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Travel and tourism industry is witnessing a huge growth in current time. One of the leading Travel Financial Services Company Thomas Cook is looking to spread its wing across India. They are looking to invest INR 300 million by 2020.
The company is aiming to expand its network of 175 branches to 225 outlets, including franchisee-owned centres.
Recently, Thomas cook has opened a new outlet in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh and are planning to start 6-8 new outlets to add its current tally of 10 consumer accesses: company-owned and franchise outlets.
Potential in Lucknow
The company’s internal data highlighted the Lucknow region as a high potential source market for holiday businesses. Uttar Pradesh is poised for more business travel, following the state government's focus on attracting investment through infrastructure development and investor summits.
Romil Pant, Thomas Cook senior vice-president (leisure travel, said, “The 'bleisure' (mix of business and leisure tourism) segment is likely to grow fast in the state, particularly Lucknow, which has over the past few years witnessed the entry of big hotel chains and the upgrading of its airport."
Thus, for harnessing this opportunity, Thomas Cook is planning to expand in Uttar Pradesh region.
Connectivity
The Indian Government’s regional connectivity scheme (RCS), to provide direct air connectivity to smaller cities, is also fuelling the growth of both domestic and international travel in India. With the onset of RCS, people have started to explore more tourism destinations owing to ease of travel and connectivity.
“The domestic tourism market was big and there were several places still unexplored by tourists, such as the Bundelkhand region in UP. Such an initiative has resulted in 20-25 per cent of the incremental growth in the sector” said, Pant.
Future Expansion Plans
Thomas Cook has also identified the North India market as a prime growth driver since it has continued to deliver a strong growth of 32 per cent year-on-year for its leisure travel business.
For example, the temple city of Varanasi has witnessed a sudden increase in tourism after it became PM Modi’s parliament constituency.
