5) SOTC TRAVEL LIMITED

SOTC Travel Limited which was earlier called as SOTC Travel Private Ltd. & Kuoni Travel
(INDIA) Pvt.Ltd.. This industry is a step down subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Group .
This group includes two companies i.e, THOMAS COOK INDIA LIMITED (TCIL) and
TRAVEL CORPORATION LTD.( TCL) is a subsidiary of Thomas cook India ltd.SOTC was
founded in the year 1949. This is a travel and tourism industry which is active across various
travel segments like Leisure Travel , Business Travel , Destination Management Services and
distribution Visa marketing services.

Type of industry Tourism industry

Founded in year 1949
HEADQUARTERS Mumbai, India
Key people Mr.Vishal Suri
Products Holiday packages, flights and hotels
Services Travel agencies
Website www.sotc.in

SOTC mainly provides the customized holidays around the world to the peoples.They mainly
offers the Corporate Tours and provides the packages for MICE ( Meetings, Incentives,
Conferences and Events).SOTC promotes the escorted tours to the international travellers in
India.SOTC has recently launched various religious tours called as ‘darshans’ which aims at
offering spiritual experiences across various religious destinations in India.

HISTORY
SOTC ( Sita online tourism corporation) is a leading travel and tourism industry which is active
across various travel segments including Leisure travel, Incentive travel and Business travel.This
industry is established in the year 1949.It is a stepdown subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings
group that includes Thomas cook india limited . SOTC has make the holidays a priority for every
indian. This company’s customer focus , innovation and operational excellence has not only
tapped the existing market potential but has also created new markets through innovative
packages.The vast array of holiday services is taking holiying for peoples on the next level.With
the investments in the technology and with a strong online presence the SOTC is serving its
customers through an omni channel play.

1) LEISURE TRAVEL
SOTC’S leisure segments includes the offerings namely Escorted group tours , Customised
holidays , luxury holidays and Holidays of india.

This company is taking various initiatives to reach out its customers through their innovative
products so that they can grab more and more attention of them.They have started the concept of
one day road shows named Holiday bazaars that promotes the international and domestic
escorted and group tours so that they can fulfill the dream holidays of customers.

2) INCENTIVE TRAVEL
They have a team of 100 professionals across india who can organize various meetings ,
conferences and events so that they can attract more and more customers and can increase their
market leadership across the outbound travelling area.

3) BUSINESS TRAVEL
With the use of leading technologies , user oriented software applications and strong focus on the
customers , the company has establishes itself as the expert in the travelling business sector.
Pics

SOTC: An Overview:-

Established in 1949 with just five employees at an office in Cawasji Hormusji

Street, Mumbai, it has grown to become one of India’s largest travel companies.
By the year 1968, the Company had moved to a much bigger office at Mint Road
and was also counted as one of the top ten travel agents in Mumbai, with a
turnover touching Rs 25 million.

A major turning point came in 1976 when SOTC handled its first group tour to the
US during the bicentennial celebrations.

Between the years 1983 and 1995, SOTC grew by leaps and bounds. It moved to
new premises at Church gate, Mumbai, installed the first computer for sales and
operations, and went through a management metamorphosis with a complete
restructuring of the business into autonomous Strategic Business Units (Subs) with
a state-of-the-art call centre. SOTC has been fulfilling the travel needs of Indians
for over five decades now. It continues to seek out new and exciting destinations to
offer to outbound travelers.
SOTC Do-It-Yourself Holidays caters to seasoned individual travelers who want to
see the world at their own pace. And for domestic vacationers we have Holidays of
India.

SOTC has been the pioneer in the development of organized leisure travel in India.
With a sales turnover of Rs 400 crores (2005), growing at 30% p.a., and a wide
distribution network of 130 sales outlets and 3500 travel agents across India, it is
more than double the size of the next biggest competitor

SOTC - India's Leading Outbound Tour operator

SOTC is the Outbound Travel Division of Kuoni India and the country’s largest
outbound tour operator. World Famous Tours is the flagship brand of SOTC,
which pioneered the designing and marketing of escorted tours to cosmopolitan
travelers in India. SOTC World Famous Tours has escorted over 3,00,000 travelers
across the globe, for more than 50 years to various destinations including Europe,
Australia, New Zealand, USA, Africa, Mauritius, South Asia, and the Far East.
Being a 100% subsidiary of Kuoni Travel Holding, Switzerland – one of the
world’s largest travel companies - SOTC leverages the advantage of the buying
power and travel services to provide customers value-for-money packages. SOTC
endeavors to bring alive customers dream holiday. To begin with, SOTC ensures
that customer’s family travel safe, sure and secure with the finest Indian families.

SOTC has a wide distribution network of 130 sales outlets and 3500 travel agents
across India to retail our range of products and serve customers better.

SOTC – Voted The Best Outbound Tour Operator 2004, 2005 & 2006

SOTC has been voted the Best Outbound Tour Operator 2004, 2005 and 2006 in
India by the Galileo Express Travel & Tourism Awards Committee. The Galileo
Express Travel & Tourism awards have been designed to give recognition to the
trade for outstanding achievements during the year. The advisory board formulated
the criteria for the award in consultation with the renowned audit firm, Deloitte
Touche Tohmatsu, which used both a subjective and objective methodology that
included a polling process. This award was based on various parameters of
judgment and took into consideration factors including revenue generated,
operational efficiency, perceived service levels, and the ability to retain and
increase market share.

It is also significant to note that Kuoni India, the parent company of SOTC has
won all the 3 top awards in the travel operations category at the prestigious Galileo
Express Travel and Tourism awards for all its three core activities.

Kuoni was presented the highly prestigious World’s Leading Tour Operator 2006
award ' World's leading tour operator ' at WTM, London in November 2005. The
World Travel awards, which are bestowed for exceptional services in the travel
sector, have evolved into one the industry’s most important annual events over the
past few years. The awards are voted on by thousands of travel – sector specialist
from over 80,000 agencies in more that 200 countries. And winning one is clear
confirmation of a company’s excellence within the travel sector.

SOTC’s Brands

1)-SOTC World Famous Tours

SOTC World Famous Tours is the flagship brand of SOTC, which pioneered the
designing and marketing of escorted tours for cosmopolitan travelers in India.
SOTC World Famous Tours has escorted over 3, 00,000 travelers across the globe
for more than 30 years, to various destinations including Europe, Australia, New
Zealand, USA, Africa, Mauritius, South Asia, and the Far East Being a 100%
subsidiary of Kuoni Travel Holding, Switzerland - one of the world's largest travel
companies SOTC leverages the advantage of the buying power and travel services
to provide customers value for- money packages. SOTC has built a reputation that
it lives up to its promise to take Indians around the world, while making them feels
completely at home, no matter where they are.
2)-SOTC BhramanMandal

In 2002, SOTC BhramanMandal was launched exclusively for Maharashtrian, to

cater to their specific needs and requirements. SOTC BhramanMandal offers 'All-
inclusive' exciting package tour options to Europe, Far East, Australia and New
Zealand. While designing the tours, every single need of the Maharashtrian is kept
in mind - their culture, eating habits and likes and dislikes

3)-SOTC Gurjar Vishwadarshan

SOTC Gurjar Vishwadarshan was launched especially for Gujarati community

residing in India, to cater to their needs of having a Pure Indian Vegetarian Meal
with a Gujarati flavor, Gujarati speaking tour manager at your service right from
India to India and traveling with the finest Gujarati families makes your holiday
the most memorable and comfortable one. Gurjar Vishwadarshan launched in the
year 2004 received an overwhelming response from the Gujarati's staying all over
India.

4) - SOTC Do-it-Yourself Holidays

SOTC Do-it-Yourself Holidays caters exclusively to the needs and requirements of

the discerning Free Individual Traveler. It offers a wide range of customized
holidays that allows individual travelers the freedom to define their preferences of
the destination, length of stay and pace of travel

5) - SOTC Holidays of India

SOTC Holidays of India has something for every kind of traveler - be it families,
youth, students, honeymooners, groups or individuals. SOTC Holidays of India
offers packages that cover every conceivable tour requirement - whether it is an
extended vacation with the family, a paragliding spree with friends or simply a
rejuvenating weekend break. SOTC Holidays of India offers an opportunity to visit
and explore all the splendors of India through various categories of holiday
packages. SOTC Holidays of India has categorized all holiday packages into
Standard, First and Deluxe Class categories.

Vision, Mission and Objectives of SOTC

Vision Statement

“SOTC vision focuses on providing all travel and travel-related services to

travelers from, within and to India”

Mission and Objectives

 Facilitating the exchange of best practices adopted to implement the

principles for sustainable tourism and the Initiative’s Statement of Commitment

 Developing new management tools and adapting existing ones, specific to

the industry (EMS, ISO14001, LCA etc) for tour operators own operations, and for
sustainable management practices in the supply chain.

 Providing a platform for dialogue with other partners (eg. with destination
authorities and stakeholders focused on implementing programmes for sustainable
development in destination areas).

 Involving tour operators in the relevant programmes of work of UNEP,

UNESCO, and UNWTO.

 Assessing progress made on a regular basis.

 Facilitating partnerships between members to address issues with a common
voice.

Broaden the support for sustainable development among other players in the
tourism sector, including of tourists BY

 Cooperating with key stakeholders, including business partners, regional and

national governments, NGOs and other groups (eg. ECPAT, Blue Flag, etc.) With
a common agenda, on specific activities and projects.

 Increasing the awareness of key players: tourists, other segments of the

tourism industry, local communities and people, tourism trade associations, and
local and national authorities.

Objective 3:

Create the critical mass of committed tour operators by

 Increasing the visibility of committed tour operators and creating the image
of the Initiative as a world leader in the area of environmentally, socially and
culturally responsible tourism (public and industry recognition).

 Increasing membership of the Initiative.

 Establishing partnerships with other organizations that contribute to

achievement of these objectives, eg. By setting up national / regional focal points
for the Initiative to engage in outreach activities.

 Strengthening links with regions through tour operators’ associations and

UNEP, UNESCO and UNWTO networks, where the Initiative is underrepresented
at present.

Keys to Success for SOTC

The keys to success will undoubtedly be effective market segmentation through
identification of several niche markets and implementation strategies. Along these
lines the company intends to implement advertising, personal selling and direct
marketing strategies to the target markets. Their personal selling marketing
strategies will rotate around keeping in touch with hotels and travel agencies for
major customers, and advertising for more individual customers. Hence their key
success factors will include the following:

1. Excellence in fulfilling the promise: Intend to offer completely enjoyable,

comfortable and informative travel excursions that will ensure that travelers are
thoroughly satisfied and appreciative at the end of their trip.

2. Timely response to customers' requests: SOTC Cannot afford to delay their

clients for whatever reason, as this will have a negative bearing on our image and
reputation, including future business. Hence they need to be continually
communicating with the client, including hotels and lodges so as to ensure that
they are constantly available to the client meeting their expectations.

3. Solid and fruitful strategic alliances: Considering the nature of their services
and our relative infancy on the market, SOTC should realize the importance of
establishing and maintaining fruitful strategic alliances with various stakeholders,
including hotels, lodges, and travel agencies, amongst others, so as be assured of a
constant flow of customers, fulfilling their needs at every opportunity.

4. Marketing know-how: There will be a need to aggressively market SOTC

business and the services they provide so as to be continuously at the top of our
prospective clients minds. This will also act as a temporary deterrent for companies
contemplating entering our market. Advertising shall be undertaken on a regular
basis.

Strategic Areas of Focus

1. Maximize the return on public and private investments in tourism.

2. Drive year-round travel from visitors in our domestic target audience and
lengthen their average stay by encouraging them to be destination-oriented in this
state.

3. Drive year-round travel and lengthen the average stay from visitors from our
primary international markets.

4. Provide leadership and support through collaboration with local, regional,

national, tribal and private-industry tourism entities.

MARKETING MIX (7P’s)

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 SOTC

 Escorted tours

 Customized holidays

 Trade fairs
 SOTC sports

 Corporate tours

 Special tours – Marathi tours, Gujarati tours, Monalisa Tours

Main Focus In Product

Sr.No. BENEFIT MEANING WITH RESPECT TO THE SOTC

1 CORE BENEFIT The fundamental benefit or service that the customer is

buying. Traveling.

2 BASIC PRODUCT Basic, functional attributes. Ticketing, hotel

reservation.

3 EXPECTED PRODUCT Set of attributes/conditions the buyer normally

expects. Customer friendliness, good food.

4 AUGMENTED PRODUCT That meets the customer’s desires beyond

expectations. Prompt services, comfortable and convenient trip, spectacular
sights, and music.

5 POTENTIAL PRODUCT The possible evolution to distinguish the

offer. Totally customized tour packages, A grade service at every stage.

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.
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.

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, SOTC, 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 SOTC. There
are also small agents (who have taken franchise of SOTC) spread all over the
town/country who also play a role of place. SOTC act as wholesalers and also act
as a retailer. The latest mode of reaching the customers is through Internet that is
SOTC has its own website 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. SOTC 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

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 SOTC.
 SOTC appointed as the Tour Partner to Kingfisher Airlines for the DLF IPL
T20.

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. SOTC uses electronic, print
and all sorts of media as tourism is a highly promoted industry. SOTC 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 SOTC 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.

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.

SOTC`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.
PROCESS

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 SOTC products are:

 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------ SOTC 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; SOTC 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. SOTC 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--- SOTC in case of foreign
travel also provide foreign currency as well as insurance to it`s customers.

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 SOTC , Elements Such as quality and attractiveness of
décor, 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)

Inbound market is further segmented into six broad categories

1. Holiday and sight seeing.

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 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 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.

4 I’s of Services-

Inflexibility

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.

Intangibility

Travel products cannot be touched as they include flight experience on an airplane,

cruise on an ocean liner, a night’s 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.
PEST Analysis For SOTC

Environmental influences can be analyzed by using the PEST analysis.

Political

The political factors are the main driving force of the industry. The Indian tourism
industry is built on the backbone of Government support and the industry cannot
sustain itself without it. The various archaeological sites and the places of
historical importance, the roads and the railways are all in the hands of the
Government. All the support services like the hotel industry, the airlines industry
and the tourist operators to name some are heavily dependent on the support and
the cooperation of the Government. are encouraging the growth of
major hotels in their states.

Economic:

The tourism industry not unlike the other industries grows with the increase in the
spending of the people. The more the people spend the more the industry grows.
The spending power of the people has been increasing in the country and all over
the world. Since we are concentrating on the international tourists, the large
increase in the spending power in most developed countries has left a large amount
of idle cash in their hands. This has led to a tourism boom the world over and India
has been no exception. There have been more people coming into the country with
more cash than ever before. This has lead to an increase in the demand for better
hotels. People who previously used to come to the country on a shoestring budget
and hunt around for the cheapest accommodation can now afford to go in for
luxury hotels. This has led to an increase in the number of hotels in the country.
However, an increase in spending does not only limit itself to accommodation. The
increase in the spending is also evident in the increase in the number of people
traveling by air. Even the number domestic tourists traveling by air has
dramatically gone up.
Social:

Tourism was always looked upon as something that led to the destruction of the
social fabric of a place. The more the amount of outside people coming into a
place, the more the perceived risk of that place losing its identity. A good example
is Goa. From the late 60's to the early 80's when the Hippy culture was at its
height, Goa was a haven for such hippies. Here they came in thousands and
changed the whole culture of the state. This had a ripple effect on the country.
People became cautious, especially of the international tourists.

Technology:

Although technology does not seem to be a major influence at first glance, it plays
a major part in the promotion of a place. Better communication facilities are one of
the first prerequisites for growth in the inflow of tourists. This has been made
possible with technology. Improved technology in the field of communication at
cheaper costs has resulted in many remote and inaccessible areas of the country
getting connected to the rest of the world. This connectivity has made these places
visible to the world. Better communication means access to media. And that is very
important if any place wants to be on the world tourist map.

SWOT Analysis for SOTC

Strength-

1) India`s largest outbound tour operator.

2) Offices in all major cities of India.

3) Tie ups with other tour operators and travel agents across India.

4) Effective promotional campaigns like Experiencing the Magical moments of

Yash Raj Films with SOTC.
5) Internet booking of tickets and packages.

6) Cost Saver tours designed by SOTC, keeping in mind the budget of the
traveler, without compromising on sightseeing and basic holiday needs.

7) Created new markets through innovative packages namely

`BhramanMandal` dedicated to Marathi speaking population and `Gurjur
Vishwadarshan` brand dedicated to Gujarati speaking population.

Weakness-

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.

Opportunities-

1) 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.
Threats-

1) Economic conditions

2) Security

3) New entrants

4) Local Travel Agents and travel companies.

5) Competitors

PORTER’s Five Forces Model for SOTC

1. Threat of New entrants

 Lowered consumer search costs and decreased switching cost open up a

market for Potential new entrants , this reduces the entry barrier for new companies
by opening the distribution channel and Capital requirement

 Internet is one of possible bye pass instrument through which new entrants
can enter the market, this can reduce entry barrier for new entrants.

2. Rivalry Among Existing Firm within the Industry

 For SOTC biggest rivalry in India is From Cox and Kings , Thomas Cook

 The Internet brings many more companies into competition with one another
by expanding geographical markets and reduce entry barrier, it can raise the rivalry
within the industry and increase the pressure for price discounting. For Example
Makemytrip.com, Travelguru, Yatra.com etc.
3. Power of Supplier

 By reduced entry barrier and increasing number of competitors the power of

supplier will increase.

4. Power of Buyer

 The reduced Switching costs of Buyer also increase the bargaining power of
buyer.

 The customer can easily compare different prices and gain knowledge about
products, thus prices becomes the most important criterion.

5. Threat Of Substitutes

 Similar Products and services offered by the competitors at cheaper rates.

 Internet tourist sites like makemytrip.com, yatra.com etc. offers new

possibilities and instruments to meet customer needs by offering new products and
services which could substitute existing ones

Marketing Plan for SOTC( Religious tour to Vaishno Devi)-

Vision-

“SOTC vision focuses on providing all travel and travel-related services to

travelers from, within and to India”
Mission and objectives-

To create value for all religious people, giving them all comfort and convenience
from the start to the end of their journey.

4P’s of Marketing Plan-

 Product-

A SOTC religious tour offers following services for all the devotees
who have taken our religious tour package-

1) Pick and Drop services would be provided at various places in northern

India i.e. New Delhi, Jalandhar, Chandigarh etc.

2) Boarding and lodging

3) Tour guide and taxi cab service.

4) Free breakfast coupons will also be provided.

5) Water bottles and soft drinks also provided.

6) Pooja thaal and other religious material would be provided by SOTC to

avoid any inconvenience like long queues.

7) Tie up with Shrine Board in order to provide dinner to all devotees at

Bhawan.

 Price-

This religious tour will cost you -

1) 3 days and 2 nights stay would cost you Rs 7999/- onwards.

2) 20% discount would be given to customer who will use chopper.

3) 30% discount would be given to customers staying in a luxurious room in
hotels.

4) Budgeted hotels are also available for the customers.

 Place-

Customers can buy tickets and package from the following places-

1) Online booking at SOTC.in

2) Local tour operators and travel agents.

3) SOTC branches and outlets

4) Tie up with SBI and ICICI Banks for the sale of tickets.

 Promotion-

There are various promotional campaigns through which SOTC can promote this
religious tour like-

1) Advertisements on all bhakti channels and all radio channels of Northern

India.

2) Brochures and pamphlets would be distributed along with newspapers.

3) Postures will be displayed at all temples.

 Segmentation-

1) AGE GROUPS- 50 and above.

2) Geographical- Northern region

3) Religious people
PROJECT OUTCOMES AND RECOMMENDATIONS-

Through this project we came to know about the current scenario of tourism
industry in India with respect to the world. We also came to know about SOTC,
it`s brands, how SOTC uses the 7P`s of marketing and how it segmented the
market. This project also tells us about the 4 I`s of services in tourism industry,
PEST analysis, like how various sectors of environment affects the tourism
industry, SWOT analysis of SOTC. In spite of having so many strengths, SOTC
also have so many weaknesses like shortage of branches and offices across India,
ineffective customer services, not focusing on rural areas and Indian railway
network. In order to avoid any inconvenience to its customers, it should open new
branches, more effective online ticket booking facilities and focus on small cities
and towns. Through porter`s five forces model we have learned about the external
environment of SOTC, like rivalry among competitors, threat of new entrants in
tourism industry, it should focus on it`s online ticket booking facilities to restrict
online tourism provider like makemytrip.com, yatra.com. We have also made a
separate marketing plan for SOTC`s religious tour to Mata Vaishno Devi which
will be beneficial for all devotees visiting Vaishno Devi for worship.