THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN Principal Investigator Prof. S. P. Bansal Vice Chancellor Indira Gandhi University, Meerpur, Rewari, Haryana

Paper: 02: Travel Agency and Tour Operations, Itinerary Preparation & Tour Package Design Module 39: Case Study of Popular Travel Companies Of India: Kuoni, Thomas Cook, Tui and Cox & Kings

THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN Principal Investigator Prof. S. P. Bansal Vice chancellor Indira Gandhi University, Meerpur, Rewari, Haryana

Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Prashant K. Gautam Director, UIHMT Panjab University, Chandigarh Paper Coordinator Prof. Mohinder Chand Chairman, Department of Tourism and Hotel Management Kurukshetra University ,Kurukshetra Haryana

Content Writer Prof. Mohinder Chand Chairman , Department of Tourism and Hotel Management Kurukshetra University ,Kurukshetra Haryana Content Reviewer Prof. Ravi Bhushan Kumar Department of Tourism and Hotel Management Kurukshetra University ,Kurukshetra Haryana

ITEMS MODULE DESCRIPTION Subject Name Tourism & Hospitality Paper Name Travel Agency And Tour Operations, Itinerary Preparation & Tour Package Design Module Title Case Study Of Popular Travel Companies Of India: Kuoni, Thomas Cook, Tui And Cox & Kings Module Id Module No-39 Pre- Requisites Basic Knowledge About Travel Agency And Tour Operations Objectives To Study The Case Of Different Types Of Travel Agencies Keywords Tourism Enterprise, Tour Operator, Tourism , Destination Management Organisation, Receptive Tour Operator

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Learning Outcomes 2. Introduction 3. Case Study Of Popular Travel Companies Of India 3.1 Kuoni : A Profile 3.2 Thomas Cook : A Leading Company In Tourism 3.3 TUI : An Emerging Group 3.4 Cox & Kings : A Longest Travel Company 4. Summary

QUADRANT-I

1. LEARNING OUTCOMES

After completing this module students will be able to:  Understand the Popular Travel Companies of India  Various types Popular Travel Companies of India: Kuoni, Thomas Cook, Tui and Cox & Kings.  Know the present status of Case study of Popular Travel Companies of India: Kuoni, Thomas Cook, Tui and Cox & Kings

2. INTRODUCTION

Recently, the growth of the Travel & Tourism sector in 2015 (2.8%) outpaced that of the global economy (2.3%) and a number of other major sectors such as manufacturing and retail. In total, Travel & Tourism generated US $7.2 trillion (9.8% of global GDP) and supported 284 million jobs, equivalent to 1 in 11 jobs in the global economy. According to World Travel and Tourism Council (2016) The Travel & Tourism sector is expected to grow faster than the wider economy and many other industries over the next decade. It is anticipated to support over 370 million jobs by 2026. Such strong growth will require Travel agencies and tour operators across the world to provide innovative and client oriented product. Moreover, it requires an effective coordination between tourism product p[lanners and the destination operators around the world. Since Travel agency and tour operator make more than 66 million bookings leading to $25 billion in revenue a year. They proactively market destinations, hotels and other services to the clients. This module discusses the case studies of major travel companies operating in India.

3. CASE STUDY OF POPULAR TRAVEL COMPANIES OF INDIA 3.1 Kuoni : a Profile

Kuoni Travel Ltd was founded by Alfred Kuoni in 1906 and has grown into one of the largest travel companies in the world employing over 7,500 staff in 300 offices around the world. Since 1966, Kuoni has led the UK long haul tour operation market and has consistently been the UK’s most successful specialist tour operator. Kuoni Travel Group, India is a 100% subsidiary of the CHF 4.1 billion Kuoni Travel Holding Ltd. – a one of the world’s leading premium tour operators. Founded in 1906, and head-quartered in Zurich, Kuoni has operations in 30 countries today and its core businesses are Leisure Travel and Destination Management. It was named “World’s Leading Tour Operator” at the World Travel Awards in 2007 – the ninth time it has earned this distinction. With total turnover of INR 18 billion (USD 420 million), 347 offices and 2,900 employees, Kuoni India is India’s largest travel company. Kuoni India has five core activities: a. Leisure Travel b. Destination Management Services c. Business Travel d. Visa Services e. Travel Education

Key Milestones

 1996 - Kuoni Group enters India by acquiring a 51% stake in SOTC [5]  1997 - Kuoni Group acquires 100% equity in SOTC [6]  2000 - Kuoni India acquires Sita World Travel [7]  2013 - Launched TVC with new brand architecture 'Kuoni Together with SOTC' [8]  2015 - Kuoni Travel (India) Pvt Ltd becomes a step-down of Fairfax Financial Holdings Group  2016 - Kuoni India rebranded to SOTC as part of brand transition post change in control & Kuoni Group exiting Tour Operating entities globally [9]  2016 - SOTC releases new TVC & brand logo

3.2 Thomas Cook : A leading company in Tourism

Thomas Cook is the world’s best-known name in travel, thanks to the inspiration and dedication of a single man. Thomas Cook began his international travel company in 1841, with a successful one-day rail excursion at a shilling a head from Leicester to Loughborough on 5 July. From these humble beginnings Thomas Cook launched a whole new kind of company – devoted to helping Britons see the world.

The Thomas Cook group, with a heritage of 176 years, is one of the most widely recognized and respected brands in the area of travel and tourism, and travel related foreign exchange. Worldwide, Thomas Cook is the one of the largest travel companies with annual revenues in excess of 7 billion US Dollars. The group serves approximately 17 million customers annually across 30 tour operator brands through a network of 4,000 travel companies worldwide. Thomas Cook also owns a fleet of 85 aircrafts dedicated to charter tour operations to specific tourist destinations world-wide. Thomas Cook has operations in Europe, Canada, India and Egypt. Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. is the largest Travel and Financial Services Company in the country offering a broad spectrum of travel-related services that include Foreign Exchange, Corporate Travel, Leisure Travel, and Insurance. The Company launched its Indian operations in 1881 and is celebrating its 125 years of world-class service in India. In India, we operate three core businesses of Leisure Travel, Corporate Travel Management and Foreign Exchange as well as Travel Insurance.

The Indian operations notched annual revenues of Rs. 857 million with profit after tax of Rs. 137 million (in the last financial year). TCIL has ambitious plans to grow in all its core businesses with specific focus on Leisure Travel. TCIL has been voted as Favourite Outbound Tour Operator at the Outlook Traveller Awards 2015; Best Tour Operator- Outbound at the CNBC AWAAZ Travel Awards 2015, 2014 & 2013; Best Company providing Foreign Exchange at the CNBC AWAAZ Travel Awards 2015 & 2014; felicitated with The French Ambassador's Diamond Award for Exemplary Achievements in Visa Issuance 2015 & 2016; Condé Nast Traveller Readers' Travel Awards 2016 to 2011. TCIL’s Travel Quest was honoured at PATA Gold Awards 2015 and TCIL’s Centre of Learning has received IATA accreditation as Top 10 South Asia IATA Authorized Training Centres 2016, 2015, 2013 & 2012

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd (TCIL) is the leading 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.

TCIL’s footprint (exclusive of its subsidiaries) currently extends to over 223 locations (including 21 airport counters) in 85 cities across India, Mauritius & Sri Lanka and is supported by a strong partner network of 91 Gold Circle Partners and 81 Preferred Sales Agents in over 87 cities across India.

Into the 21st Century

On 27 March 2001, Thomas Cook completed the sale of its Global and Financial Services division to Travelex. Three days later, C&N Touristic AG, one of Germany’s largest travel groups, became the sole owner of Thomas Cook and a new chapter in the company’s history began. Within a matter of months, C&N Touristic AG had changed its name to Thomas Cook AG and launched a new logo and brand identity. In the UK, Thomas Cook introduced its new three-tier mass-market brand strategy – Thomas Cook, JMC and Sunset – on its Summer 2003 range of brochures and the newly-branded Thomas Cook Airlines was officially launched in March 2003. On 19 June 2007, Thomas Cook AG and MyTravel Group plc merged to form Thomas Cook Group plc. Another merger followed in October 2011, when Thomas Cook amalgamated its UK high street travel and foreign exchange businesses with those of the Co-operative Group and the Midlands Co-operative Society to create the UK’s largest retail travel network of over 1200 shops. On 1 October 2013 Thomas Cook officially unveiled its new unified ‘Sunny Heart’ brand to the world.

Thomas Cook Today

Today, Thomas Cook one of the world’s leading leisure travel groups, with sales of £7.8 billion and 19 million customers each year. The group is supported by around 22,000 colleagues and operates from 16 countries. Thomas Cook’s vision is to be the best-loved holiday company, delivering inspiring, personalised holiday experiences for all its customers. One reason for the company’s longevity and continued success is its commitment to consistently meet and exceed the expectations of its customers. Thomas Cook once described himself as 'the willing and devoted servant of the travelling public'. Today, more than 175 years after his pioneering excursion, he would be proud to know that the company he founded continues to follow in his footsteps.

TCIL presently operates in over 78 cities across over 206 locations (including 25 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 117 Gold Circle Partners and 166 Preferred Sales Agents in over 100 cities pan India. The Company employs over 2,827 resources and is listed on both the Bombay Stock Exchange as well as the National Stock Exchange.

Thomas Cook (India) operates in the following areas of business, namely:

 Leisure Travel  MICE  Corporate Travel Management  Foreign Exchange  Insurance  E-Business

3.3 TUI : An Emerging Group

The company having more than 70 years in an industrial business operating as Preussag AG the company, the TUI AG entered the Tourism market in 1997 with the acquisition of one of Germany’s leading tourism companies Hapag-Lloyd. Further tourism acquisitions followed and the company started to exit from its industrial businesses. Acquiring some of the biggest names in European tourism including, Thomson, Fritidsresor and Nouvelles Frontiers and shareholdings in the hotel groups RIU and Magic Life TUI AG created one of the world’s leading tourism groups. Today, TUI Group is the world’s number one tourism business and having under this Group umbrella strong tour operators, 1,600 travel agencies and leading online portals, six touristic airlines with around 150 aircraft, over 300 hotels with 214,000 beds, 16 cruise liners and countless incoming agencies in all major holiday destinations around the globe. This integrated offering will enable to provide 20 million customers with an unmatched holiday experience in 180 regions. A key feature of its corporate culture is global responsibility for economic, environmental and social sustainability. This is reflected in more than 20 years of commitment to sustainable tourism. In 2015/16 financial year the TUI Group with a headcount of 67,000 recorded turnover of €17.2 bn and an operating result of €1 bn. The TUI Group’s share is listed on the London Stock Exchange in the FTSE index and in the Quotation Board of the Open Market on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

In 2007 the tour operating businesses of TUI AG, merged with the UK listed First Choice Holidays PLC, a tour operating business started in 1973 which had both Mainstream and Specialist businesses to form TUI Travel PLC, listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company’s major shareholder with a stake of 54 per cent was TUI AG. Moreover, the company operate in more than 100 countries around the globe. This gives the company great flexibility and enables to quickly remix the programme with customers’ travel preferences change.

The transformation of our business as an integrated tourism business based on own hotel and cruise brands, initiated in 2014, is really paying off. This has been demonstrated by the very good performance delivered in the completed financial year and has been confirmed in Q1 2016/17. In addition, last night we successfully completed the sales process for Travelopia which was initiated in Q1 2016/17. It also marks the next strategic step to further sharpen TUI’s profile as a vertically integrated tourism business. TUI is in an excellent state of health.

TUI Travel PLC is one of the world’s leading international leisure travel groups operating in approximately 180 countries worldwide. It serves more than 30 million customers in over 31 source markets. Headquartered in the UK, the Group employs approximately 54,000 people and operates a pan-European airline group consisting of 141 aircraft. The company is organised and managed through three business Sectors: Mainstream, Specialist & Activity and Accommodation & Destinations. In the financial year ended 30 September 2017 TUI Travel had revenues of £19.5bn and an underlying operating profit of £690m.

Presently the company is working on following brands:

Umbrella brand

 Uniting all aligned and endorsed brands.  Used for overall touristic company activities as well as all ‘incoming’ activities.

Power brands

 Strongest brand in its source market with claim for quality leadership.  Representing all TUI Aligned Brands ‘activities within the source market.

Tour operator brands

 Logo is always identical to the power brand.  Represents all operator activities within the source market.  The focus of the operators’ brand communication.

Sub-brands

 Independent of the tour operators’ marketing due to own marketing budget.  Represents a relevant level of the value chain.

Product lines

 Long-term and for customers’ recognizable bundling of products via target group-specific ‘product worlds’.  Accentuated marketing as a consistent part of the operators’ communication (media such as catalogues and the like).

Products

 Need- and topic-orientated bundling of products.  Short-term adaptation with regard to customer trends possible.

Product signets

 Visual marking for an improved orientation within certain media such as catalogues.

3.4 Cox & Kings : A longest Travel Company

Cox & Kings Ltd, is the longest established travel company in the world. Its distinguished history began in 1758 when it was appointed as general agents to the regiment of Foot Guards in India under the command of Lord Ligonier. By 1878, C&K were agents for most British regiments posted overseas, including the Royal Cavalry, Artillery and Infantry, as well as the Royal Wagon Train and the Household Brigade. The Royal Navy was next and in 1912, The Royal Air Force came under its wings. Between 1750's and 1950's, Cox & Kings was witness to an exciting era in Indian history, and, in its own way, helped to shape it. In 1947, the British administration departed, but bound by strong ties to India, Cox & Kings stayed on and flourished. Today, Cox & Kings is a premium brand in all travel related services in the Indian subcontinent, employing over 5000 trained professionals. Its India operations are headquartered in Mumbai and have the status of a limited company. It has over 12 fully owned offices in India across key cities such as New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Hyderabad, Pune, Goa, Nagpur and Jaipur. The worldwide offices are located in UK, USA, Japan, Russia, Singapore and Dubai. It has associate offices in Germany, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Sweden and Australia. The evolution of our name as a brand can be traced in history dating back to the year 1758, i.e. an history of over 250 years when Lord Ligonier, Colonel of the 1st Foot Guards, appointed Richard Cox, as his regimental agent for handling the affairs, pay and sundry obligations of the officers stationed overseas. Then since the year 1765 it operated as a partnership firm. By the year 1815, the firm became agents and banker to the entire Household Brigade, most of the cavalry and infantry regiments, the Royal Artillery, and the Royal Wagon Train, which later became the Royal Army Service Corps. In the year 1909, Cox & Co. got incorporated as an unlimited company under the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908 in London. In October 1922, Cox & Co. absorbed the business of Henry S. King & Co., a small bank with Indian interests, with which the name of Cox & Kings came into existence.

Our Company was incorporated under the name of the "Eastern Carrying Company Limited" on June 7, 1939 under the Indian Companies Act, VII of 1913. The name of our company was subsequently changed to "Cox and Kings (India) Limited" and the consequent fresh Certificate of Incorporation was granted on February 23, 1950. Subsequently, after the amendment of Section 43A of the Companies Act 1956, the word "Private" was added to the name of our Company on October 12, 2001. Pursuant to a special resolution of our shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting held on January 29, 2007, our Company became a public limited company and the word "Private" was deleted from its name. The Certificate of Incorporation to reflect the new name was issued on March 28, 2007 by the

RoC.

Cox and Kings Today

 2008 Formed Joint Venture 'Royale Indian Rail Tours Limited' with IRCTC for luxury train- based tourism in India.  2009 Acquisition of East India Travel Company Inc., a U.S. based company for direct and better presence therein Incorporation of our subsidiary in U.K. in the name of Quoprro Global Limited.  Incorporation of a step- down overseas subsidiary in Hong Kong 2010 - The Registrar of Companies has approved name change of the Company from "Cox and Kings (India) Ltd" to "Cox & Kings Ltd".  2011- Cox & Kings acquires Holiday break PLC for GBP 323.43 million,  In 2012 Sub-division of equity shares from face value of Rs. 10/- per share to face value of Rs. 5/- per share. -Cox & Kings has splits its face value from Rs 10/- to 5/- .  in 2014 CVCI private equity investment in Cox & Kings Ltd's UK Subsidiary. -Cox & Kings L - PGL, owned by Cox & Kings, expands its footprint as it opens its first -Cox & Kings L - PGL, owned by Cox & Kings Ltd. adds second centre to its Australian operations- Camp Rum bug and Cox & Kings L - PGL, owned by Cox & Kings Ltd. adds second centre to its Australian operations- Camp Rum bug.  2015 - Cox and Kings Grab Your Dream' receives PATA Gold award - Cox & Kings owned MEININGER Hotels to open in Budapest - Cox & Kings acquires Late Rooms.  2016 - "Cox & Kings Bags Three Awards at the Prestigious World Travel Awards in Vietnam". - "Cox & Kings Ltd Introduces money transfer solutions in partnership with UAE Exchange India". -"Cox & Kings chosen ‘Best Tour Operator’ at Travel + Leisure - India’s Best Awards 2016".

Today, Cox & Kings operates through a powerful network of 12 own stores, 142 franchisees and 90 preferred sales agents. The Outbound package holidays business has grown at a CAGR of 25% over the last five years.

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE The company’s financial performance, for the year ended March 31, 2016 is summarized in below: (Rs.in lacs)

Particulars Standalone Results Consolidated Results 2015-16 2014-15 2015-16 2014-15

Net Sales & Other income 54,276 48,059 2,35,191 256,909 Profit before Taxation 25,957 22,235 15,424 23,365 Provision for Taxation 9,022 8,117 15,896 14,326 Profit After Tax 16,935 14,116 (472) 9,039 Proposed Dividend (inclusive of dividend 1,693 1,693 1,693 1,768 tax) Earnings Per Share (Rs.) 10 9.56 3.19 6.22

Sources: annual Report= 2015-2016

4 SUMMARY

Ever since the beginning of the Jet Age more than a half century ago, the combination of rising prosperity, shifting demographics and new technologies has fuelled the rapid expansion of global travel and tourism. The travel industry has thrived, and we believe it will continue to thrive. Global recessions, security threats, oil price instability and many more issues & challenges have not yet curbed its expansion. Travel sector growth consistently outpaces the world economy. Surviving all short-term disruptions is a desire on the part of the growing millions of people worldwide to explore and expand their reach, a desire which we believe is fundamental, universal and inalterable. The travel companies are underpinnings of the tourism industry’s growth today— and will lead tourism industry in the coming decades. There is no doubt that the emerging travel companies continue their catch-up in the coming years. In this module we understood that how a travel company has grown through the years and how it has become tourism market leader.