All businesses need: Marketing Strategy to ensure that they can get a profitable volume of orders for what hey offer, at a remunerative price. Technology Strategy to select the most appropriate technology, obtain the requisite know-how and implement it in their business. Operational Strategy to carry out operations at low enough costs while ensuring that they can deliver a quality product or service to their customers. Human Resource Strategy to hire, train, develop and retain people, equipped to handle the varied tasks involved in running the business with the required degree of competence.
These options serve as the basic framework for creating a marketing strategy along with business strategy of the firm. The travel company Virgin travel international (HTH) is planning to start its operation this year, which will serve products and services in the travel industry. The company will provide its services to the domestic and international tourists. The Dream line has the intention to provide both individual and group travel facilities to the cities in UK to the cities in India.
The services that will be included in the package of the tour will include pre-arranges tours, custom packages according to client’s specifications, travel consultation, and as time progresses making reservations for lodging amongst other related services. The travel company Virgin travel international is planning to have a competitive edge over other travel businesses by implementing a differential strategy by giving a premium services as the premier international online travel agent within UK.
The company ensures its clients and aims to provide its clients with the lowest possible fares. The company also aims for certain goals to be achieved over next three years. The plans to be followed are as follows. Sales of $650,000 by year three. B) Maintain margins of 10% on all train travel. Achieve 15% of sales over the internet from online travel agency. To develop tragic alliances and partnerships with service providers in both national and international markets, and in the Woodpile area.
To achieve the aimed goals the H TTL needs to give attention to major three things that are as follows. They need to have effective segmentation strategies and target market in order to have focus on the targeted customers with the travel and tourism industry. They need to position themselves by making its brand positioning in a way that people pursuit them as a travel specialists.Communication strategy is very important in order to make the customer aware of the differentiation and nominative advantage. They need to develop their customer base to maintain and retain the loyal customers. Methodology According to the study of Saunders the research approach is the philosophy behind the methods applied in order to collect information related to the topic of the study. There are three main paradigms on the basis of which the approach of the study is defined; these are positivism or post positivism, constructivism and idealism.
The research questions mentioned earlier in the study are important for setting the approach of the research so that we are blew to investigate the role of online traveling agents first and then providing a comparative analysis of traditional and online traveling agents. It is important for the researchers that they should adopt an approach that is interrelated with the information included in the literature review and thus, facilitate us in using quantitative data so that we are able to achieve the aims and objectives of the study.
The research approach adopted for the current study is based on idealism, which is also known as post- positivism. The post-positivism approach will provide an appropriate method for including data that will enable us in ending out the scope of online agents within the tourism of a country. Moreover, this research approach will also facilitate us in investigating the reasons due to which there is an increase in the scope of online traveling agents especially within the tourism industry of India. The research strategy adopted for the study is based on a mixed research methodology.
The information generated from primary and secondary sources is included in the form of qualitative and quantitative data. According to the study of Crewel (2003) the mixed methodological approach is based upon the idealism paradigm, which enables s in ensuring that the quantitative analysis included in the study is based on accurate data, and closely related to the research topic. The research included a combination of qualitative along with quantitative data that has been conducted by collecting the data from secondary resources.
There are several means of collecting qualitative forms of data on the research topic that is to identify the scope of online traveling agents and scope of online traveling agents within the economy of India. However, there are several secondary sources of data collection through which information is gathered which includes business urinals, articles related to role of online traveling agents, magazines and through many other Internet sources. There are several benefits associated with the mixed approach strategy used for the research.
The secondary data collected is a mixture of past and present data that will provide information related to the topic chosen for the study. The secondary sources chosen for the study will also take into consideration previous literature that is available on different Internet sources and published in journals that will help in developing a better data analysis related to the scope of online traveling agents within the ours industry of India (Baker, 2003). Moreover, the strategy adopted for this study is also related to the inclusion of quantifiable information related to the topic of the study.
The quantitative method overcomes the weaknesses faced by the researchers while using qualitative methodology in order to conclude findings of the research. Therefore, a mixed approach has enable us in drawing better conclusions for our study so that we can provide our view that whether hypothesis designed for the study is either accepted or rejected. Literature Review Fuel Cost The fuel prices are determined by the crude oil prices. In order to produce fuel ND other petroleum products, the main raw material used is crude oil. Chevron Corp. The prices of crude oil are determined by the market force of demand and supply. If there are grows in demand or disruptions in supply of crude oil, then the market will adjust by increasing the price of crude oil, subjected to the changes in demand or supply. One of the most recognizable causes of fluctuation in fuel prices is disruptions in the supply of crude oil in the market.
Political instability is one of the factors. Majority of oil producer countries are in the emerging regions, where disruptions in supply of crude oil always happened ND affecting the price. Chevron Corp., NINA) Besides, shortages of supply can be resulted from a sudden refinery outage or maintenance and pipeline problems. On the other hand, the rise in the price of crude oil is caused by the increase in international energy demand driven by strong long term economic growth especially in non-COOED countries. According to the U. S. Energy Information Administration, make a projection that in between 2006 to 2030, there will be a dramatic increase of 44% in the total world consumption of energy. Adding together political instability, disruptions in the supply and growing emend for crude oil cause the price of fuel to be volatile. (awe). To manage train s companies, the management will try to minimize any cost associates with the company. According to Air Transport Association, 25. 4% of train s operating expenses were contributed by fuel. As the fuel price becoming increasingly volatile, train s industries will face risk in rising fuel price and one of the ways to get rid of the risk is by hedging the fuel price.
Hedging is a risk management tool that allows train s to lock in a price for fuel and protect them from the risk of soaring fuel price in future. Nearer Kapok, Go Air spokesperson commented that aviation fuel pricing in certain region like India does not favor hedging, but recent hike in fuel price make them reconsider on hedging their fuel. On the other hand, South West Train s, which hedged about 70% of its fuel, got to consume it at a lower price of $51 a barrel, compared to the market price of $135 per barrel. Besides hedging, train s usually will increase the price of its fuel surcharge. Fuel levy or fuel surcharge is the additional cost to the fare, imposed on per ticket basis in order to retrieve the rising price of the eel. As for example, Virgin Blue had decided to follow Santa action of increasing fuel surcharges due to the spike in global fuel prices. In short, an train s company could avoid the surge of global fuel prices by either hedge the fuel price with any hedging instrument such as options or increase the fuel surcharge on the passenger.
New Technologies Over the years technology has evolved faster than ever before, as a result it has made many travelers or tourists all around the world much more technology savvy in comparison with the past. Internet has revolutionized the tourism industry more than any other sector within the economy of India. Also, many people are concerned with having an access of information available online, there are increasing number of tourists that are seeking information through various facilities provided by online agents in order to make their traveling decisions. Hence, it has become an important factor for tourism industry that they must facilitate and encouraging establishment of online agents within their economy. It is also important that online agents are able to higher employees that are able to practice and use skills on the basis f which these individuals are able to respond towards the change occurring in the customer behavior.
An online agent provides authorized facilities to the consumers by using e-commerce and M-commerce in order to provide products and services. Online agents have added value to the existing business. It pertain consumers to conduct different business transactions in which different parties i. E. Organizations, consumers and agents interact electronically in order to conduct transactions which includes buying and selling of goods and services. It has been found that online agents are described as the use f electronic communication and digital information which processes technology during business transactions in order to create, transform and redevelop relationships for creating value between and among organizations or among organizations with individuals all over the world. For example Hyatt.
Mom is one of the leading online traveling agents in India and has its offices in different cities of a country. As one of the leading traveling online agents, they are able to have an access to some of the best hotel rates, they are tied up with some of the top resorts, airlines and ground transport so that they are able to provide customers tit the best services against their value of money. Hyatt. Com in comparison to other online agents have been able to acquire in-depth knowledge of the industry which further help them to ensure that not even one moment of your precious time is being wasted. Recent, rise of the internet is some of the significant issues within the tourism industry of India.
Especially, traditional traveling agents look frightened towards the latest developments with this field because some of the analysts have predicted that there will be no future travel agents as consumers will be turning towards online agents for asking their traveling arrangements. From 2002 onwards it has been found that there will be an increase in the growth of tourism industry due to an increase in use of online agents from different countries in the world. Thus, there is a lot of possibility that travel agents will be completely be replaced with the cyber or online agents especially within the tourism of a country. Consequently, online agents have played an integral part in developing the industry and satisfying the customers. Findings and Critical Evaluation The findings of the study reveal that all the recent developments and initiatives as had a huge impact on the daily lives of tourism professionals across the continent.
Far more important have been other legislation and initiatives in other policy areas that touch on tourism. Of the recent innovations, it is the new treaty paper that has the most potential to change this. For all the vagueness of the wording, there does now seem to be a commitment at European level to take the sector more seriously. If these developments help those involved in the sector to put across their messages about the need for true co-ordination, a legislative light touch and responsiveness to market and consumer needs, useful progress ill have been made.
However, sector representatives will also be watching developments very closely for signs of the sector’s new ‘official’ status being used as a pretext for political interference and new legislation which will hamper its ability to provide the services its customers want. Officialdom’s interpretation of the new treaty reference to a ‘favorable environment for the development of undertakings’ may well not be the same as that of the undertakings themselves. Sustainability must be seen to be about economics as well as the environment. Conclusion and Recommendations
From the above discussion we concluded that the marketing strategies of Virgin trains is well planned and executed and some strategic issues which are applied to the company to achieve good market in the airlines business which are done in practical manner. We concluded that the rain air airlines is number 1 in Europe continent and most respect company in the world which maintain strategies according to customer needs and maintain health and security precautions for both passengers and employees. Virgin trains has lot of problems that the people are not satisfied with the offers and extra charges which are held in baggage and food.
Ryan air also extracts some advantages like low cost air tickets, Security, Service. Some of the problems with Virgin trains are cancellation of tickets will be done when conditions apply when compared to other airlines and extra charges on Luggage and more taxes and vat which altogether comes to the cost of other airlines and more passengers are UN satisfied about their journey and at one time Michael says that the Virgin trains are charging El for using toilets which brings bad impression on the airline.
