An Emperical study dignifying Customer satisfaction level about the Various services offered by THOMAS COOK

By Ijjal Desai
Enrolment No.: 107340592042

Conducted at Thomas Cook (I) LTD Nr, Swaminarayan Temple,Rajkot

Under the guidance of Miss. Riddhi Dave Asst. Professor Faculty of Management Marwadi Education Foundation Group of Institutions Rajkot.
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PREFACE

This report is an overview of the analysis of Domestic Airline Strategies in Ticket Distribution. The project gives specific emphasis on the Indian domestic airlines, explaining the factor that pulls the consumer towards choosing the services of airlines.

It is survey done explaining the likes of the passengers while selecting an airline.

As India's booming economy, and the deregulation of the aviation industry, has brought about a huge increase in the number of domestic airlines in India in recent years. Passengers can now choose from one government owned full service airline, three privately owned full service airlines, and five privately owned low cost carriers.

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ACKNOWLEGEMENT

My sincere gratitude to Mr. Anil Singh for providing me the opportunity to have my Summer internship in their prestigious organization and guiding me with his immense knowledge. I would also like to thank the other members of the company and tours & travel department who helped me during the course of my project. I would also like to express my gratitude for the contribution of a number of people without their co-operation & support this report wouldnt have taken the current form. I deeply appreciate their valuable contributions.

Ijjal Desai Enrolment No.: 107340592042

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DECLARATION
I undersigned Ms. Ijjal Desai. student of MBA-3rd SEM Declare that the project at Thomas Cook Travel India Pvt. Ltd. has been carried out under the

supervision of Ms. Riddhi Dave of Marwadi Education Foundation Group of institutions , Mr. Anil Singh (Leisure Travel Manager Rajkot), Mr. Dhaval Sheth (Associate manager). I also declare that this project report is my own contribution and this work has not been submitted any other university for any other examination.

Signature _______________ Ms. Ijjal Desai

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This project overall is a very important learning for us, it helps us to understand various aspects of tourism industry and also mentioned India`s share in tourism with respect to the world and its contribution to the Indian economy. Under Tourism industry I have taken Thomas Cook for my project. Firstly, I have explained an introduction to Thomas Cook, it`s various holiday packages, Thomas Cook brands. Secondly, I have mentioned vision statement, mission and objectives of Thomas Cook, keys to success in tourism, strategic areas of focus. Thirdly, we have explained 7P`s of marketing in Thomas Cook with respect to tourism industry, market segmentation, 4 I`s of services in tourism industry, PEST analysis with regard to tourism industry, SWOT analysis for Thomas Cook India pvt ltd, Porter`s five forces model for Thomas Cook. Fourthly, I have shown a marketing plan for Thomas Cooks Gujarati Tour Aavo amari saathe to Europe Lastly, we have given our project outcomes and recommendations.

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Sr No. Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Introduction Research Methodology Data Analysis

Page 7 31 35

Findings & Recommendations 46 Learning from Internship Bibliography Annexure 49 51 53

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Chapter 1 Introduction

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INTRODUCTION TO TOURISM INDUSTRY:

The Travel and Tourism industry is still one of the largest single businesses in world commerce and its importance is widely recognized. The tourism industry is now one of the largest sectors earning foreign exchange. In the face of many benefits, many countries have started assigning due weight age to the tourism industry in their national development agenda. Tourism is an industry that operates on a massively broad scale: it embraces activities ranging from the smallest sea-side hotel; to air-lines, multi-national hotel chains and major international tour operators. Originally, non-traditional industries such as tourism emerged as a solution to strike a balance between ecology and industry Tourism is one of the world's fastest growing industries at present and holds the status of the world's no. 1 industry. Spending on tourism amounts to 5%-10% of total consumer, spending in a year worldwide. The tourism industry as a whole is presently estimated to earn over US$ 3.5 trillion worldwide. India's share of the total market is a pittance at 0.51%. The non-tourist countries like Malaysia and Indonesia get much more tourists than India. India's share of the total market is a pittance at 0.51%. The non-tourist countries like Malaysia and Indonesia get much more tourists than India. The Tourism industry's foreign exchange earnings in India are around $3.2 billion. Tourism is the highest foreign exchange earner if we consider the fact that net value addition in Gems and jewellery is less than 30 % whereas, in tourism it is more than 90 %.

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SPECIAL FORMS OF TOURISM

For the past few decades many forms of tourism are becoming more popular, particularly: ADVENTURE TOURISM This type of tourism involves travel in rugged regions, or adventurous sports such as mountaineering and hiking (tramping). CULTURAL TOURISM It includes urban tourism, visiting historical or interesting cities, such as Delhi, Amritsar, Mumbai, Banglore, Chennai, Ahmedabad, etc. and experiencing their cultural heritages. This type of tourism may also include specialized cultural experiences, such as art museum tourism where the tourist visits many art museums during the tour, or opera tourism where the tourist sees many operas or concerts during the tour. EDUCATIONAL TOURISM It may involve travelling to an education institution, a wooded retreat or some other destination in order to take personal-interest classes, such as cooking classes with a famous chef or crafts classes. GARDEN TOURISM It means visiting botanical gardens, famous places in the history of gardening, such as Versailles and the Taj Mahal. HERITAGE TOURISM It is visiting historical (Rome, Athens, Cracow) or industrial sites, such as old canals, railways, battlegrounds, etc.

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HEALTH TOURISM It means usually to escape from cities or relieve stress, perhaps for some 'fun in the sun', etc. often to "health spas". MEDICAL TOURISM It is used for advanced care that is not available in one's own country, in the case that there are long waiting lists in one's own country for use of free or cheap health care organizations for what is illegal in one's own country, e.g. abortion, euthanasia; for instance, euthanasia for non-citizens is provided by Dignitas in Switzerland. HOBBY TOURISM Tourism alone or with groups to participate in hobby interests, to meet others with similar interests, or to experience something pertinent to the hobby. Examples might be garden tours, square dance cruises, etc. POP-CULTURE TOURISM This tourism refers to tourism by those that visit a particular location after reading about it or seeing it in a film. PERPETUAL TOURISM It is mainly for wealthy individuals who are always on vacations; some of them, for tax purposes or to avoid being resident in any country. PILGRIMAGE TOURISM Pilgrimage tourism refers to ancient holy places (Rome and Santiago de Compostela for Catholics, Temples and stupas of Nepal for the Hindus and Buddhist, Mount Athos or Painted churches of northern Moldavia for the Orthodox), religious sites such as mosques, shrines, etc.

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SPORT TOURISM Skiing, golf and scuba diving are popular ways to spend a vacation. Also in this category is vacationing at the winter home of the tourist's favorite baseball team, and seeing them play every day. ECO TOURISM It means sustainable tourism which has minimal impact on the environment, such as Safaris (Kenya), Rainforests (Belize) and Hiking (Lapland), or national parks. GAMBLING TOURISM This tourism refers to tourism to Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Macau or Monte Carlo for the purpose of gambling at the casinos there.

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TOURISM INDUSTRY IN INDIA:

As per the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 by the World Economic Forum, India is ranked 11th in the Asia Pacific region and 62nd overall, moving up three places on the list of the world's attractive destinations. It is ranked the 14th best tourist destination for its natural resources and 24th for its cultural resources, with many World Heritage sites, both natural and cultural, rich fauna, and strong creative industries in the country. India also bagged 37th rank for its air transport network. The India travel and tourism industry ranked 5th in the long-term (10-year) growth and is expected to be the second largest employer in the world by 2019. India has been ranked the "best country brand for value-for-money" in the Country Brand Index (CBI) survey conducted by Future Brand, a leading global brand consultancy. India also claimed the second place in CBI's "best country brand for history", as well as appears among the top 5 in the best country brand for authenticity and art & culture, and the fourth best new country for business. India made it to the list of "rising stars" or the countries that are likely to become major tourist destinations in the next five years, led by the United Arab Emirates, China, and Vietnam. Contribution to the Economy: According to the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 brought out by the World Economic Forum, the contribution of travel and tourism to gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to be at US$ 187.3 billion by 2019. The report also states that real GDP growth for travel and tourism economy is expected to achieve an average of 7.7 per cent per annum over the next 10 years. Export earnings from international visitors and tourism goods are expected to generate US$ 51.4 billion (nominal terms) by 2019. The travel and tourism sector which accounted for 6.4 per cent of total employment in 2009 is expected to generate 40,037,000 jobs i.e. 7.2 per cent of total employment by 2019.
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Foreign Tourist Arrivals Estimates of foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) and foreign exchange earnings (FEE) are important indicators of the tourism sector. According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Tourism, FTAs during January 2010 were 491,000 as compared to 422,000 in January 2009, an increase of 16.4 per cent. FEE in US$ terms during January 2010 were US$ 1.21 billion as compared to US$ 941 million in January 2009, a growth of 29.1 per cent. Moreover, to give a further boost to the tourist arrivals, the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has drawn up plans to hold roadshows in the US, UK, European Union nations and Australia in 2010 to hard sell India as a tourist hub. Government Initiative The campaign Visit India Year 2009 was launched at the International Tourism Exchange in Berlin, aimed to project India as an attractive destination for holidaymakers. The government joined hands with leading airlines, hoteliers, holiday resorts and tour operators, and offered them a wide range of incentives and bonuses during the period between April and December, 2009. Euromonitor International's Travel And Tourism in India report states that the Government of India increased spend on advertising campaigns (including for the campaigns Incredible India and Atithi Devo Bhava - Visitors are like God) to reinforce the rich variety of tourism in India. The ministry promoted India as a safe tourist destination and undertook various measures, such as stepping up vigilance in key cities and at historically important tourist sites. It also deployed increased manpower and resources for improving security checks at key airports and railway stations.

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INTRODUCTION: THOMAS COOK

In 1841, young Thomas Cook arranged an 11-mile train journey for a motley group of passengers from Leicester to Loughborough. And it marked the beginning of a chapter in history. He went on to introduce a railway tour of Europe. But 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 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. As the years passed by, 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 across them. 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, only to make 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.

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COMPANY INFORMATION
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 72 cities across over 180 locations. 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 2,200 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.

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MARKETING MIX (7Ps)

PRODUCT

TARGET

PLACE

MARKET

PRICE

PROMOTION

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PRODUCT
Product is the combination of tangible and intangible elements. The tourism product, which is mainly the destination, can only be experienced. The views of the location travel to the destination, the accommodation and facility as well as the entertainment at the destination all form the tourism product. Thus it is a composite product combination of attraction, facilities and transportation. Each of these components has its own significance in the product mix and in the absence of even single components, the product mix is incomplete. Services Offered by THOMAS COOK Escorted tours Customized holidays Trade fairs THOMAS COOK sports Corporate tours Special tours Marathi tours, Gujarati tours, Monalisa Tours

MAIN FOCUS IN PRODUCT

Potential Augmente d Expected Basic

Core

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Sr.No.

BENEFIT

MEANING

WITH RESPECT TO THE THOMAS COOK

CORE BENEFIT BASIC PRODUCT EXPECTED PRODUCT

The fundamental benefit or service that the customer is buying. Basic, functional attributes. Set of attributes/conditions the buyer normally expects. That meets the customers desires beyond expectations.

Traveling.

Ticketing, hotel reservation. Customer friendliness, good food. Prompt services, comfortable and convenient trip, spectacular sights, and music. Totally customized tour packages, A grade service at every stage.

AUGMENTED PRODUCT

POTENTIAL PRODUCT

The possible evolution to distinguish the offer.

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PRICE
Pricing in tourism is a complex process. Pricing includes the prices of other services like Air travel, Bus, Railways, Hotels, etc. All are included in tourism package. Pricing also depends on the Geographic location of the destination. Pricing also depends on Seasonality. Seasonality is the most important factor in pricing. To match demand and supply tourist managers try to get either discount. E.g. Taj is the tourist attraction in India. Pricing is also based on competitors pricing. Pricing is also subject to government regulations. E.g. Air price changes tourism package also changes, if Hotel charges change then also tourism package changes. Pricing of the tourist product is a complex matter because of its composite nature. Geographical location of the destination affects the pricing decision. At the same time, seasonality factor and varying demand cannot be overruled. The objective of pricing in any other firms is to fetch a target market share, to prevent competition, and to take care of the price elasticity of demand. A very important way, in which THOMAS COOK responded to their highly complex pricing circumstances, is to operate at two levels. The first level is corresponds with the marketing strategy, which concerns with the product positioning, value for the money, long run return on investments etc. The second level corresponds to the marketing operations or tactics where the prices are manipulated to match the current demand and competition.

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PLACE

Different distribution strategies can be selected for Tourism marketing. Tourism as a product is distributed as a travel. Internet is also used widely. There is an also small agent spread all over the town who plays a role of place. Large travel companies like Thomas Cook, Cox & Kings, THOMAS COOK, etc they act as a wholesalers and these wholesalers also act as a retailer. The two major functions performed by the distribution system in tourism marketing are: To extend the number of points of sales or access, away form the location at which services are performed or delivered To facilitate the purchase of service in advance Different distribution strategies are selected for Tours marketing by THOMAS COOK. There are also small agents (who have taken franchise of THOMAS COOK) spread all over the town/country who also play a role of place. THOMAS COOK act as wholesalers and also act as a retailer. The latest mode of reaching the customers is through Internet that is THOMAS COOK has its own website
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from where information on the tours can be procured, direct booking can be done for which the payment can be made through the credit card. THOMAS COOK also has its own offices from where booking can be done. Franchises Offices in all major cities of India 347 offices in India Tie Ups Flightraja.com

(VIA is a Trademark of Flightraja.com) Travelboutiqueonline Premium Tickethub (Sports Tourism) Internet Booking of Packages and Tickets

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PROMOTION
Advertising and sales promotion in Tourism can be very effective when supplemented by publicity and personal selling. They use electronic, print all sorts of media they use; and it is highly promoted industry. Public or PR (Public Relation) plays an important role in tourism. It is also through recommendation of friends and relatives this is a biggest promotion. Creation of awareness is an important factor in the formulation of marketing mix for the tourism industry. The promotion task simplifies the activities of informing, persuading and influencing the decisions of potential tourists. The promotion mix plays a vital role as the users of service feel high degree of involvement and uncertainty about the product and their role in buying process. Some of the important aspects of promotion are: Print Electronic Ads Sales Promotion- EMIs Publicity/PR Word of mouth, personal selling, telemarketing Exhibitions/Trade Fairs Tie ups with Yash Raj Films, Experiencing the Magical moments of Yash Raj Films with THOMAS COOK. THOMAS COOK appointed as the Tour Partner to Kingfisher Airlines for the DLF IPL T20.

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Word-of-mouth is a very important tool of promotion in tourism. Research shows that about 80% of the tourist visited different places on the persuasion of their friends and relatives and also their own judgments. THOMAS COOK uses electronic, print and all sorts of media as tourism is a highly promoted industry. THOMAS COOK gives printed ads in The Times of India mentioning the special tours in it with the special prices offered by them. Brochures are another form of communication provided by THOMAS COOK to stimulate customers and motivate them to buy. They are used to demonstrate in pictures and words the images and positioning of the product and the organizations.

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PEOPLE
It plays a most important part in tourism. In people local people are very important, that how they treat tourist. The travel agents, guides, staff of travel companies, sales staff, etc they are the people. Travel Company also like Railways, Air, etc. is included in people. Normally a tourist assures a tourism quality like hotels, Travel Company. In the tourism industry the travel agents and the travel guides are the two most important people who speak a lot about the industry. Hence it is imperative that they have to be at their best at all times. Travel guides especially, are expected to have a lot of patience, good sense of humor, tact to transform the occasional tourists into habitual ones, thorough knowledge of the places, linguistic skills etc. THOMAS COOK`S PEOPLE MIX Includes travel agents, tour operators, tour guides et al Locals are employed Exhaustive training is provided 2900 employees through its 347 offices and caters to 3 million customers.

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PROCESS

Walking the talk

Ret urn Jou rne y

The operation process of the tourism firm will depend on the size of the tourism firm. The sequential steps involved in the delivery of the THOMAS COOK products are:

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Provision of travel information --- The information regarding the travel is provided at a convenient location where the potential tourist seeks clarification about his proposed tour.

Preparation of itinerates------ THOMAS COOK prepares its composition of series of operations that are required to plan a tour. Liaison with providers of services--- Before any form of travel is sold over the counter to a customer; THOMAS COOK enters into the contracts with the providers of various services including transportation companies, hotel accommodation, coaches for local sightseeing etc.

Planning and costing tours------ Once the contracts and arrangements are entered into, then the task of planning and costing the tour, this will depend on the tour selected as well as individual requirements.

Ticketing----- The computerized reservation system has in recent years revolutionized the reservation system for both rail and air travel. THOMAS COOK also provides the online ticket booking facilities to its customers, which further leads to time saving process for it`s customers.

Provision of foreign currency and insurance--- THOMAS COOK in case of foreign travel also provide foreign currency as well as insurance to it`s customers.

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PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
The Physical evidence of a tourism product refers to a range of more tangible attributes of the operations. Tangibalising the product is a good way of giving positive and attractive hints or cues to potential customers with regard to the quality of the product. For THOMAS COOK, Elements Such as quality and attractiveness of dcor, effective layout of establishment, surroundings and quality of promotional materials are all important. Market Segmentation

Indian travel market can be classified into two broad categories International Travelers- Those crossing International borders Domestic Travelers - Those travelling within India. International Travelers can be classified as Inbound Travelers (those who travel into India from Overseas) and Outbound of India (who travel internationally)

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Inbound market is further segmented into six broad categories 1. Holiday and sightseeing. 2. Business travelers 3. Conference attendees 4. Students 5. Visiting friends 6. Relatives and others

Targeting: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 allinclusive tours. They are generally conservative. The popular market consists of smaller groups going on inclusive or semiinclusive 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 romantic 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.

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4 IS OF SERVICESInflexibility The tourism industry is highly inflexible in terms of capacity. The number of beds in a hotel or seats on a flight is fixed so it is not possible to meet sudden upsurges in demand similarly restaurants tables, hotels beds and flights seats remain empty and unused in periods of low demand.

Inventory / Perishability It is related to the fact that travel products are intended to be consumed as they are produced. For example, an airline has seats to sell on each flight; a hotel has rooms to sell for each night. If the airline is not able to sell all its seats on its flight, or a hotel is not able to sell its rooms for the night then the opportunity to sell the product is lost forever. Service sector cannot keep inventory like products. To overcome this problem, the travel industry has come up with various marketing strategies. One is to overbook. An airline overbooks its seats to a certain extent in anticipation that even though certain customers do not turn up but the flight will be fully seated. Another strategy is multiple distributions. For example a customer can buy an airline ticket from an airline, tour operator or from a travel agent. The chances of perishability are reduced. If the tourist cannot visit the place, the opportunity is lost. Hence, this becomes one of its important characteristics. Inconsistency A general norm is that in Travel and Tourism industry the product or the package of the tourism can be standardized i.e. for example of 2 days 3 night in so and so hotel, but the actual experience of consuming this package is highly inconsistent. We hear a lot of travel stories which becomes a portrayal of a lot of bad experiences for example the tourist guide may not be good, the hotels lodging and boarding was bad etc. Therefore there is high level of inconsistency prevailing.
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Intangibility Travel products cannot be touched as they include flight experience on an airplane, cruise on an ocean liner, a nights rest in a hotel, view of the mountains, a visit to a museum, a good time in a night club and much more. These products are experiences. Once they have taken place they can only be recalled and relished.

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CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE

To find out Customer Satisfaction level about the various services offered by Thomas Cook; especially of RAJKOT

RESEARCH DESIGN

TARGET POPULATION Customers of Thomas Cook, who had at least used the services 3times offered by RAJKOT Division.

SAMPLE SIZE 45 (includes individual, couples, families)

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE A combination of Convenient and Judgment Sampling.

SOURCES OF DATA CRM reports of Thomas Cook, Rakjot Contact details unearthed from past records.

STATISTICAL TOOLS & DATA COLLECTION METHOD Questionnaire filled via Contact Method Questionnaire filled via emails A online survey analysis software powered by www.monkeysurvey.com Microsoft Word Microsoft Excel A self-developed personal project management excel sheet

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LITERATURE REVIEW

UK TRAVEL SECTOR REPORT: THE IMPACT OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES IN A DOWN ECONOMY, 2009 If predictions are to be believed, the travel industry faces one of its steepest challenges yet as cash-strapped consumers reign in their spending. Travel industry experts believe that the pounds falling value will be a primary factor for a decline in bookings, suggesting that its now 20 to 30 percent more expensive to go abroad than in 2008.The Civil Aviation Authority1 (CAA) report into passenger numbers at UK airports seems to support the prediction. It found that UK airports handled 1.9 % fewer passengers in 2008 compared with 2007, the first fall in annual passenger numbers since 1991. Traffic declined most in the final quarter of the year, with four million fewer passengers handled from October to December 2008 than the same period in 2007.According to the CAA, the decline in passengers was to be expected in light of the worsening economic situation during 2008. It pointed to business failures, the fluctuating oil price and the economic downturn as having a marked effect on the numbers of trips being taken and believes that the decline could signal a fall in traffic in 2009 as well. Meanwhile, regulatory changes such as Open Skies mean that an already fiercely competitive market is now even tougher. Its against this economic backdrop that Right Now Technologies commissioned loud house Research to investigate what impact these conditions would have on the holiday bookings habits of the UK population. In two primary areas, the surveys findings contradict the general gloom consensus. It found that the weak pound had little effect on consumers plans to take trips abroad. Few people, just 2%, had cancelled their 2009 holidays while, generally, people were not planning to reduce the length of their holiday nor reign in or closely monitor their spending while on holiday. The survey also found that while some Britons are likely to decrease the number of holidays they take in 2009, the majority of people surveyed said they were likely to take the same number of holidays as in 2008. Some said that the number of trips taken may actually increase.
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The survey also investigated the attitudes and behavior of UK consumers when researching and booking travel products online. The survey identified a number of factors that impact the holiday makers decision-making process including common barriers that prevent travel companies from turning lookers into bookers. Two of the biggest areas of frustration are the lack of transparency about all travel related costs and the lack of specific information about destinations. Finally, the survey also looked at how the travel industry can engender customer loyalty and what customers expect from a seamless customer experience. It found that delivering superb customer experiences is the fastest way to build loyalty and that this is more important to consumers than a companys reputation or best prices. Good customer experiences also drive word-of-mouth recommendationsimportant when nearly three-quarters of the UK population rely on recommendations from friends and family when deciding with which company to book a holiday. There is much scope for improvement, however, as fewer than a third of consumers have a travel company to whom they remain consistently loyal.
1 CAA Airport Statistics Show First Fall in Passenger Numbers for 17 Years, CAA press release, 16 March, 2009. The CAAs reports into aviation trends can be viewed free of charge online at: http://tinyurl.com/dme9y2.

LIMITATIONS

1. Lack of Leisure activities in Rajkot and Saurastra region leading fewer samples. 2. Time duration was only 6 days allotted by Company for research work 3. Budget Constraint as project was self-financed.

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CHAPTER 3 DATA ANALYSIS

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Q1.

How is your experience with Thomas Cook GIP Tours?

Average

13

Good

20

Excellent

67

13%

20%

67%

Average

Good

Excellent

INTERPRETATION The above graph shows that 67% of respondents had excellent experience with Thomas Thomas Cook GIP Tours process, 20% of respondents had good and remaining 13% had average.

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Q2.

What is your experience with online reservation facility?

Average

22

Good

30

Excellent

48

22%

48%

30%

Average

Good

Excellent

INTERPRETATION The above graph shows that 48% of respondents found online reservation system excellent , 30% of respondents found it good and remaining 22% said online reservation is average..

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Q3.

What is your mode of ticket reservation?

Directly

15

Online

55

Through Agent

30

15% 30%

55%

Directly

Online

Through Agent

INTERPRETATION The above graph shows that 55% of respondents said that booked their tickets online, 30% said that they booked their ticket through agent and remaining 15% said that they booked their ticket directly.

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Q4.

How would you describe the ease with which you booked your airline

ticket, hotel reservation, your tour etc

Difficult

15

A little difficult

25

Neither

25

Easy

35

15% 35%

25%

25%

Difficult

A little difficult

Neither

Easy

INTERPRETATION The above graph shows that 35% of respondents found their hotel reservation, ticket reservation and tour reservation easy, 25% of respondents found a little difficult, 25% of respondents found neither and remaining 15% respondents found its difficult.

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Q5.

Do you think the amount paid by you for the ticket reservation is

reasonable?

Yes

65

No

35

35%

65%

Yes

No

INTERPRETATION Above graph shows that 65% of respondents are satisfied with the amount they paid and remaining 35% are not satisfied.

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Q6.

Which class of airline ticket would you like to reserve?

Economic

45

Business

55

45%

55%

Economic

Business

INTERPRETATION The above graph shows that 55% of respondents had opt for the business class section reservation and remaining 45% of respondents like economic class section.

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Q7.

Which one would be your preferred tour package ? Wonders of far east Grand Europe Tour Swiss Hallmarks Chalo Amari Sathe Europe Egyptian delights Others 5 20 25 15 20 15

5% 20%

15%

20%

25%

15%

Wonders of far -east Chalo Amari Sathe Europe o

Grand Europe Tour Egyptian delights

Swiss Hallmarks
Others

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INTERPRETATION The above graph shows that 15% of respondents preferred Wonders of far -east, 20% of respondents preferred Grand Europe Tour, 15% of respondents preferred Swiss Hallmarks, 25% of respondents preferred Chalo Amari Sathe Europe, 20% of respondents preferred Egyptian delights and remaining 5% preferred others.

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Q8.

Would you like to be updated with our new packages of reservation?

Yes

70

No

30

30%

70%

Yes

No

INTERPRETATION The above graph shows that 70% of respondents preferred like to update with our new packages of reservation and remaining 30% of respondents are not interested.

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Q9.

How is the hotel reservation provided to you by Thomas Cook?

Average

24

Good

22

Excellent

54

24%

54% 22%

Average

Good

Excellent

INTERPRETATION The above graph shows that 54% of respondents found there hotel reservation excellent, 22% Good and remaining 24% average.

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CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

FINDINGS Most of the customers are happy with customer service and had good image of Thomas Cook. There are using the services and would also recommend the same to their friends and relatives. Thomas Cook has proven one of the most successful examples of how an advertising message can be modified from one campaign to the next to attribute new methods of online ticket reservation system giving consumers more reasons to book tickets through this medium. The ticketing process of Thomas Cook is found excellent by majority share of customers as 67% of them found it excellent, 20% of people found it good and remaining 13% found them average. Introduction of online reservation facility has been adopted by maximum number of people as 48% had excellent experience, 30% good and 22% had average experience. It has been found that ticketing reservation has been cancelled or changed without any prior notice which as a result lead to loss of goodwill. As the company does not provide any discount on ticket reservation so the customers are switching to there competing companies

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RECOMMENDATIONS
An immediate response should be given for people who are making there reservations online in form of mail feedback or any other medium. Decent discounts should be provided on the reservations and special discounts should be introduced during vacations and festivals. The online booking form should not be complicated but should be made easier so as to attract more customers. Company should provide customers with such attractive offers that they feel satisfied for the amount paid and would recommend them to there relatives and friends. To increase the goodwill of the company further in the minds of customers. Thomas Cook should send greetings to its customers on occasions like festivals, birthdays and anniversaries. small gifts like calendars, diaries, cards etc.

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CHAPTER 5 LEARNING FROM SIP

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LEARNING FROM SIP

HEIPED ME TO INCREASE MY CONFIDENCE LEVEL. MADE MY PROFESSIONAL DOMAIN WIDER. HELPED ME TO INCREASE AND SHARPEN MY CONVINCING ABILITY. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND CO-ORDINATION WAS EXECUTED AT EVERY SINGLE LIFE. A LIVE EXPERIENCE TO MEET DEMAND AT PEAK LEVEL SALES

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CHAPTER 5 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Magazines Business Today India Today Incredible India Websites www.thomascook.in www.visittoindiatours.com www.scribd.com google.com. Newspapers Hindustan Times Times of India Business Times Mint Newspaper Reference Brochures of Thomas cook Clientele reference Customer survey

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CHAPTER 6 ANNEXURE

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QUESTIONNAIRE
Q1. How is your experience with Thomas Cook GIP Tours process?

Average Good Excellent Q2. How is your experience with online reservation facility?

Average Good Excellent Q3. What is your mode of ticket reservation?

Directly Online Through Agent Q4. How would you describe the ease with which you booked your airline

ticket, hotel reservation, your tour etc Difficult A little difficult Neither Easy

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Q5.

Do you think the amount paid by you for the ticket reservation is

reasonable? Yes No Q6. Which class of airline ticket would you like to reserve? Economic Business Q7. Which one would be your preferred tour package ?

Wonders of far -east Grand Europe Tour Swiss Hallmarks Others Chalo Amari Sathe Europe Egyptian delights Others Q8. Would you like to be updated with our new packages of reservation?

Yes No Q9. How is the hotel reservation provided to you by Thomas Cook? Excellent

Average Good

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