A lot more Indians are travelling nowadays. Along with choosing exotic destinations, they look forward to having extraordinary experiences as well. Social media and other platforms have given the Indian traveller greater exposure who is ready to take off and explore!
We catch up with Rajeev Kale, president and country head, Holidays, MICE, Visas — Thomas Cook India Limited, which is one of the topnotch integrated travel and travel related financial services company in the country, to know more about 2020 travel trends and the current market scenario.
How is your service different from other travel organisations?
Fundamentally, when we are planning a holiday for any customer, be it a long-or short-haul or a weekend trip, we do not look at it as a commodity but an art. It is an art of care before, during and post-tour. It is an art of cuisine, so we pay a lot of attention to the menu. We know that when a person or a group is out for a tour, they cannot have only tea, coffee, bread-butter and juices throughout the journey. Hence, we plan a different menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We also add local cuisine to that. We believe in healthy bonding. The clients come to us as strangers and leave as family. It doesn’t matter what kind of a trip it is, we always try to bring different experiences.
The internet has made it easy for anyone to plan and book their travels. How is Thomas Cook sustaining in the changing market scenario?
The unique thing about Thomas Cook is that we are a hybrid model. We are giving a perfect blend of the new age technology and the human touch. We have got around 750 selling agents in various parts of India. Hence, even though there is a lot of disturbance happening in the industry due to online platforms, we are still holding the place tight.
Though we are in mid January, have you observed any increase/ decrease in the number of travel bookings?
The sentiments are very positive currently. We had some slow sentiments as a result of the affected Indian economy last year. However, since last month, we have again seen an increase in bookings. We don’t have control over external factors, though. Hence, we can only hope that the positive notes continue. Nowadays, holidays are no more a luxury. People may curtail their budget but they will definitely travel.
Holidays have become a necessity now. The psychology of people is changing. If you look at the age group of 25-38 years, they no more have an interest in buying a house or car. They want to explore and experience.
Can you tell us some trends that you are launching in 2020?
We have taken a big initiative for 2020. We have come up with a unique concept where we are offering Bollywood-inspired locations for a vacation. We launched Australia, Europe and New Zealand. People can visit these places where the famous Bollywood scenes and songs were shot. We would love to make it a trend of 2020.
However, there are many other domestic and international places which will never go out of people’s bucket list like Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, Chadar Trek, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Khajuraho, Himachal Pradesh, Khajjiar, Dubai, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Switzerland, Scotland etc.
How are you catering to the millennial traveller?
Not only this year but in the past three years, we have made our packages keeping millennials in mind. We’ve also focused on study tours for school/ college-going students and single ladies as well. We are not only a cosmopolitan tour operator but also a regional tour operator focusing on Tier 2 and Tier 3 market.
How does the fluctuation in the value of the dollar affect the choices of travellers?
Fortunately, in the past two years, the fluctuation is manageable. We had challenges in the year 2012 and 2015 where the dollar was short by 10 per cent. However, we are also a foreign exchange company, so we help our clients with their expenses as well. By paying in advance, one can avoid the effect of fluctuation in the value of dollars. By making full payment, they get discounts and advantages over the fluctuation.
