With more than 85 millions foreign tourist and 75% of the 66 millions resident that travel regularly, on average they travel 4,9 times a year (https://www.globe-trotting.com) , France is a very huge market for travel agency but a huge market also means a very competitive niche. Promovacances, FRAM and Thomas Cook are the most famous and biggest travel agency in France. But with the rise of the Internet, the biggest competitor are all the travel agency that turns their business model around e-commerce like Booking.com, Tripadvisor or Oui.SNCF because it is easier for people to prepare their trips online at home rather than going to a physical agency, but also because they respond to a new need : flexibility and cheaper.
Statistics from https://www.trekksoft.com showing the market share between online booking and booking through a travel agency
With so much competition, brands need to implement tactics and strategies to stand out from the competition if they want to prosper and last for the long term. Some brand tries to stand out from the price (lower), through features, better customer services…
Let’s see how Thomas Cook is trying to stand out in such a difficult market. Thomas Cook Group PLC is one of the world’s leading travel companies with an annual sales exceeding £8 billion and 22 million customers. If the company has still maintained his place of top travel company for several years is because they have different advantages on their competitors.
Thomas Cook has the advantage of experience and popularity, indeed, Thomas Cook is the oldest travel agency in the world (created in 1841) and it is a major factor to create trustworthiness and acquire new customers.
The second advantage they have is their customer service. They put the client at the core of their activities and implement strategies to make the traveling experience better : they have 24/7 customer service and they sign partnership with hotels and cruises like Kanika Hotels and P&O Cruises. These partnerships give them an advantage on their competitor in term of price, because it allows them to create package traveling (e.g : flight + hotel) at a better price for their customers but also for them, increasing their profit margins.
Another advantage they have over their competition is their ability to consistently innovate. They always look for ways to make things better, anticipate new needs. For example, in 2015, they have renovated their stores : they change the design, the merchandising, they put screens to board them onto traveling as soon as they get into the stores. So they really tried to optimize the consumer experience and touch a new target. Innovating products or services not only brings new customers, it also gives the existing customers to stay loyal and buy another product (it decreases the amount spend on marketing because they have organic traffic).
Thomas Cook understood the new needs of customers (flexibility) and they successfully adapted their strategy to it : they provide customization and options for their holiday package, adaptable to the customer needs and requirements. One thing that Thomas Cook own and most of their competitors don’t is their presence in other domains : flights (Thomas Cook Airlines), hotels (Thomas Cook Hotels & Resorts), ect … Being present in these sectors increase their perceived value, it position them as a complete travel company because they provide customers with different services.
Screenshot from Thomas Cook website showing the advantage of their partnerships (create cheaper and better offer)
They have a different marketing strategy than their competitor, indeed they choose to increase their brand awareness by associating with international sporting events like the London Olympics in 2012.
Finally, having more than 20 000 employees, 2957 stores and more than 200 hotels all around the world is another way to increase their brand awareness, indeed, having your brand all around the world strengthen your image of a big company (especially when it is a travel agency).
With all these factors, it is clear that Thomas Cook has huge competitive advantages and that’s why they kept their places as one of the top leading travel company over several years.
Vincent TIENG
Sources :
https://www.trekksoft.com/en/blog/65-travel-tourism-statistics-for-2019
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