PROJECT REPORT ON

INBOUND SERVICES OF COX & KING IN INDIA

JAGANNATH INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT SCHOOL

Kalkaji, New Delhi

Session: 2012-14

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SUBMITTED BY

MOHD.DARVESH ANSARIPGDM III-(IB)Roll No: 26JIMS, KALKAJIBATCH 2012-14

SUBMITTED TO

EXTERNAL MENTORMr. ASHISH GUPTA(COX & KING)

INTERNAL MENTORMs. PALLAVI(JIMS, Kalkaji)

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mohd. Darvesh Ansari student of Jagannath International Management

School has completed her Project report on “INBOUND SERVICES OF COX & KING IN INDIA”

in the year 2012-2014 in 3rd trimester of PGDM (IB). He has successfully completed the project

under my constant guidance and support.

Signature of Project Guide:

External Mentor:

Mr. ASHISH GUPTA

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DECLARATION

We, here by, declare that this mentorship project report on INBOUND SERVICES OF COX &

KING IN INDIA has been written and prepared by me during the academic year 2012-14. This

project was done under the external Mentor Mr . ASHISH GUPTA cox & king (pvt ltd) and internal

mentor Ms. PALLAVI AAHUJA. In partial fulfilment of the requirement for the Post Graduate

Diploma in Management course of Jagannath International Management School, Kalkaji (New

Delhi).

MOHD. DARVESH ANSARI

Roll No-26

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Gratitude is a way of acknowledging all the great and little efforts that people around us

have put into this project. It is also a way of ensuring that even the smallest contribution

does not go unnoticed. Therefore, we would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to

everyone being involved in this project one way or the other.We express our thanks to

Mr. Amit Gupta, Chairman, JIMS Kalkaji and Dr.(Cdr.) Satish Seth, Director, JIMS

Kalkaji for providing us the infrastructure to carry out the project. We are extremely grateful

to our faculty Ms. Pallavi & external mentor Mr. Ashish Gupta, For extending his whole

hearted cooperation, support, valuable time and information throughout our project

development with attention and care.

.

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Table of contents

CHAPTERS

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 About cox & king

1.2 Classification Of Services in Inbound Services

2.Research work

2.1 Statement of problem

2.2 Objectives of study

2.3 Scope

2.4 Limitation

3. COMPANY PROFILE

3.1 Product/Services

3.1.1) Destination Management

3.1.2) Outbound Tourism

3.1.3) Business Travel

3.1.4) Incentive & Conference Solution

3.1.5) Domestic Holiday’s

3.1.6) Foreign Exchange

3.1.7) Travel Insurance

3.1.8) Trade Fairs

3.2 COX & KING’S ADVANTAGE

3.3 STRATEGIES TO REACH CUSTOMERS

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3.4 SWOT ANALYSIS

3.5 TYPES OF CUSTOMER & SEGMENTATION

. Users of tourism services

. Need for Segmentation

. Segmentation

3.6 CLASSIFICATION OF THE SERVICES

3.7 Market Presence

4. Research Methodology

4.1 Design

4.2Tool

4.3Data Collection

4.4Population Size

4.5Quality of Population

4.6Sample unit

4.7Sample size

4.8Statistical Tools used

5. Analysis and Interpretation

6. Findings

7. Suggestions

8. Conclusion

9. Future Plans

10. Bibliography

11. Questionnaire

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INTRODUCTION

INBOUND SERVICES

An inbound customer service facility works best when it provides customers with a single

point of contact for all their service questions. Customers ring a single number to order

products, make a payment, register a purchase or obtain product information. They can also

place a support request or make an inquiry about a product. The agents handling the

incoming calls must have the product and technical knowledge to deal with the call

personally or, if necessary, transfer the call to a specialist. Customers appreciate the

convenience of a single point of contact, provided they receive an appropriate response.

Inbound is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism

Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual

environment for more than twenty-four (24) hours and not more than one consecutive year for

leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from

within the place visited". Tourism has become a popular global leisure activity. In 2008, there

were over 922 million international tourist arrivals, with a growth of 1.9% as compared to 2007.

International tourism receipts grew to US$944 billion (euro 642 billion) in 2008, corresponding to

an increase in real terms of 1.8%.

As a result of the Late-2000s recession, international travel demand suffered a strong slowdown

beginning in June 2008, with growth in international tourism arrivals worldwide falling to 2%

during the boreal summer months, and this negative trend intensified as international tourist

arrivals fell by 8% during the first four months of 2009.

Tourism is vital for many countries, such as the U.A.E, Egypt, Greece and Thailand, and many

island nations, such as The Bahamas, Fiji, Maldives and the Seychelles, due to the large intake

of money for businesses with their goods and services and the opportunity for employment in

the service industries associated with tourism. These service industries include transportation

services, such as airlines, cruise ships and taxis, hospitality services, such as accommodations,

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including hotels and resorts, and entertainment venues, such as amusement parks, casinos,

shopping malls, various music venues and the theatre.

The United Nations classified three forms of tourism in 1994, in its "Recommendations on

Tourism Statistics: Domestic tourism", which involves residents of the given country traveling

only within this country; Inbound tourism, involving non-residents traveling in the given country;

and Outbound tourism, involving residents traveling in another country.

Classification Of Services in Inbound Services

ON THE BASIS OF THE END USER

The end user for Tourism Services is always the CONSUMER, and therefore on the basis of the

end user, Tourism Services fall under the category of ‘Consumers’. However these consumers

may vary, which is why Tourism Services also differ.

SERVICE PRODUCT CONTINUUM

As per the Product-Service Continuum, Tourism Services fall under the category of “Goods +

Services”. The core product is the destination, which is purely intangible. However, tourism is

linked to a number of tangible goods such as souvenirs, cuisine, etc which constitute an

important part of any vacation or holiday any consumer might take. Therefore it cannot be

classified as only services, and falls under the category of “Goods + Services”.

PEOPLE BASED SERVICES

Tourism Services are high contact services, as people interact with people at virtually EVERY

stage of the way. Tourism services are very people-oriented services, and the service people

are plenty and have high contact with the consumers. The consumer interacts with a myriad of

service people starting from when he books his ticket and throughout the course of his holiday.

EXPERTISE

Tourism Services are mostly professional services. The service people include travel agents,

tour operators, hoteliers, caterers, tour guides, etc. Almost all of these people are trained and

are professionals. They might be trained by professional institutes (IATA, IITM, etc.) or by the

agency/company they are working for (COX & KING’s).

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ORIENTATION TOWARDS PROFIT

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All Inbound Services are commercial, and are undertaken with a view to earn profits.

1. Brand Equity & Expertise: When people are looking for travel related solutions; one of the first

names that comes to mind is Cox & Kings. As franchisee, Cox and Kings become an integral

part of Cox & King's 248 year heritage and are in a position to command the same kind of

respect in the industry.

2. Training: To ensure flawless management and strong before and after sales service, team

will be put through comprehensive training provided by Cox & Kings. The training program will

be constantly updated and will provide with ongoing guidance and assistance at every stage of

your progress. There will also be an online training program in place soon.

3. Technology and Total Support: One of the many things Cox & Kings guarantees its

franchisees are unmatched technology and technical support. Cox & Kings have developed

comprehensive technology solutions, covering everything from an easy access virtual office

system to automation support with in-house helpdesk and disaster recovery systems. One can

access office anywhere anytime. Imagine if your child is ill and you need to stay at home or your

client calls you late at night after office hours. Well, you have the Cox & Kings advantage at your

fingertips with our superb online access system. You'll also be provided with a quick and easy to

use online database, which can be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Also, in case

of any unfortunate instance, where you might end up losing valuable data/ transaction details,

now your business can be back on its feet within a matter of minutes. All thanks to disaster

recovery system.

4. Easy-to-use One Window bookings: Imagine when you book a ticket you first go on to a

Central Reservation System (CRS). Next, you have to log into another system for a hotel from

'X' supplier, then into another system to compare the rates with 'Y' supplier. Finally you have to

physically capture all this information and print an excel sheet. With the Cox & Kings advantage,

life is a lot simpler. Now with online access system, anyone can complete all processes using

just one window - just one simple booking system. Cox & Kings also ensure that the most

comprehensive IT Software is put into place so you have everything you need to manage and

run franchise.

5. 24 hour call centre: There's also a 24 x 7 call centre to back up in case of an emergency or

urgent queries. One will receive all the advice, expertise and tools to help you succeed. And that

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too from a dedicated franchisee support team that is committed to help franchise increase sales

and profitability.

6. Customer Relationship Management: One require an invaluable business tool for winning and

servicing customer. Cox & Kings will provide it in the form of a sophisticated Customer

Relationshi

Management system

The CRM is a user-friendly database system that is designed to analyse your customer's needs

and wants.

The system extracts customer data from your booking system and maintains a complete

detailed history of all your customers.

It allows you to identify and match opportunities to customers most likely to respond to targeted

offers.

The CRM marketing program includes all our own nationally co-ordinated direct offer mails plus

a personalised cover letter written as if it comes from you and displays your shop's contact

details.

The CRM program is also an invaluable business tool for winning and servicing your business. It

even produces reports which aid you in identifying areas of opportunity and increasing your

revenue and profitability.

1. Enjoying Cox & Kings Purchasing Power: As one of the most established travel

company, Cox and Kings have the leverage to negotiate commissions and overrides on airfares,

cruises, coach tours, holiday packages as well as hotel accommodation and car rentals. Which

means, Cox and Kings have access to preferential deals and a strong competitive advantage to

offer them to customers?

2. Marketing Strategy: Online and Offline Medium will be used for the marketing of Cox &

Kings Products and to create the brand awareness and reach out to the clients. National Level

as well as Regional Marketing Campaigns will be adopted for creating the Cox & Kings brand

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awareness.

3. Extensive Ground Operator Network: Since Cox & Kings also has a strong network of

dedicated ground operators functioning in different countries, One will be able to offer

customers a range of options to maximize their holiday experience as per their budget and

convenience. Also, one can be sure about the fact that all customers will always be in the expert

hands of the network and will enjoy a smooth and memorable holiday.

TRAVEL INDUSTRY FUTURE

The last few years have seen the Indian economy grow rapidly, resulting in the emergence of

new sectors like IT, call centres & BPOs. The nation is witnessing a new breed of consumers;

one with higher purchasing power and with disposable income to fuel their dreams. Add to it

media exposure, evolving cultures, mobile phones, internet, television etc. This has not just

changed the way we live but also the way we Travel. This new scenario has resulted in the

Travel Industry growing by leaps and bounds. Holidays today have become a necessity. Even

taking more than one holiday a year is not at all unusual. Also standards of customer demands

and expectations have gone up considerably and the customer, who once simply bought a

ticket, now crosses into other travel services like hotel bookings, holiday planning, ancillary

services etc. Hence, what the customer needs now is a one-stop travel shop that can provide

him a host of travel-related services under one roof.

Domestic Tourism

According to the ministry of tourism the total number of domestic tourists in 2005 was in the

region of 300 million. There are different sub-segments to these such as adventure tourism,

pilgrim tourism and leisure tourism. Pilgrim tourism still comprise 50 per cent of the total

domestic movements. Domestic numbers are expected to increase by 15 per cent year-on-year.

Outbound Tourism

Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), records that outbound travel from India is growing at a

rate of 10.5 percent. According to IATA India figures the total outbound figure for 2005 stood at

5.5 million tourists and it is expected to touch 7 million by the end of 2006.

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COX & KINGS, A PROMISING FUTURE

Cox & Kings An Illustrious Past. An Eminent Present. A Promising Future...

Cox & Kings The World's oldest Travel Company

Destination management

Outbound tourism

Domestic holidays

Business travel

Trade fairs.

With a strong presence across the globe, one can easily say that the key reasons behind Cox &

Kings immense success are:

A rich experience of around 248 years

THE C&K ADVANTAGE

• Best Brand for over 250 years and been operational non-stop since 1758.

• One Stop Travel Fulfilment Centre (Online as well as Offline Fulfilment) for all Travel Related

Services including a range of third party products

• Integrated Information Technology Platform to offer centralized reservation systems for all

business units

• Excellent Supplier Contracting Terms & Capabilities

• Strong online Presence

• Timely & Accurate MIS

• Knowledgeable Staff

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• Support via BPO & Call Centres

• Innovative Products Design and Creative Marketing

• Global Shareholder of Radius

DESTINATION MANAGEMENT

COX & KINGS is India's market leader in destination management, with substantial competitive

advantage in this business segment. Cox & Kings operates a range of group and individual

tours to destinations throughout the Indian subcontinent for clients from all over the world. Cox

& Kings overseas is a renowned travel brand and an Indian subcontinent tour specialist and

been quoted as one of the top 5 premium tour operators by 'Conde' Nast Traveller'. This division

also provides specialist services to foreign participants visiting India for international meetings,

conferences, ad hoc incentives and exhibitions and also caters for domestic conferences and

corporate incentives. Ground related services to international cruise companies touching Indian

shore with a provision of shore excursions are other leading activities of this division.

OUTBOUND TOURISM

Kings began a full-fledged in house tour operating activity by designing its own brochure product

under exclusive arrangements with direct suppliers and local agents across the globe. Cox &

Kings has been undertaking path-breaking initiatives to reach out to the travellers through

innovative products. These include:

'Duniya Dekho' Holidays to Europe, USA, Far East, South Africa, Mauritius, Australia and New

Zealand. For the "value for money" traveller

'FlexiHols' is a concept in holidaying where the traveller enjoys all the comforts and convenience

of a planned holiday but at a pace & price that is set by him. This is targeted at the more

discerning Free Individual Traveller

Luxury Escapes - It takes a travel company that has been round for two hundred years, to know

everything about royal treatment. Cox & Kings rolls out a whole new concept in Holidays -

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Luxury Escapes. Spoil yourself. Get pampered rotten. Holiday like a king. Join us as we unveil

country after country laced with sinful indulgence and fine living.

BUSINESS TRAVEL

Cox & Kings are one of the market leaders in business travel services in India, offering a full

range of business travel services to over 200 corporate clients, including major multinational

companies. C&K's strength in this business area is evident when one of the world's largest

conglomerate in business travel - Radius the First truly global travel management

partnership/consortium with merger of Travel Trust International and Woodside Travel

Management Corporation in 1992 selected Cox & Kings as their Indian partner. C&K - Radius

Overseas Travel Fulfilment Solutions through the Radius Brand

Leveraging the partnership with Radius, Cox and Kings can offer Travel Fulfilment Services to

Corporate Clients who are having offices overseas or project teams working on site at their

customer’s site, through its Radius Shareholders in the respective overseas regions. All travel

requirements will be controlled through the off shore 24 x 7 Travel Centre based in Mumbai.

DOMESTIC TOURISM

India with its large domestic consumer offers Cox & Kings a unique opportunity to

launch its portfolio of 'domestic holidays' for people resident in India. Launched in

2000, 'Bharat Dekho' (see India) is today's leading 'branded' product in the country

with a wide range of 'Indian Holidays' from cultural holidays, pilgrim holidays,

wildlife holidays, honeymoon tours, weekend getaways, customized FIT Tours to

nature trails, Bharat Dekho has captured over 50% of the domestic market.

INCENTIVE SOLUTIONS

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Over 7000 incentives in the last 4 years make Cox and Kings the biggest player in Incentives.

The Incentive Solutions Division of Cox & Kings provides cost effective travel incentive schemes

for clients that recognize and reward exceptional effort of its employees, customers, suppliers or

dealers. A team of handpicked industry specialists committed to handling every aspect of an

incentive / conference event are a part of this team.

MICE

The growing importance of MICE - Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions led to the

launch of this division. The division has existing tie ups with various Chambers of Commerce

and National Tourist Offices.

CURRENCY EXCHANGE

Cox & Kings has a full-fledged money changing division in Cox & Kings Offices servicing the

needs of the corporate traveller and the leisure travel clients. A strong distributor of American

Express Travellers' Cheques, Cox & Kings has been awarded 'Top Performer' for several years.

TRAVEL INSURANCE

Policies for Leisure Domestic as well as International Travel and special Corporate Deals on

Insurance covering an array of specialized travel areas, some of which are:

Loss of baggage (checked)

Bounced Hotel / Airline Bookings

Missed connections

Personal Accident

Trip Cancellation due to hospitalisation, death or curfew.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM

Cox & Kings today deploys highest information technology platform in the Indian Travel

Industry. It has developed totally integrated front, mid and back office solutions. This has

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brought about huge cost savings for the organisation, thus managing to offer 'quality' service to

its customers at a great cost savings.

COX AND KINGS AS BRAND

The Cox and Kings brand has evolved over 250 years and is one of the most recognized

holiday brands today. The company offers services as a 'One-Stop Shop' for all travel and

travel-related products. Its business can broadly be categorized as Leisure Travel, Corporate

Travel, Forex and Visa Processing. C&K designs travel packages for both individuals and

groups, for their domestic and international leisure travel. The company makes travel

arrangements for corporate clients to cater to their business meetings, conferences, events, and

as an incentive for their employees and business partners. The company also provides value-

added services, such as customizing travel plans for NRI customers, travel arrangements for

Trade Fairs and providing private air charter services. Besides, C&K offers travel-related foreign

exchange and payment solutions. The company is one of the first travel companies in India to

be granted a license as an Authorized Dealer - Category II, under the new licensing regime.

Within Leisure Travel, the company has three sub-segments, Outbound Travel, Inbound Travel

and Domestic Travel. The Inbound Travel business represents destination management

services that cover all aspects of ground tour arrangements required by tour operators across

the world. The Domestic and Outbound Travel businesses include the selling of holiday

packages for travel in India and overseas, respectively. Under Corporate Travel, a full range of

business travel services, through a team of dedicated relationship managers, is offered.

In India, C&K has 255 points of presence, covering 164 locations, through a mix of branch sales

offices, franchised sales shops, General Sales Agents (GSAs) and Preferred Sales Agents

(PSAs). The company has 14 branch sales offices located in Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai,

Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Pune, Nagpur and Goa. Besides, it

also operates through 56 franchised sales shops spread across India. The company has a

global presence, with operations in 19 countries (besides India) through subsidiaries, branch

offices and representative offices (in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, US, UAE,

Singapore and Hong Kong).

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Over the period of 2006-09, the company has made 6 acquisitions, and it will continue to

explore various opportunities for inorganic growth in the future

IPO Details: C&K proposes to make its IPO in the price band of Rs316-330/share, at a face

value of Rs10 each, and to issue 1.85cr shares, of which 30.5lakh shares are offered for sale by

Lehman Brothers Opportunity, Deutsche Securities Mauritius and Merrill Lynch Capital Markets

Espana. Therefore, the fresh issue by the company will be to the extent of 1.55cr shares. The

company plans to use the proceeds for debt repayment (Rs129.6cr), acquisitions and other

strategic initiatives (Rs150cr), investment in overseas subsidiaries (Rs62.5cr), and investment in

corporate offices and upgrading its existing operations (Rs60cr).

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Industry Overview

Global Tourism Industry

As per a WTTC study, the number of tourist arrivals worldwide increased from 904million in

2007 to 925million in 2008, registering a rise of 2.3%. The growth was comparatively lower than

the CAGR of 4.6% over the period of CY1995-08, mainly on account of the global meltdown. In

2008, the growth was the weakest since the recessionary period of 2001-03, when the industry

was hit by the collapse of the high-tech boom, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the SARS outbreak.

Close to two million jobs were nevertheless created during 2008, but the industry was faced with

increasingly difficult global headwinds in the second half of the year, as consumer and business

confidence collapsed. The effects of the global meltdown are expected to continue in 2009, with

the growth rate of tourist arrivals likely to decline by 4.3% to 885mn before

Over the long-term, the Travel & Tourism Industry is expected to resume its growth, with

emerging economies in particular leading the way by boosting international travel. In developed

countries, a growing preference for leisure is expected to provide clients for new destinations

once consumers regain confidence, while the popularity of short breaks, both domestic and

international, will continue to increase. WTTC estimates the world Travel and tourism industry to

witness a CAGR of 4.3% over 2009-2019. In USD terms the same is expected to witness a

CAGR of 6.9%.

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Indian Inbound Industry - Recovering

During 2008-09, the Indian tourism industry had to cope with terrorism and the global economic

downturn, which put a brake on a decade of phenomenal growth in international arrivals (1998-

2007), driven mainly by the successful 'Incredible India' marketing campaign and steady

improvements in the tourism infrastructure. However, with the effects of the meltdown easing

out and economic activity picking up, the declining trend of FTAs (Foreign Tourist Arrivals)

seems to have been arrested.

The FTAs declined significantly to 13.8% during 2010, as compared to that in 2008, but, during

2010, the situation improved markedly (a decline of only 1.8%), with the FTAs close to that of

last year. However, measured in terms of a percentage of GDP, tourism still accounts for just

6% of the economy, much below the world average in 2008.The expected rise in demand over

the next 2-3 years would be largely due to factors such as India's popularity as a tourist

destination, strong economic fundamentals, a continued interest from multinationals and a

steady growth in domestic travelers (both business and leisure).

Investment Argumen t

C&K derives over half of its earnings from the emerging markets (mainly India) and is focused

on increasing its presence in other high growth geographies (mainly the Middle- East and

South-East Asia). This, we believe, would bode well for the company, as it is ideally poised to

benefit from a strong growth in demand for outbound and inbound services in these areas,

enabling it to achieve a high growth rate in the future.

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According to WTTC estimates, the world travel and tourism industry is expected to clock a

CAGR of 4% over 2009-2019. The growth rate is expected to be much higher in the case of

emerging markets, mainly India, the Middle-East and South-East Asia. According to WTTC

estimates, the tourism industry in India, the Middle-East and South-East Asia is likely to witness

a CAGR of 8% over 2009-2019.

According to the WTTC, developing countries, which until recently have been the key drivers of

growth in the tourism industry, are expected to take a backseat over the next decade. Although

countries like the US, Japan, China and West-European countries would continue to generate a

big chunk of travel and tourism demand, in terms of growth, the emerging countries in Asia, the

Middle-East and Africa are likely to lead going ahead. The shifting of the trend towards the

emerging markets is evident from the steep decline in the share of the top 15 destinations of

international tourist arrivals (from around 75% in 1970 to around 57% in 2007).

Well-positioned to gain market share on the back of a strong brand franchise and a presence

across the value-chain

The travel market is highly fragmented, with a large number of travel agents catering to most of

the demand. We believe that C&K's strong brand, coupled with services across the value-chain

(inbound and outbound), would act as a key driver in garnering a higher market share in the

future.

Strong Brand Equity: C&K's brand has evolved over a period of 250 years and is one of the

oldest brands in the Travel and Tourism industry. Over the years, the company has built a

strong brand franchise for itself in overseas markets as well as in India. Cox & Kings was

ranked 1st among the Top Brands in India, and ranked 152 amongst the Top 1000 Brands in

the Asia-Pacific region. The tour-operator industry is dependent on brand awareness and recall

in the long-run, as customers need to believe in the capabilities of the operator to provide quality

services and that their products will lead to a satisfied experience, even before they have

approached the service provider.

Presence across the value-chain; C&K offers complete travel solutions, and serve as an

integrated provider of all travel and travel-related products. The company provides a 'One-Stop

Shop' for all travel requirements, from visa formalities to ticketing, holidays, insurance and

foreign exchange. Besides, the company is in the process of rolling-out a pan-India, luxury train,

under the brand 'Maharajas' Express', through a joint venture with the Indian Railways.

Wide geographical reach: In India, C&K has 255 points of presence, covering 164 locations,

through a mix of branch sales offices, franchised sales shops, General Sales Agents (GSAs)

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and Preferred Sales Agents (PSAs). The company has 14 branch sales

offices located in Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmadabad,

Jaipur, Kochi, Pune, Nagpur and Goa. Besides, it also operates through 56 franchised sales

shops spread across India. Moreover, the company has a global presence, with operations in 19

countries (besides India) through subsidiaries, branch offices and representative offices (in the

UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, US, UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong).

Concerns for Indian Inbound industry

The Travel and tourism industry is highly cyclical in nature and sensitive to changes in economic

growth.

The industry is highly-fragmented and competitive, and thus faces stiff competition from other

players and also from the unorganized sector

The company is exposed to currency fluctuations in the various countries that it operates in.

Outlook and Valuation

Over 2006-09, C&K's Revenues and PAT have witnessed a CAGR of 65.6% and 80.7%,

respectively; these, however, have also been aided by the five acquisitions it has made across

the globe since 2006. Going ahead, estimate C&K's Top-line and PAT to witness a CAGR of

27.4% and 37.7% over 2009-11E, respectively On the lower and upper end of the price band,

the stock would quote at 16.5x and 17.3x its post diluted 2011 estimates, respectively. We

believe that the company’s organic and inorganic growth rates will be sustained, and its core

profitability will remain healthy, going ahead. Hence, on the back of positives like C&K's superior

growth rates, its wide geographical reach, a strong brand franchise and the improving industry

dynamics, we recommend a Subscribe view on the IPO.

Rationale for our Subscribe recommendation

Cox and Kings (C&K) is a global tour operator, deriving around 90% of its revenues from the

leisure segment. The company has a strong presence in the emerging and developed markets,

and offers travel, forex and visa services.

Well-positioned to gain market share on the back of a strong brand franchise and a presence

across the value-chain: C&K has a history of over 250 years, making it one of the oldest travel

brands in the world. Over the years, the company has built a strong brand franchise for itself in

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overseas markets as well as in India. The travel market is highly fragmented, with a large

number of travel agents catering to most of the demand. We believe that C&K's strong brand,

coupled with services across the value-chain (inbound and outbound), would act as a key driver

in garnering a higher market share in the future.

BUSINESS PROMOTION (MARKETING)

To run the business smoothly it is very important for the company to continuously

promote and expand its business activities. The intent to run the business smoothly

laydown certain guidelines towards the achievement of this objective. They are:

1. ADVERTISEMENTS:

Head office/Branch office/Franchise store will whenever deemed necessary and

appropriate advertise in the national/local news papers and/ or souvenirs/

magazines for:

a) Induction of managerial staff.

b) Recruitment of skilled employees.

c) Occasional publicity for projecting good image of company.

d) For procurement of new products and packages

While releasing such advertisements under mentioned points should be given due

consideration:

a) Economy of expenses

b) Brief but effective exposure.

c) Attractive image representation.

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2. BUSINESS SURVEY:

Regional/Branch offices shall, either on their own initiative or on instructions

from the head office, conduct occasional, but programmed and structured

surveys of market and competitors. However, before or while conducting these

surveys, following points should be taken into consideration.

a) Assessment of business prospect in the area.

b) Whether area is untouched by other competitors especially “THOMAS

COOK”

c) Employee-customer relationship in the area.

d) Insurance and Foreign tie-ups should be covered

e) Culture environment and language of different countries in packages.

f) Available of customers locally.

g) Assessment of customers need as per the products and services.

h) Fire fighting facilities available.

k) lexibility in packages as per customers requirement

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The study is done to find out the perception o f customers on comparing COX AND

KINGS and other competitive brands

To find out the additional features and that could added to cox & king to make to it more

effective.

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KINGS compared to any other competitors.

OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

The objective of the study can be classified as follows:

Critically examine the adequacy and completion of the facilities to encoura

customer to select COX AND

SCOPE OF STUDY

encountered by COX AND KINGS which is a business that deals solely with

different clients Scope of study is to showcase all the supports, challenges and

opportunities

To study the working of each department of COX AND KINGS and to see the

problem faced by them and finally to throw light on areas of improvement

possible.

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Feedbacks of the some clients were not up to the mark.

Due to the peak season customers were busy to give feedbacks for my

Questions.

The study captures only Marketing department. So it is difficult to

collect the data from all the department which is not possible in this

short time duration.

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Swot Analysis of Tourism industry in India

STRENGTHS

a. India's geographical location, a culmination of deserts, forests, mountains, and beaches.

b. Diversity of culture i.e. a blend of various civilizations and their traditions.

c. A wealth of archeological sites and historical monuments.

d. Manpower costs in the Indian hotel industry are one of the lowest in the world. This provides

better margins for the industry.

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WEAKNESS a. Lack of adequate infrastructure. The airlines in India, for example, are inefficient

and do not provide basic facilities at airports. The road condition in India is very bad.

b. A xenophobic attitude among certain sections of people. c. No proper marketing of India's

tourism abroad. Foreigners still think of India as a land of snake charmers. There are many

places where the image of India is one of poverty, superstition, and diseases. The case of

Plague in Surat in 1994 led to a decrease of 36% in arrival of foreign tourists in India.

OPPORTUNITIES

a. More proactive role from the government of India in terms of framing policies.

b. Allowing entry of more multinational companies into the country giving us a global

perspective.

c. Growth of domestic tourism. The advantage here is that domestic tourism and international

tourism can be segregated easily owing to the difference in the period of holidays.

THREATS

a. Economic conditions and political turmoil in other countries affects tourism.

b. Political turbulence within India in Kashmir and Gujarat has also reduced tourist traffic.

c. Aggressive strategies adopted by other countries like Australia, Singapore in promoting

tourism.

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Cox & King’s Customers Positioning & Segmentation

Users of Tourism Services

The users of tourism services can be categorized in a number of ways.

One such way of classifying the users is by dividing them into categories such as General,

Sex, Region, Education, etc.

1. General: Domestic, Foreign

Kids, Teens, Youths, Seniors

Students, Executives, Artists

Politicians, Movie stars

2. Sex: Men, Women

3. Region: Rural, Urban

4. Education: Literate, Illiterate

5. Status: Rich, Poor

6. Profession: Executives, Academics, Sportsmen, Artists

7. Occupation: White collar, Blue collar

Another method of classifying users of tourism services is on the basis of the frequency of

usage of services.

1. Non-users: They lack the willingness, desire and ability (income & leisure time).

2. Potential Users: They have the willingness but the marketing resources have not been used

optimally to influence their impulse.

3. Actual Users: They are already using the services generated by the tourist organizations

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4. Occasional Users: They have not formed the habit of traveling

5. Habitual Travelers: They have formed a habit and avail of the services regularly.

Need For Segmentation

Consumer behavior can be defined in psychological terms as the whole range of the

generation of wants and their transformation into buying or using decisions. Users have

values, perceptions, preferences and expectations which are the result of environmental

influences. There are a number of factors that influence the behavioral profile of consumers.

Segmentation

Though there are a number of bases for

segmentation of tourists, one of the most important

is Lifestyle. Traveling decisions are fantastically

influenced by changing lifestyles. They are also

affected by other factors such as level of income,

availability of leisure time, etc. BASE OF

SEGMENTATION

CATEGORIE

S

Holiday Mass market

Popular

market

Individual

market

Demand Primary

Secondary

Opportunity

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Classification Of Services in Inbound Services

ON THE BASIS OF THE END USER

The end user for Tourism Services is always the CONSUMER, and therefore on the basis of the

end user, Tourism Services fall under the category of ‘Consumers’. However these consumers

may vary, which is why Tourism Services also differ.

SERVICE PRODUCT CONTINUUM

As per the Product-Service Continuum, Tourism Services fall under the category of “Goods +

Services”. The core product is the destination, which is purely intangible. However, tourism is

linked to a number of tangible goods such as souvenirs, cuisine, etc which constitute an

important part of any vacation or holiday any consumer might take. Therefore it cannot be

classified as only services, and falls under the category of “Goods + Services”.

PEOPLE BASED SERVICES

Tourism Services are high contact services, as people interact with people at virtually EVERY

stage of the way. Tourism services are very people-oriented services, and the service people

are plenty and have high contact with the consumers. The consumer interacts with a myriad of

service people starting from when he books his ticket and throughout the course of his holiday.

EXPERTISE

Tourism Services are mostly professional services. The service people include travel agents,

tour operators, hoteliers, caterers, tour guides, etc. Almost all of these people are trained and

are professionals. They might be trained by professional institutes (IATA, IITM, etc.) or by the

agency/company they are working for (COX & KING’s).

ORIENTATION TOWARDS PROFIT

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All Inbound Services are commercial, and are undertaken with a view to earn profits.

Market Presence of Cox & King’s

Cox and Kings’ registered office is situated in Mumbai, India with 255 points of presence

covering 164 locations through a mix of branch sales offices, franchised sales shops, General

Sales Agents (GSAs) and Preferred Sales Agents (PSAs).

Cox and Kings’ have 14 branch sales offices located in Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata,

Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Pune, Nagpur and Goa.

Besides, Cox and Kings also operates through 56 franchised sales shops spread across India to

have larger access to our customers. Further, they have an extensive network of 185 GSAs and

PSAs covering all major towns and cities of India.

Cox and Kings has a global presence with its operations in 18 countries besides India through

subsidiaries, branch offices and representative offices. They have subsidiaries in UK, Australia,

New Zealand, Japan, US, UAE and Singapore and operates from Moscow (Russia), Maldives

and Tahiti through our branch offices and Spain, Sweden, Germany, Italy, France, Taiwan,

South America and South Africa through our representative offices.

The company through its subsidiary in Australia has acquired Tempo Holidays, one of the

leading wholesalers in the Australian outbound tourism market.

CKIL’s subsidiary, Quoprro Global Services Pvt. Ltd., acquired in 2008 accepts and processes

visa applications from foreign nationals applying for Indian visas in Greece and Singapore.

Recently, they got further approvals from the diplomatic mission of India in Hong Kong.

In 2009, CKIL acquired the East India Travel Company in North America, one of the top three

source markets for the Indian subcontinent

Further, they have presence in overseas markets through a network of GSAs and PSAs

covering other countries enhancing our global presence.

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Research Methodology

Research Design:-

Conceptual structure with research must be conducted. The preparation of such design

facilitates research to be as efficient as possible and yields maximum information.

Research Objectives:-

.

To know different customer retention, customer acquiring and customer relationship building

processes.

To known the satisfactory level of the customers.

To know the influence of services provided by COX AND KINGS on it’s business.

To identify factors, affecting customer satisfaction.

To suggest some techniques to improve customer satisfaction.

In this study, no analysis of data is made as the data available are already analyzed one and

are present in the graphical manner in published reports. So

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no statistical tools are used in this study. But explanatory research has been made where data

are interpreted to get some findings.

Source of Data:-

The task of collecting data begins offer a research problem has been defined and plan in

chalked out. This study pertains to collection of data from primary and secondary.

Primary Data:-

Data are called for the first time for a specific purpose in mind using the questionnaire methods.

Questionnaires through personal contact and telephone call.

Secondary data:

This refers to information that has been collected earlier by someone else often including

printed or published reports, news items and company invoices. It also includes internal

documents like invoices, sales report, and payment history of customers and dispatch record.

Information Required:-

The services provide by franchise store of COX AND KINGS (franchise department).

Facilities provided to the Customer of COX AND KINGS.

Influence of positive referrals on the customer growth and sales made through new customers

added.

Advantage of implementation of Office Desk Data.

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Research Plan:-

Data source : - Primary & Secondary

Research instruments : - Interviews

Contact method : - Direct / person./Telephone/e-mail

DATA ANA ALYSIS AND IN NTERPR RETATION

Table 1-Duration n of custom

mers 1-6 month hs

35

6-12 mon nths 45

12-18 mo nths 15

18-24 mo nths 5

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Table 2-Influencing Factors for Clients

&Friends

15

Follow ups 5

e-mails 10

Cox a and kings webs site 70

Table 3-Reasons for preferring Cox

and Kings Customer relation

75

Attractive packages 10

Service 10

Pricing 5

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Table 4-Demand for service es

Always

90

Sometime es 10

Table 5-Expectaations from the

company Services

60

Pricing 5

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Packages 15

Accommodations 5

Excursion 15

Table 6-Satisfaction level Highly

Highly satisfied

60

Satisfied 30

Average 5

Not satisf fied 5

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FINDINGS

1. 65% of the clients are using the services frequently.

25% of the clients are using the services very frequently.

5%of the clients are using the services occasionally.

5%of the clients are using the services rarely.

2. 35% are clients since 6 months.

45% are clients since 12 months.

15% are clients since 18 months.

5% are clients since 24 months.

3. 15% of the clients are influenced by Friends.

5% of the clients are influenced by follow ups.

10% of the clients are influenced by e-mails.

70% of the clients are influenced by Cox and Kings Website.

4. 75% of the clients are using services of Cox and Kings due to customer relation or treatment.

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10% of the clients are using services of Cox and Kings due to attractive packages and

excursion.

10% of the clients are using services of Cox and Kings due to good service.

5% of the clients are using services of Cox and Kings due to pricing.

5. 90% of the clients agree that Cox and Kings always fulfill the order according to their need.

10% of the clients agree that Cox and Kings sometimes fulfill the order according to the need.

6. 60 % of the clients emphasizes on the quality of services.

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5 % of the clients emphasizes on pricing of services.

15% of the clients emphasizes on accommodations.

5 % of the clients emphasizes on price of packages.

15 % of the clients emphasizes on excursion.

7. 60% of clients are highly satisfied with the quality of the services.

30% of clients are satisfied with the quality of the services.

5% of clients are average with the quality of the services provided.

5% are not satisfied with the quality of the services provided.

8. 15% of clients are highly satisfied with the price of the packages provided.

20% of clients are satisfied with the price of the service provided.

45% of clients are average with the price of the services provided.

20% of clients are not satisfied with the price of the services provided.

9. Majority of the clients has given satisfactory rate over its competitors.

10. Though clients prefer comparing competitors pricing but gets attracted towards quality

packaging and services being provided by Cox and Kings.

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SUGGESTIONS

Promotional strategies should be followed on mass basis

SWOT ANALYSIS should be done on regular basis

Employees performance should be monitored

Market research should be given priorities to overcome threats

Regular surveys should be done in order to estimate customer’s satisfaction level

Proper working environment should be provided in order to provide ease to employees as well

as customers

24*7 facility should be provided to welcome customer at any instant time

A good communication channel should be maintained

Regular FOLLOW UPS is required to be carried on

Group tours should be provided with proper assistance and guide throughout the tour

Regular updates of the services and products should be communicated to loyal customers

Strong competitive strategies must be followed against the competitors especially “THOMAS

COOK”

Regular appraisal should be followed for the employees in order to get the maximum output

from them

Number of days and nights should be increased to optimize the level of experience

Franchisee department should emphasize on increasing more number of stores for mass

accessibility of customers

Franchisee stores must be monitored and regulated on regular basis for providing greater

assistance and documentation.

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Conclusion

COX & KING’S has a very good reputation in the industry.

People are more aware about Cox and Kings than Thomas Cook, KUONI, SITA, and

MAKE MY TRIP.

In small cities there is more potential of ticketing than package tours.

There is less number of people who book their tour ticket through travel agents.

Middle class people should not be considered as a major customer group who are interested in

package tour.

COX & KING’S is one of the dominant in the industry.

COX & KING’S global presence has also strengthened its position in India.

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Future Plans Of Cox & King’s

COX & Kings is set to expand its foreign exchange business to more centres in India

Cox & Kings has come out with its package for Europe and packages for the US and Far East

on mass basis.

The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), and Cox and Kings India Ltd.,

(CKIL), have signed a Joint Venture agreement to set up a company called the Royale Indian

Rail Tours Ltd., to manage and operate the first pan-India luxury tourist train.

Efforts are being made so that online and offline business models would complement each

other in a very effective manner in future

Expecting a huge and unprecedented jump in the outflow and inflow of tourists in the country,

the Cox and Kings, has decided to expand its operations in India.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.coxandkings.co.in

www.wikipedia.coxandkings.org

www.financialexpress.com

www.digitallibarary.com

www.thehindubusinessline.com

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QUESTIONNAIRE

TITLE: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND THEIR RETENTION

Personal Details:

Name:-

Age:-

Address:-

Contact no.:-

QUESTIONS:

1) Are you loyal customer of Cox and kings?

1)1-6 months 2) 6-12 months 3) 12-18 months 4) 18-24 months more

2) If you are the regular client of Cox and Kings then what was your last package?

……………………………………………………………………………………………

3) Who influenced you to avail services of Cox and Kings?

1) Friends follow-ups 2) e-mails Cox 3) Kings websites

4) Many tours and travels companies are there in then why you want to be a regular customer of

Cox and Kings?

1) Customer relation 2) attractive packages 3) services pricing

5) Is Cox and Kings fulfilling your demand according to your need?

1) Always 2) Sometimes 3) Rarely

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6) What is your expectation from the Cox and Kings while using services?

1) Services 2) pricing 3 packages 4) accommodations

5) Excursion

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Others if any…………………………………………………………………………

7) Are you satisfied with the Quality of services provided?

1) Highly satisfied 2) Satisfied 3) Average

4) Not satisfied

8) Are you satisfied with the price of packages?

1) Highly satisfied 2) Satisfied 3) Average 4) Not satisfied

9) Why you prefer Cox and Kings over any other tours and Travel Company?

1) Quality 2) Price 3) services 4) Customer treatment

10) How will you rate Cox and Kings over its competitors?

1) Excellent 2) Very good 3) Satisfactory 4) Poor

11) Would you like to continue availing services from Cox and Kings?

1) Yes 2) No

12) Are you satisfied with Cox and Kings packages and services?

1) Highly satisfied 2) Satisfied 3) Average 4) Not

satisfied

13) Do you recommend this brand to others?

1) Yes 2) No

If no then why ………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………

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14) What is your opinion about Cox and Kings?

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………

DATE:

PLACE: SIGNATURE

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