Germany-based travel company, the Tui is turning aggressive in tapping the growing number of Indian travellers.
The company present in India since 2005 in a joint venture with Le Passage to India, has so far focused on the inbound travel market. Tui India has now woken up to the outbound and domestic travel market of the country.
“We are not into airline selling. The online travel agents have changed the market and we cannot get into that space because we don’t have that kind of volume. There are much bigger tour operators in the market and it would be a disaster if we were to take on these big players,” said Raja Natesan, chief operating officer, Tui India. Tui’s strategy, therefore, is to design innovative packages without placing itself as the cheapest or the most expensive options.
The company has organised packages like a base camp to Mount Everest, sailing to Antarctica and volunteer programmes coupled with tour packages, among others. The company is testing these products in the north Indian market and plans to take these pan-India by 2013 as per a report in Business Standard by Ruchika Chitravanshi.
Arjun Sharma, managing director of Tui’s India, partner, Le Passage to India, said Tui wanted to grow organically in the Indian market through distinct products.
“We will look at the huge domestic opportunity. We have been building upon it for some time and testing our products. It is the beginning of a long journey in India,” Sharma said.
The company is steering away from booking “flight-alone” due to lower margins in the business. “We want to leverage the strength of our own brand. India is a big market and we want to get big in the next one-and-a-half years,” Natesan added.
The company is also investing in marketing and promotional activities in order to increase its visibility and brand awareness.
“The biggest revenue source for us is group holidays. We want to grow our strengths in the package industry. One goes to online travel agents for the cost benefit, but for packages we can give quicker and better response,” said Natesan.
Tui is one of Europe’s leading travel groups operating in three sectors including travel, hotels & resorts and cruises. In financial year 2010-11, the group reported a turnover of €17.5 billon and operating earnings of €600 million.