I express my sincere thanks to Mr. Inder Lal Bansal Owner of SOTC Franchisee for giving me
an opportunity to undergo a project on “find out the potential and awareness of SOTC brand as
well as creating awareness amongst the people of NCR region” and understanding the whole
process of booking.
I would also like to take the opportunity to thankMr. Kapil(Sales Executives),Mr. Gaurav(Sales
Executives-WFT), Mrs. Dimple Mucchal (FIT), Mrs. Bhavna Tandon(FIT) and all the other
employee of the SOTC, Gurgaon for helping me to complete my training successfully and
extending all cooperation whenever I needed it.
I would also like to thank the faculties and the administration team of the
Skyline Business School.
My deepest regards to my parents who have always encouraged me in
pursuit of higher education.
Thanks to all
TABLE OF CONTENT
Topic
Page No
Introduction
Methodology
Executive Summary
Industry Profile
Forms of Tourism
Types of Tourist
Marketing Mix
PEST Analysis
SWOT Analysis
Company Profile
SOTC Band
Competitor
Outbound Tourism
Types of Passport
Types of VISA
Currency Regulation
Travel Tax
Formalities
Research
Findings
Bibliography
34567910
INTRODUCTION
The training was carried out as a partial fulfilment of my PGDBM degree
under Skyline Business School.
The project has been carried out at SOTC, Gurgaon.
My project was based on the study of find out the potential and awareness of SOTC brand as
well as creating awareness amongst the people of NCR region” and understanding the whole
process of booking.
METHODOLOGY
STUDY AREA:
Present study has been carried out at SOTC Franchises, Gurgaon.
NATURE OF DATA:
Primary Data: The primary data has been collected through
personal observation as well as through both open and closed
ended questionnaires with customer and the executives of SOTC.
Secondary Data:The secondary data has been collected from the
company information system
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This is a project which has been carried out at SOTC, Gurgaon. The project is conducted on
“Study of awareness about SOTC brand”, a topic which was assigned by the SOTC authority.
In this project we have collected both Primary and Secondary data. The Primary data was
collected through questionnaire and personal observation and the Secondary data was collected
from the SOTC information system.
Introduction
Industry:
The Travel and Tourism industry is still one of the largest single
businesses in world commerce and its importance is widely recognized.
The tourism industry is now one of the largest sectors earning foreign exchange. In the face of
many benefits, many countries have started assigning due weight age to the tourism industry in
their national development agenda.
Tourism is an industry that operates on a massively broad scale: it embraces activities ranging
from the smallest sea-side hotel; to air-lines, multi-national hotel chains and major international
tour operators. Originally, non-traditional industries such as tourism emerged as a solution to
strike a balance between ecology and industry
around $3.2 billion. Tourism is the highest foreign exchange earner if we consider the fact that
net value addition in Gems and jewellery is less than 30 % whereas, in tourism it is more than 90
%.
Recent statistics have revealed that during the first quarter of 2006, the
performance of the tourism industry has been very encouraging which has
EDUCATIONAL TOURISM
It may involve travelling to an education institution, a wooded retreat or some other destination
in order to take personal-interest classes, such as cooking classes with a famous chef or crafts
classes.
GARDEN TOURISM
It means visiting botanical gardens, famous places in the history of
gardening, such as Versailles and the Taj Mahal.
HERITAGE TOURISM
It is visiting historical (Rome, Athens, Cracow) or industrial sites, such as
old canals, railways, battlegrounds, etc.
HEALTH TOURISM
It means usually to escape from cities or relieve stress, perhaps for some
'fun in the sun', etc. often to "health spas".
MEDICAL TOURISM
It is used for advanced care that is not available in one's own country, in
the case that there are long waiting lists in one's own country for use of
free or cheap health care organizations for what is illegal in one's own
country, e.g. abortion, euthanasia; for instance, euthanasia for non-citizens
is provided by Dignitas in Switzerland.
HOBBY TOURISM
POP-CULTURE TOURISM
This tourism refers to tourism by those that visit a particular location after
reading about it or seeing it in a film.
PERPETUAL TOURISM
It is mainly for wealthy individuals who are always on vacations; some of
them, for tax purposes or to avoid being resident in any country.
PILGRIMAGE TOURISM
SPORT TOURISM
Skiing, golf and scuba diving are popular ways to spend a vacation. Also in this category is
vacationing at the winter home of the tourist's favorite baseball team, and seeing them play
everyday.
ECO TOURISM
GAMBLING TOURISM
This tourism refers to tourism to Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Macau or
Monte Carlo for the purpose of gambling at the casinos there.
TYPES OF TOURISTS
One such way of classifying the users is by dividing them into categories
such as General, Sex, Region, Education, etc.
General: Domestic, Foreign Kids, Teens, Youths, Seniors
Students, Executives, Artists Politicians, Movie stars
Sex: Men, Women
Region: Rural, Urban
Education: Literate, Illiterate
Status: Rich, Poor
Profession: Executives, Academics, Sportsmen, Artists
Occupation: White collar, Blue collar.
PRICE
A very important way, in which the travel and tourism business responded
to their highly complex pricing circumstances, is to operate at two levels.
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
The tourism marketer may not have adequate choice of the tourist center,
because in most of the case the tourist destinations many be natural,
historical attraction. But, infrastructure facilities, transportation,
communication are important for the development of the tourist center.
The major decision that the tourism marketer takes regarding distribution
is relating to the channel of choice and channel members. The uniqueness
of tourism industry is predominant position of intermediaries. The two
major functions performed by the distribution system in tourism
marketing are:
seeing, etc. they may also sell directly to customers. The latest mode of
reaching the tourist is through Internet. Ticket booking can also be done
through the Internet and payment is made with credit card.
PROMOTION
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.
The personnel who attend to the needs of the tourists form an essential
ingredient in tourism marketing. The sales personnel are responsible for
dealing with the customer behind the counter. The airline and
transportation crew interact with customers while traveling. The resort or
hotel representatives enter to the needs of the tourist when they reach the
destination.
The tourist guides, who interact with the customers at the tourist location,
all form the people element in tourism marketing. These contract persons
must be trained on interpersonal skills as well as knowledge of the
product. 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,
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 tourist products are:
utilities like toilets, telephone booth also form a part of the physical
evidence.
SEGMENTATION
PEST ANALYSIS
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.
The major reason as to why tourists visit India is for the vast and rich
heritage that our country has. That is under the control of the Government,
through the Archaeological Survey of India. Any policy change that
comes into force can have dramatic effect on the way the industry players
perform. For example, the Government charges high rates of taxes on the
luxury and the star category hotels and this has always been a cause of
disagreement between the hotel associations and the Government. There
are many areas where the growth of tourism has not been rapid or has
seen dramatic fall because the political environment has not been
conducive. Examples are the North East for the former and Kashmir for
the latter. The neglect of the Government in developing the North-East
has led to a situation where there is practically no tourism in the seven
states.
Similarly, the political turmoil in the state of Kashmir and now in Gujarat
has caused a virtual decimation of the flourishing tourism industry.
However, there has been a change in many of the policies of the
Government with regard to the tourism industry. The hotel industry has
been getting many incentives and many State Governments 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. Whenever a certain place became
famous, the example of Goa was cited to discourage the inflow of
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.
Threat:
Economic conditions and political turmoil in other countries
affects tourism.
Political turbulence within India in Kashmir and Gujarat has also
reduced tourist traffic.
Aggressive strategies adopted by other countries like Australia,
Singapore in promoting tourism.
SOTC – India’s No. 1 Holiday Company
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. Within three years, SOTC had taken about 500 passengers to Europe,
the US, Singapore and Japan. In 1981, came another breakthrough when SOTC Package Tours
began active advertising, with the first ad hitting the newspapers
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’s outbound business operations broadly encompass Packaged Group Tours for Indians
and Individual Holidays. SOTC World Famous Tours caters to those who seek comfort in group
travel. It is widely acknowledged to be the most successful package tour brand in India.
Recognizing the importance of language markets, SOTC also pioneered tours conducted in
Marathi and Gujarati under the SOTC brand extensions: SOTC BhramanMandal and SOTC
GurjarVishwadarshan.
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 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
Prominent features of SOTC BhramanMandal Europe and Australia tours are the Predeparture
meeting, Travel Kit and an experienced Marathi speaking Tour Manager who accompanies them
all the way from Mumbai
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 you an opportunity to visit and explore all
the splendors of India through various categories of holiday packages
Classic Holidays of India are time tested popular attractions like
Kashmir, Himachal, Rajasthan and Kerala those have proved their ability
to completely satisfy the traveler
Fun-filled Beach Holidays offers not just sun and sand but also cool
lagoons, clear waters, corals, reefs and beach resorts.
Hill Stations & Quick Getaways offer a break through a multitude of
retreats at a short distance from home.
Spiritual Retreats to Rediscover Your Soul provide excursions to various
spiritual and hallowed sites
SOTC Holidays of India has categorized all holiday packages into
Standard, First and Deluxe Class categories.
ABOUT THE COMPETITOR
Cox & Kings is the longest established travel company in the world.
At present, the COX & KINGS group has offices in UK (2 offices), USA, Japan, Germany Italy,
Turkey, Pakistan and Nepal. In India, Cox & Kings has offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai,
Bangalore, Calcutta, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Hyderabad, Pune, Goa and Jaipur and one satellite
office in Andheri in Mumbai and Gurgaon.
Thomas Cook is one of the world's leading international travel and financial services groups and
serves over 20 million customers a year. They provide services to customers at 4,500 locations in
more than 100 countries and employee over 20,000 people.
The Thomas Cook Holiday comes with a 150-year-old guarantee of eternally sunlit memories.
They couldn't expect any less from the people who invented travel for leisure. They offer the
world's most enjoyable holidays, to exotic destinations in India and abroad where everything is
taken care of from beginning to end.
Established in 1984, Kesari Tours is a premium travel company, which offers world-class
holidays in India and around the world. Kesari have perfected their tour itineraries to meet the
special needs of the Indian tourist abroad. The motto of organization is 'No compromise on
quality'. At Kesari Tours, they have made a motto that if they make a promise to their
customers, they honor it. They believe in honest, transparent deals. No hidden costs and no
compromise on sightseeing. They strive for 100% satisfaction of tourists. The company enjoys
an immense goodwill. That's what they earned out of their beliefs
A passion for Travel & a vision for creating innovative travel packages were the two driving
forces saw the beginning of a Travel Company in a very modest way in Mumbai’s Masjid
Bunder.
The tremendous success & satisfaction of their tours paved way for Raj to hold its banner high &
it continues to do so till date. They are proud to say that year after year they have improved on
the product, adding new destinations, new attractions, pro-active marketing, & building customer
confidence.
• Indian society is increasingly being driven by consumerism. Foreign holidays are becoming
more of an aspiration. As a result, the society- conscious Indian is making an international
holiday an essential part of his/her annual plan.
• As the average Indian’s spending power has gone up, so too has his interest in overseas travel
and the willingness to spend money the rise in disposable incomes has led to more families
opting for annual foreign holidays with a large number of international airlines entering the
Indian
skies, there has been a rise in capacity. Air fares too have become more
competitive, thereby benefiting the customer.
• Over the last few years, there has been stability in tour prices and increase in value-added offers
such as ‘Holiday now, Pay later’, ‘Take your Partner Free’ Holiday Vouchers, etc. So overall, a
booming economy, affordable air fares, better connectivity, increased seat capacities, and a
prospering middleclass have together contributed to the large number of holiday-seekers
OUTBOUND TOURISM
Outbound tourism is growing at the rate of 25% touching 6.2 million in 2006-07 booking
increased to 30% compared to the corresponding period in the previous year Domestic tourism
has also witnessed an annual growth of 20% from 2006 to 2007.
POPULAR SEGMENTS
Two segments in domestic tourism which have been showing exceptional upward turn are
Medical tourism and adventure tourism. India is rapidly growing into a major health destination,
targeting one million additional medical tourists by 2010. These arrivals are expected to increase
foreign exchange up to Rs. 5000-10000 crore.
India has also become known for adventure tourism with the excellent facilities that it offers for
Water sports, Trekking, rock Climbing, mountaineering, Aero sports, Safaris, Motor Sports etc.
Two million tourists are participating in adventure tourism annually. The market is growing at
35% but given the right impetus, it can attract another half a million foreign adventure tourists
and the domestic adventure tourism market can see a 10-fold growth in the next five years
Are issued for the duration of the academic course of study or for a period of five years
whichever is less, on the basis of firm letters of admission from universities / recognized colleges
or educational institution in India. Change of purpose and institutions are not permissible.
3)-Transit Visa
Are issued for a maximum period of 15 days with single / double entry
facilities to bona fide transit passengers only.
4)-Visa To Missionaries
Are valid for single entry and duration as permitted by government of India. A letter in triplicate
from sponsoring organization indicating intended destination in India, probable length of stay
and nature of duties to be discharged should be submitted along with guarantee for applicant’s
maintenance while in India.
5)-Journalist Visa
Are issued to professional journalists and photographers for visiting India. The applicant are
required to contact on arrival in New Delhi, the external publicity division of the ministry of
external affairs and in other places, the office of the government of India’s Press Information
bureaus.
6)-Conference Visa
Are issued for attending conferences / seminars / meeting in India. A letter of invitation from the
organizer of the conference is to be submitted along with the visa application. Delegates coming
to attend conference may combine tourism with attending conferences.
7)-Employment Visa
Are issued to skilled and qualified professionals or person who are engaged or appointed by the
companies, organizations, economic undertakings a technicians technical export, senior
executives, etc. Applicants are required to submit proof of contract / employment / engagement
of foreigner nationals by the company or organization. Initially granted for a period of one year,
it can be extended in India up to the period of contract.
8)-Collective Visa
The facility also exists for the issues of collective visas to group tours consisting of not less than
four members and sponsored by a travel agency recognized by the government of India. Such
groups may split into smaller groups for visiting different places in India after ob
obtaining a
Tourists may note the no Landing Permit Facility is available to any foreign tourist landing
without a visa. A limited facility exists only for groups tours consisting of four or more members
and sponsored by a travel agency recognized by the Government of India. Children of foreigners
of Indian origin below the age of 12 may be granted a landing permit by the immigration
authorities up to a period of 90 days to see their relatives, in case they happen to come without a
visa.
TOURIST GROUPS
A tourists group arriving by air, ship or by a chartered or scheduled flight may be granted a
collective landing permit for a period of up to 30 days by the immigration authorities on landing,
provided the group is sponsored by a recognized travel agency and a pre- drawn itinerary is
presented along with details of passport etc. of the members, and travel agency gives an
undertaking to conduct the group together.
FORMALITIES
Arrival Formalities
If the visa, for stay in India, is for more than 180 days, a Registration Certificate and Residential
Permit should be obtained from the nearest Foreigners’ Registration office within 15 days of
arrival. All persons including Indian nationals are required to fill in a Disembarkation Card, at
the time of arrival. Four photographs are also required for registration. The foreigners registered
at Foreigners’ Registration Office are required to report change of their addresses.
Every foreigner who is about to depart finally from India shall surrender his Certificate of
registration either to the Registration Officer of the place where he is registered or of the place
from where he intends to depart or to the Immigration Officer at the Port/ Check post of exit
from India.
2)-Are you aware about that SOTC is the largest tour and travel company of India for?
3- Have you ever taken the services of SOTC?
Are yo