary
data that is presented and classified in a way that is similar to their needs.

Incomplete Information:
In many cases, researchers find information that appears valuable and
promising. The researcher may not get the full version of the research to gain
the full value of the study. This is because many research suppliers offer free
portions of their research and then charge expensive fees for their full reports.

Not Timely:

When using secondary research, one must exercise caution when using
dated information from the past. With companies competing in fast changing
industries, an out-of-date research reports many have little or no relevance to
the current market situation.
Challenges:

The Thomas Cook website used to be a classic website. As the online travel sector
is changing ever more rapidly and since Thomas Cook decided to fundamentally
increase the share of e-com in its multi-channel approach, the company decided to
transform its online presence into a more useful portal, uniquely combining an online
travel agency with updated content, an interactive community and targeted
advertising. In addition, Thomas Cook wanted to offer customers the possibility to
find all the necessary information in one place, instead of having to conduct
extensive searches on multiple and inconsistent sites.
Sales : A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other
compensation. Signaling completion of the prospective stage, it is the beginning of
an engagement between customer and vendor or the extension of that engagement.
The seller or salesperson the provider of the goods or services completes a sale
in response to an acquisition or to an appropriation or to a request. There follows the
passing of title (property or ownership) in the item, and the application and due
settlement of a price, the obligation for which arises due to the seller's requirement to
pass ownership. Ideally, a seller agrees upon a price at which he willingly parts with
ownership of or any claim upon the item. The purchaser, though a party to the sale,
does not execute the sale, only the seller does that. To be precise the sale
completes prior to the payment and gives rise to the obligation of payment. If the
seller completes the first two above stages (consent and passing ownership) of the
sale prior to settlement of the price, the sale remains valid and gives rise to an
obligation to pay.
Sales depending on shopkeppers

An exploratory research was done on the shopkeepers. A convenience sampling

technique was used.
Sample Size: 100
Questions were generally open-ended to identify the core needs in terms of forex for
these
Shopkeepers and their customers. The following results were obtained ,
Stores doing FOREX transactions in malls:

Sales

NO 55%
YES 40%
OCCASIONALLY

The stores that do Forex transactions are mainly the handicrafts , Jewellery and
Indigenous shops whereas the branded stores and famous retail outlets generally
dont deal with forex as they accept international debit cards. This is huge target
market for Forex business which you cannot find in the other urbane malls.

Among the shopkeepers that deal with Forex business, 54% deal with other money
changers inside the mall and only 18 % deal with TCIL which is indeed a hard fact to
digest. TCIL could try to convert such shop owners .

The perception among the shopkeepers is that TCIL rates are much expensive than
that of
other moneychangers in the mall and they also commented on the reducing footfalls
in the mall that has reduced the transactions within the mall.

Feasibility study on the Online Forex Store

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd, one of Indias largest integrated travel and travel related
financial services companies, has launched its Online Forex Store offering its
comprehensive range of foreign exchange products and services via its portal
thomascook.in, making it the first company in India to offer all customers the
convenience and security of transacting foreign exchange services online.

USPs:

Dynamic and real-time display of foreign exchange rates for 26 global

currencies available online.

Range of products: Multi-currency forex prepaid cards (Borderless Prepaid),

currency notes, travellers cheques.

No additional credit card convenience charge.

Free doorstep delivery or collection at over 213 locations, pan India.

Request for Money Transfers and University fee remittance.

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Customer Acquisition

Attracting our customers for the first purchase

To increase the number of customers that purchase for the first time.

Customer Retention

The customer returns and buys for the second time

To increase the number of customers that purchase from us regularly

Customer Extention
Additional, Supplementary purchases

Our customers are regularly purchasing.

We introduce products and services to our loyal customers different from

original purchase.

Once purchased, our goal is to retain them as customers for the extended
products or services.

To increase the number of customers that purchase additional products.

Determinants of customer retention

Customer

expectations

versus

delivered

product:

When

the

customer

expectations are too high and the delivered product or service does not meet those
expectations, the customer will not repeat purchase.

Product uniqueness and suitability: The more different (or less substitutable) a
product is, the greater the retention rate. When a customer has access to almost
identical products or services, the probability of purchasing any particular one
decreases significantly.

Ease of purchase: Some products and services are very difficult to find or
purchase, which hurts retention.

Customer Service: Clearly, customer service is an important factor in customer

retention. In some recent studies, customer service was the most important
determinant of whether or not a customer would defect from a firm. But defining

customer service is not as easy for a company to do as it may seem. Customer

service has many components, and many parts of an organization provide it.
Accounting provides customer service when it solves a customer's billing problems,
logistics handles customer service problems when the product is not delivered, and
engineering provides customer service when it shows a customer how to utilize the
equipment more efficiently or how to increase production-line speed through a minor
product modification. Customer service opportunities are pervasive in any
organization.

Limitations:

The data collected from the respondents is assumed to be true.

The information was collected through personal interview but, the actual
hidden perception of the respondents may differ.

The process of closing sales is lengthy, due to tight schedule of Target

Market.

Less flexibility and adoptability towards new solutions.

Difficult to find adequate information of target market (Decision makers).

Limited access to customer database.

Language barrier.

Chapter IV - Data Analysis & Interpretation:

This section will explain how the data will be analyzed once they are collected.
Usually, more than one analysis is conducted. Each analysis that will be used to
meet each objective listed above should be described. Also a description of the
specific effects to be examined in each analysis, such as main effects, interaction
effects. or simple main effects, should be included. The unit of analysis to be used

should be specified and the reason for choosing that unit should be explained. After
reading this section, the reader should know which effects will guide the data
analysis and in exactly what way the data are to be analyzed to meet each objective
of the proposed study. Data analyses should be specifically linked to the hypotheses
so that it is clear how each hypothesis will be tested.

QUESTIONAIRE: .
1. Are you aware of FOREX provided by Thomascook ?

Total no of Respondent Response

200

YES

80

NO

120

250
200
200
150
120
80

100
50
0
Total no of Respondent

Yes

No

Table 4.1 Product Awareness

Inference: As it is very important to know wheather the client is aware of the product
or not, hence I used the technique of cold calling and out of 200 cold callings, 80
clients already know about forex and 120 clients didnt know about the product. So,
pitching regarding integrated forex was not useful.
2. Which product/service of Thomas cook customers are availing the
most?

Total no of Respondent Response

200

BPC

60

Currency notes(forex)

140

250
200
200

140

150

100

60
50

Total

C.N

BPC

Table 4.2 Products Avail

Inference: Out of 200 clients, 140 clients didnt use the forex facilities and this is a
big gap in the market which was present. As our product has the feature of dealing in
8 different currencies, it is an added advantage we had to persuade these clients to
use our product.

3) How did you come to know about forex?

Total no of Respondent Response

200

Family

50

Thomas cook personnel

Internet

Ads and promotion

250
200
200

150

100
50

50
3

TOTAL

FRIEND/FAMILY

PERSONNEL

INTERNET

ADs

Table 4.3 Awareness medium

Inference: Out of 200 respondents, 50 knew from the friends and family, only 3
knew from Thomas cook personnel. This shows there is huge marketing gap
between coustomers and clients as they are not aware about the forex.

4) What are your favorites things about this product?

DESIGN

QUALITY

LOW COST

22

FEATURES

10

EASE OF USE

Features
25

22

20
15
10
10

8
5

1
0
Design

Quality

Cost Benefit

Features

Ease of Use

Table 4.4 Features of Borderless Prepaid Card.

Inference: Out of 43 clients, 22 clients feel it is economical and 10 clients feel

features present are nice followed by 8 clients who feel that quality of service is nice
and 5 clients feel that design of service and at last only one client feel that it was
easy for use.

5) How do you find the process of forex service?

VERY HIGH COMPLEX

20

HIGH COMPLEX

AVERAGE

LOW

VERY LOW

25

20
20

15

10

5
1

1
0

Low

Very low

0
Very High

High

Average

Table 4.5 Process of the BPC

Inference:When we approach our clients, regarding the process they are getting
with respect to the price, 20 clients feels it very high, whereas only 1,1 in high and
average respectively.

6)Did you conduct any enquiry before opting for forex?

Total no of Respondent Response
YES
NO

200
60
140

250
200
200
140

150
100
60
50
0
Total

Yes

No

Table 4.6 Enquiry about the product.

Inference: Out of 200 clients, 60 clients did enquiry about the product, and
remaining 140 did not conduct any enquiry. This shows the communication gap in
the market.

7) How would you rate our services?

Total no of Respondent Response

17

It was very poor

It was unsatisfactory

It was about average

Yes it was very good

Outstanding service

Level of Customer Service

0, 0%
3, 18%
6, 35%

It was very poor

It was unsatisfactory

0, 0%

It was about average

Yes it was very good

8, 47%

Outstanding service

Table 4.7 Level of Customer Services

Inference: As per the data, we infer that more than 60% of the on-boarded clients
are either satisfied or rate our service as an excellent one. This process is always
used in 30 days to get the feedback from the clients and provide them quality service
as committed before the agreement was signed.

8) How does our forex service fare in comparison to other services in this
category?

Total no of Respondent Response

17

Much Better

Better

The Same

Worse

A Lot Worse

Service Fare Vs Service Offered

Much Better

Better

The Same

Worse

A Lot Worse

Table 4.8 Service Fare Vs Service Offered

Inference: As per the data/observation we received via questionnaires or through

personal interview, according to the clients the service fare we charge with respect to
the service what we give is much better (47%), Better (41%) and rest feels it is
same.

9) How quickly was the problem resolved once we developed feedback for
you?
Total no of Respondent Response

17

Much Better

Better

The Same

Worse

A Lot Worse

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Much Better

Better

The Same

Worse

A Lot Worse

Table 4.9 How quickly the product resolved your problem

Inference: As far as problem solving is concerned our product has done an excellent
job with more than 88% of the on-boarded clients feels its above better than our
competitors product

10) How was the behavior of our business development executive?

Total no of Respondent Response

17

The concerned person was very courteous

The concerned person dealt with my enquiry professionally

The concerned person was very knowledgeable and understood my

needs

Behavior of Business Development Executives

The concerned person
was very courteous
28%
The concerned person
was very knowledgeable
and understood my needs
39%

The concerned person

dealt with my enquiry
professionally
33%

The concerned person was very courteous

The concerned person dealt with my enquiry professionally
The concerned person was very knowledgeable and understood my needs

Table 4.10 Behavior of Business Development Executives

Inference: At the end while we ask the clients about our performance i.e. our
behavior, attitude, knowledge towards the product we are marketing, we received the
above feedback.

Chapter V - OBSERVATIONS:

Based on the internship experience, the following observations were made:

There is a lack of coordination among the Bangalore branch team and the
Mumbai branch team.

The company is running in an organized manner but still there are areas of
improvement which has to be taken care of.

The internal communication of the company is unsystematic.

The employees are somewhat satisfied with the working conditions and
working hours of the firm.

Swiping cards system is used for marking attendance.

Workers health and safety is given prime important.

Chapter VI - Conclusion & Recommendations:

Should try and enter the untapped areas: Thomas Cook (India) Limited should try
and enter the untapped markets to get the first mover advantage.

Should give priority to service issues: As we know in any business to outperform

the competitors we need to prove the best possible after sale services. Since almost
every other company is offering the same product, we can differentiate from others
on the basis of After Sales Services. It has been my personal experience with the
companies saying that if you promise me good services I am ready to give you good
business, so being a famous brand Thomas Cook needs to get more comfort to the
investors regarding this and try and avoid any lapse.

Aggressive Advertisements: Thomas Cook needs to be more aggressive on

advertisements as compared to its competitors. Advertisement should be important
as this helps to get the recall value as well as it helps the distributor to sell the fund
with ease customer has already seen the advertisement as is aware that the fund is
available in the market. To conclude, it is just enough to say that Thomas Cook,
being a market leader is an exceptionally competitive company, easily proven by its

affordable rates and high customer base in the form of loyal travelers choosing
Thomas Cook travels over the years. It has everything that a successful organization
needs; from ample resources, committed workforce, enviable market standing to
loyal customers and a remarkable financial position. Thomas Cooks new strategy is
to drive profitable growth by delighting customers with trusted,personal holiday
experiences delivered through a high-tech, high-touch approach.
To do this they have identified four strategic initiatives based on facts generated from
a thorough review of the industry and Thomas Cooks performance within it,
including one of the most comprehensive surveys of travelers ever conducted, with
in-depth analysis of the attitudes of almost 18,000 people across all our key source
markets. Some important conclusions from the review that have shaped our thinking
in conjunction with independent insight from the travel needs of its own customers
are:

The core Sun and Beach opportunity continues to grow.

The market for package holidays is growing particularly in Germany and

Sweden

Some other holiday types that are growing significantly, such as city breaks,
are currently only a small part of the Thomas Cook portfolio, and this must
change.

The customer survey has led them to conclude that trust, personalization, high-tech
and high-touch are the success factors in travel and consistency and strong brand
are the drivers of consumer choice. 93% of travelers either search online or prefer to
book online, 70% of travelers want a connected relationship with their supplier that
goes beyond just booking and paying for the holiday, whilst 66% of travelers want
help and trusted advice to make the right selection and 50% of travelers admitted to
feeling overwhelmed by choice and wanted help to navigate the vast amount of
information.

SUGGESTIONS:-

One piece of suggestion that I can make is to encourage empowerment.

Empowerment is the ability to make decisions within the work environment without
having to get prior approval. Empowered employees feel ownership for their jobs and
their roles in them. An improvement in this aspect is needed.
Some kind of transparency must be maintained in knowing the business status of the
organization. Meetings must be conducted at the end of financial year to create
awareness in the employees about the financial status of the organization.
There must be a clear picture for the employees in knowing the procedures of
formulating the compensation structure because major differentiation is seen in the
satisfaction levels. A fair pay must be incorporated when performance is taken as the
major yardstick. To take up feedback periodically from the employees regarding the
motivation aspects and they must be given liberty to question for procedures on
compensation if they are not satisfied. Come up with some efficient marketing
strategies to penetrate the Service market.
Proper management of databases of the various present clients and the potential
clients must be maintained. In other words, the green line must be drawn with the
red lines. I.e. a thorough research has to be conducted in every manner possible to
know about the prospect to whom the sales proposal id to be pitched. The negative
customers must have to be converted into full time users by the use of various
tactics and procedures that will be mutually beneficial to both the company as well as
the consumer itself.
There has to be a properly managed communication channel in the organization.
Many a times, it was observed that this company had to lose out on customers due
to a communication gap within the organization.
The sales person who goes to pitch about the various products and services of the
organization must be well equipped with the ultimate weapon called Communication
Skill. I.e., the sales person must have a thorough knowledge about the features of
the products and services. This can be made possible through the help of proper

training and development in the organization. The belief in the product has to be
sowed into the minds of the prospects through proper communication process.