SWOT Analysis for Cox and Kings

Strength1) India`s largest outbound tour operator. 2) Offices in all major cities of India.
3) 4)

Internet booking of tickets and packages.s Cost Saver tours designed by Cox and Kings, keeping in mind the budget of the traveler, without compromising on sightseeing and basic holiday needs. Created new markets through innovative packages namely `Bharat Dekho` and Duniya Dekho and Gaurav yatra specially for gujaraties 1) Not Focusing on Rural areas and Indian railway networks 2) Lack of corporate offices and small city offices across the nation 3) Feedback system exists for namesake. 4) Ineffective customer services.

5)

Weakness-

Opportunities1) Increase in NRI Population 2) Increase in per capita income. 3) Increasing trend of exploring India 4) Increase in online booking 5) Increase of Government support for tourism. 6) Increase in outbound International Traveler Market 7) Increase in number of tourists for upcoming sports events in India like Commonwealth Games, 2010 and Cricket World Cup, 2011. Threats1) Economic conditions 2) Security

3) New entrants 4) Local Travel Agents and travel companies. 5) Competitors Strategies to reach customers i) Franchisee

A franchise is a business arrangement where the owner Cox & Kings (the franchisor) of a business concept grants you (the franchisee) the licensed right to own and operate a business based on the franchisors business concept, using its trademark. The franchisor helps you (the franchisee) start your business, providing training, assistance with, site development and ordering inventory, advertising and marketing support. A travel franchise offers you the chance to be your own boss, while operating under the security of an established brand. As a travel franchise you could see healthy profits like any established travel company without spending years concentrating on building your own brand to compete with the big boys in the industry ii) Cox & Kings offices The another strategy that cox & kings adopt is the marketing or selling or offering their services through their branch offices which are located in almost major cities in India. iii) GSA/PSA A General Sales Agent (GSA) is a sales representative for a tourism industry in a specific country or region. Typically, the GSA is responsible for selling all products of the country in its region which includes everything.

When a company selects a GSA as its sales representative for a region, as opposed to opening its own branch, it generally does so for economic reasons or because the GSA has historical ties with travel and cargo agents which will be too time-consuming for the company to build itself. Cox & Kings has Strong GSA/PSA network which strengthen its marketing strategy.

Online strategy Cox & Kings today deploys highest information technology platform in the Indian Travel Industry. It has developed totally integrated front, mid and back office solutions. This has brought about huge cost savings for the organisation, thus managing to offer 'quality' service to its customers at a great cost savings.

Imagine when customer book a ticket they first go on to a Central Reservation System (CRS). Next, they have to log into another system for a hotel from 'X' supplier, then into another system to compare the rates with 'Y' supplier. Finally they have to physically capture all this information and print that data

Not anymore

With the Cox & Kings advantage, life is a lot simpler. Now with their online access system, customer can complete all your processes using just one window - just one simple booking system. Cox & Kings will also ensure that the most comprehensive IT Software is put into place so they have everything they need.

Cox & Kings has developed an online portal, which is a web enabled dynamic system that includes holidays, sightseeing, cars, hotels, transfers, insurance and other ancillary travel services. Most of the products and services are available on a real time basis and is backed by a 24x7 call centre. With the company's online access system, one can complete all processes using just one window, just one simple booking system. Another method of classifying users of tourism services is on the basis of the frequency of usage of services. 1. Non-users: They lack the willingness, desire and ability (income & leisure time). 2. Potential Users: They have the willingness but the marketing resources have not been used optimally to influence their impulse. 3. Actual Users: They are already using the services generated by the tourist organizations 4. Occasional Users: They have not formed the habit of traveling 5. Habitual Travelers: They have formed a habit and avail of the services regularly. Need For Segmentation Consumer behavior can be defined in psychological terms as the whole range of the generation of wants and their transformation into buying or using decisions. Users have values, perceptions, preferences and expectations which are the result of environmental influences. There are a number of factors that influence the behavioral profile of consumers

Segmentation Though there are a number of bases for segmentation of tourists, one of the most important is Lifestyle. Traveling decisions are fantastically influenced by changing lifestyles. They are also affected by other factors such as level of income, availability of leisure time, etc. BASE OF SEGMENTATION Holiday CATEGORIES Mass market Popular market Individual market Primary Secondary Opportunity International On the basis cities, etc. of regions,

Demand

Geography

Psychography Demography Socio-economic Purpose Age

Lifestyle Personality motive Knowledge Age Sex Religion Rich, Poor Rural, Urban Literate, Illiterate Business Travel Cultural Tourism Common Interest Convention Teens, Youth, Seniors

Such segmentation is useful when deciding the offerings to target a particular segment. For

example: The mass market consists of vacationists that travel in large groups and prefer all-inclusive tours. They are generally conservative. The popular market consists of smaller groups going on inclusive or semi-inclusive tours. This group includes pensioners and retired people. The individual market consists of chairmen, senior executives, etc. As the lifestyle changes, consumption of services might change. For example, a newly married couple might prefer holidays, but once they have children they would prefer family vacations where there are plenty of activities to entertain kids. Teens and youth might prefer adventure holidays whereas senior citizens would probably prefer more relaxing vacations.