Travel Brands. What is the key brand differenciator ?

The market is buzzing across all media with travel brands yelling from the top announcing the various offers and schemes enticing the Indian consumer to go on a holiday abroad this summer vacation. Interestingly the outbound, domestic and the inbound tourism have shown a significant growth over past few years thanks to the booming economy and availability of sizable disposable incomes. According to industry estimates the combined travel market is hovering around over 330 million. The growth projection is around 15 million by 2010. Currently the Indian traveler has various choices available to plan his travel ranging from online to offline or directly talking to hotels and airlines and working out his travel plan. In the good old days one needs to work out one’s plan well in advance to visit any place either domestic or international but today that gap has been minimized and one can plan a quick holiday thanks to several new travel company brands which are offering great services under one roof for holidays both in India and overseas. The aggressive advertising campaign from most of these travel brand starts by end December or early Jan. The strategy is plain and simple i.e. cash on the traveler who plan to go to Europe on a long summer vacation. Typically any holiday travel in India is segmented into two ie summer and winter. The main summer season is the time when most travelers visit Europe as the weather is comfortable and the family has a long summer vacation in India. During winter most traveler would plan a short trip to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Mauritius when there are holidays for Dassera and Diwali in our country.
Factors that influence to decide the destination:
Most family household invariably decides on the dinning table with the rest of the members as to which foreign destination one should visit for their holidays. Since it is only while dining in the night the family come together and meet the decision is taken then and there and is unanimous. The women folks who constantly meet at kitty parities are another key influencers to use their meeting forum to chalk out their plan for going on a holiday abroad. Most of these women come from affluent and neo rich families who pester their husband to go once a year for an exotic holiday in groups. Typically the first time prospect is a bit more cautious. He or she seeks more knowledge from either friends or a neighbourhood travel company before deciding the destination and the travel operator. The power of word of mouth further plays a key role here. Discovering new places and new ways of leisure has also encouraged the new Indian consumer to visit places which offer spa, leisure sports, formulae one racing and adventure sports. While wearing the best labels and owning the best cars is one way of expressing your status in the society but visiting exotic foreign spots has now become a status statement amongst many corporates and entrepreneurs.
What is the brand differentiator ?
The travel brands like SOTC, Cox & Kings, and Thomas Cook with national presence have been aggressively marketing their brands with high decibel advertising. Interestingly most of these brands spend their major monies only through daily press with full-page colour advertisement shouting with all kind of discounts and offers. There is a very thin line of difference between them as the market is driven by price and the best deals the brand is offering. The campaign is very response oriented and with strong back end support to convert the phone calls which pour in non- stop when the campaign breaks. The electronic medium is used only as a support but it is press that has been dominating this category for many years. Since the prospect needs to know more about the tour details the use of television limits the brand. The advertising per says can hardly help in differentiating the brand unlike the impulse products. But the huge full page advertisement in colour in prominent position helps building some credibility to the brand by communicating to the audience that it is solid and reliable brand with wide network and strong international association.

The differentiation too comes from the product offerings and the value addition the brand is offering the consumer. Most of the brands have a wide choice of product offering starting from group tours, special senior citizen tours, women groups and customized travel tours. Importance is also given to food and cuisine so that the traveller enjoys his holidays without missing his dhoklas, rotis, puris and idlis as special chefs are appointed to cook the delicious Indian recipes at the destinations.
Infact some of the brands offer separate Jain groups for the 100% vegetarian customers. The little extras that come as a surprise plays a very key role in choosing a particular brand. Even the type of escort or guide for the tour can help in having a cutting edge to differentiate the brand. Companies tries and attract young couples with candle light dinner in Switzerland or Niagara water falls for special honeymoon packages. One company did attract by tying up with some reputed TV celebrities to be part of the group tour there by feeling elated with company of the celebrities. Even some reputed brands offer special golf holidays. While your wife goes shopping you can just enjoy an exciting game of golf in some of the best golf courses. But in the end in this category where human touch and service is of essence the brand will be known and get favourable only after traveller’s experience, especially amongst the first time traveller.
Customer expectations from travel brand:
The Indian consumer has become very savvy and has raised the expectation bars
when it comes to planning his travel. Some of the key product features that the traveller closely examines should not have any surprises. For e.g. after reaching the destination the star or grade of the hotels should not be different from what was mentioned when the booking was made. Must get complete value for money, which means A- Z converge of the itinerary and at the same time the sight seeing and visits should not be crammed. And finally must have some time for relaxation during the tour, which will help him get his battery recharged before he returns back.

If the brand is able to meet the traveller’s expectations, which mostly happen only after the first experience with brand, then he or she is likely to stay with the brand. For some reasons the brand did not live up to the expectation the consumer will look at alternative options like online or may be personally handle the travel on his own. In this category the first time experience for the first time traveller is very important as that will ultimately clinch the preference towards the brand and at the same the traveller will act as a strong testimonial to promote the brand through word of mouth to his friends and relatives. Hence it is important for the travel company to handle the first time traveller with kid gloves so that the experience one counters is memorable and filled with fun and joy to get the consumer bonded with the brand forever. All us of know in any service brand it is sheer experience that one comes across clinches the consumer and therefore it is crucial to keep the service and product offerings to highest level to retain the loyalist and win new customers.
Forceful communication definitely helps in building strong awareness and credibility for the brands to get the prospect into the consideration set. However in the final analysis it is the best deals, customer satisfaction, and peace of mind travel with unforgettable experiences will what keep the flag of the brand fluttering.