Sahara Care House SIP Report

An Analysis of Consumer Behaviour

towards Major Tour & Travel Operators

with respect to Sahara Care House

A report submitted towards the partial fulfillment of the requirements of the two years full-time

Post Graduate Diploma in Management.

Submitted by: Simayan Pati

Post Graduate Diploma in Management

Roll No.: 2K92A45

2009-11

ASIA-PACIFIC INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

3 & 4, institutional Area, Jasola, New Delhi 110025

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This journey into project methodology would have been a travesty had it not been for the

guidance, assistance, encouragement and moral support from many. It would be unjust if I do not

commence this study by acknowledging their efforts. I would like to express my gratitude to all

those who gave me the possibility to complete this Summer Internship Project report. I would

like to thank Asia-Pacific Institution of Management, Sahara Care House and Akiko Marketing

Solutions.

I am deeply indebted to my supervisors Mr. Anubhav Chaudhary, Head Business Development

of Akiko Marketing Solutions and Ms.Shyama Labh from Asia-Pacific Institution of

Management for their valuable guidance, stimulating suggestions, patience and for encouraging

me to go ahead with my project report. I would also like to thank all the employees of Sahara

Care House and Akiko Marketing Solutions for their help, guidance and support.

I want to thank all the faculties and my friends in Asia-Pacific Institution of Management for their

help support, interest and valuable hints during my project. I would like to give my regards &

thanks to my parents and my younger brother, especially, I would like to give my special thanks

to my Mom cause of her love, patience, motivations and encouragements during my career,

study and life.

Simayan Pati

Page 2

DECLARATION

This is to certify that the Summer Internship Project titled “An Analysis of Consumer

Behaviour towards Major Tour & Travel Operators with respect to Sahara Care House”

prepared by me is an original work and that this work has not been submitted to Asia-Pacific

Institute of Management or elsewhere in any form. My indebtedness to other works/publications

has been duly acknowledged at relevant places & in the bibliography. The project work was

carried during the period April 19, 2010 to June 19, 2010 in Sahara Care House.

_________________________

Simayan Pati

2K92A45

Date:

Place:

Page 3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The offerings of various players in the online travel space are largely undifferentiated, with

price playing a crucial role in consumer selection of an online site. The article deals with

research and analysis about consumer perception & behaviour about major tour & travel

operators and online travel sites with respect to Sahara Care House. Key factors that influence

their choice and usage, and consumer expectations with respect to booking their travel online

were found during the research. On basis of research findings, recommendations regarding

product concepts and features are given.

Sahara Care House, a Sahara Services Ltd. subsidiary has a unique range of services at very low

prices than other competitors in the market. All these services are provided by various

membership plans. One of them is providing online tour & travel franchisee of Sahara Global

(Tour & Travel arm of Sahara Services Ltd.). It was found that Sahara care house doesn’t has

any recognition in the market. People are totally unaware of Sahara Care House & its facilities

& services.

As per the current scenario of Indian online tour & travel industry there are a lot of players

already present in the market & the margin is very low. What the customer finds is better price

deal, reliability & assurance. Sahara Care house needs a very good strategy to make people

aware of it’s about its services & facilities to become a successful player in the market.

In this project An Analysis of Consumer Behaviour towards Major Tour & Travel Operators

with respect to Sahara Care House has been done by proper marketing research, studying

customers’ need & their perception about online tours & travel portals.

It was found though having low price model, competitive business model, a range of unique

services Sahara Care House no recognition & awareness in the market.

To become a successful player in the field of Indian services sector a proper awareness &

promotional campaign is strongly recommended for Sahara care House.

Page 4

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENT..............................................................................................................................2

DECLARATION..........................................................................................................................................3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..........................................................................................................................4

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................7

1.1 Background.........................................................................................................................................7

1.2 Rationale of the study.........................................................................................................................7

1.3 Scope...................................................................................................................................................8

1.4 Company’s profile: Sahara India Pariwar...........................................................................................9

1.4.1 Overview of the Company.........................................................................................................10

1.4.2 Profit Sharing.............................................................................................................................11

1.4.3 Structure of Sahara India Business............................................................................................11

1.5 Sahara Care House............................................................................................................................12

1.5.1 Company Profile........................................................................................................................12

1.5.2 Objective....................................................................................................................................13

1.5.3 Business Ethos...........................................................................................................................13

1.5.4 Sahara Care House Services......................................................................................................13

1.5.5 Attributes of the Membership Plans..........................................................................................14

1.5.6 Concierge Services at a glance..................................................................................................16

1.5.7 Sahara Care House Membership Plans\.....................................................................................18

1.6 Sahara Global....................................................................................................................................23

1.6.1 Company Profile........................................................................................................................23

1.6.2 Explanation of Logo Colour......................................................................................................24

Chapter 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE...................................................................................................25

2.1 Indian Consumers & their Behaviour:..............................................................................................25

2.2 Online Travel Market in India..........................................................................................................26

2.3 Growth Drivers.................................................................................................................................27

2.4 Current Market Scenario of Online Tours & Travel Portals & Agencies........................................29

Chapter 3: OBJECTIVE OF STUDY.........................................................................................................33

3.1 Primary Objective.............................................................................................................................33

3.2 Secondary Objectives:......................................................................................................................33

Chapter 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.............................................................................................34

4.1 Primary Research..............................................................................................................................34

Page 5

4.2 Secondary Research..........................................................................................................................35

4.3 Design Considerations......................................................................................................................35

4.4 Questionnaire Development.............................................................................................................35

Chapter 5: OBSERVATION, ANALYSIS & DISCUSSION....................................................................36

5.1 Findings & Analysis.........................................................................................................................36

5.1.1 Questionnaire Survey.....................................................................................................................36

5.1.2 Cross Tabulation........................................................................................................................43

5.2 Comparison of Sahara Care House with other major players...........................................................46

5.2.1 Comparison between Sahara Care House Vacation Voucher & Club Mahindra Holidays:......46

5.2.2 Comparison of Sahara Care House (Sahara Global travel agent) with other major players.....47

5.2.3 Comparison of Sahara Care House (Sahara Global travel agent) with other major players regarding Thailand tour......................................................................................................................48

5.3 SWOT Analysis................................................................................................................................49

5.4 Michael Porter’s Five Force Model..................................................................................................50

Chapter 6: Recommendations & Conclusion.............................................................................................52

6.1 Recommendations.............................................................................................................................52

6.2 Limitations........................................................................................................................................53

6.3 Conclusion........................................................................................................................................53

Chapter 8: Bibliography.............................................................................................................................54

8.1 Books................................................................................................................................................54

8.2 Web...................................................................................................................................................54

APPENDIX.................................................................................................................................................55

Page 6

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Online travelling is the newest addition to the travelling ecosystem in India. The advent and

proliferation of computers, coupled with the increasingly acceptable leveraging of the Internet

has caused some major changes in the travel industry.

Online travelling in India is yet at a very nascent stage. Travelling has not been a focus area but

merely another application for engaging users when they are looking out for some quick results.

The engagement level of most users has also been low with infrequent usage and loyalty.

However all this is changing with the spotlight sharply focused on complete travel booking. The

traditional means of procuring airline tickets and associate travel arrangements are rapidly

changing. These changes are primarily being facilitated by Internet travel marketplaces (such as

makemytrip.com, yatra.com, etc) that claim to provide an easier, less expensive alternative to

traditional methods of ticket procurement without sacrificing service quality. If travel

marketplaces are to be successful then they need to understand their customers and what the

motivations behind their actions are, when it comes to shopping for discount travel.

This project aims to report a descriptive study that investigated the perceptions of consumers in

New Delhi for online travel and online travel portals with respect to Sahara Care House.

1.2 Rationale of the study

Online consumer behaviour is a broad and interesting area of study that can benefit

organizations in their efforts to market and sell travel products and services online. As

consumers’ perceptions and attitude towards online travelling is a prominent factor affecting

actual buying behaviour, this research has tried to investigate a modest part of that area.

Moreover due to increasing players in online travel industry, the consumers have different

preferences and perceptions regarding them.

Page 7

Thus the research was carried out with the following objectives:

1. To understand the perceptions and attitude of internet users related to online travel and

ticket booking.

2. To analyze the customers’ perceived importance of attributes related to online travel

portals.

3. To compare customers’ perceptions on several dimensions related to prominent online

travel portals with respect to Sahara Care House (Membership of “Sahara Global” travel

agent)

1.3 Scope

Despite the growing importance of the internet as an information source for prospective

travellers, as a marketing tool and as a way of doing business, there is a general lack of

information related to perceptions of travellers for online travel products and services.

Understanding their attitude is also of critical importance to travel marketers in formulating

appropriate marketing strategies so as to fully exploit the developing potential of this new

channel.

Literature review revealed that researchers have tried to study online consumer shopping

behaviour in general but no such specific study to understand consumers’ perceptions related to

online travel has yet been done. Thus, the study will provide insights about the Internet users’

feelings towards information seeking and online travel booking and also help to know their

experience, level of satisfaction and purchase intention in future. Thus the research study would

be useful to Sahara Care House to develop appropriate strategies to enhance and promote e-

booking to future users while retaining existing customers and also to researchers as well as

academicians conducting research in this area in providing future direction.

Page 8

1.4 Company’s profile: Sahara India Pariwar

Sahara India- a corporate, which believe that quality, is never an accident it is a result of

planning, team work and a commitment of excellence. Sahara India Pariwar is a multi-business

conglomerate with diversified business interest that includes finance, real estate, media &

entertainment, tourism & hospitality, and service & trading.

Sahara India Pariwar

Year1978 in Gorakhpur, India

2005, headquarter in

Lucknow, India

Workers 3 9.10 lakh

Dependents 15 45.50 lakh

Asset 2000 Rs. Over 50,000 crore

Establishments 1 1707

No Trade union

No owner

Page 9

1.4.1 Overview of the Company

Sahara India Pariwar is a major entity on the corporate scene having diversified business

interests that include Financial Services, Infrastructure and Housing, Media and Entertainment,

Retail Chain, Tourism and Hospitality, Manufacturing, Services and Trading.

Sahara India Pariwar is one of India's largest business conglomerates with an asset base of over

USD 10.87 billion. With a workforce of over 910,000 workers, it has a consumer base of nearly

90 million and 1707 offices across the country.

Important points

The employees at Sahara India Pariwar greet each other by saying “Sahara Pranam”

Every year, republic day and Independence Day is celebrated as Bharat Parv (national

festival) and Sahara India Pariwar celebrates it as the biggest event of the Pariwar (family).

Sahara India Pariwar has been the official sponsors of the Indian cricket team and Indian

hockey team.

Sahara India Pariwar in often referred as the world’s largest family

910,000 workers/ employees and no trade union

Its five star hostel ‘Sahara Star’ near Mumbai airport has the world’s largest pillar less clear-

to-sky dome of its kind

Holds the Guinness world record for planting 125,256 trees by 1400 volunteers in 6 hours

and 35 minutes 0n 5th June 1988 at Amby Valley city

Hold the record in India for 25%-50% hike in the gross salary of all of its employees at one

go.

Conducts mass marriage ceremony of 101 underprivileged girls every year

Subrato Roy Sahara is also referred as “Saharasri”

Page 10

1.4.2 Profit Sharing

1.4.3 Structure of Sahara India

Business

Page 11

SAHARA INDIA PARIWAR

Business

Finance

Para banking

Life Insurance

Mutual Fund

Housing Finance

Infrastructure & Housing

Hill City

Mega Quality

Townships

Hotels

Hospitals

Residential &

Commercial Project

Media & Entertainmen

t

Entertainment

Channel

Movie Channel

Cinema Production

Cinema Halls

News

Consumer Product

Consumer Product &

Retail Chain

Manufacturing

Jute Project

Handicraft Promotion

Service & Trading

Sahara Next

Sahara Care House

Travel & tourism

Sahara Global

1.5 Sahara Care House

1.5.1 Company Profile

Sahara Care House is an emotionally driven commercial enterprise offering various services for

Global Indians, who are settled overseas but have family and friends in India. Sahara Care

House is part of the Sahara India Pariwar.

As they say “We understand the value of relationships, So we personalise our services for

you…”

Sahara Care House, a single window service platform offering more than 5000 products and 60

services for Indians residing overseas (NRIs and PIOs) on 27th March 2006.

It offers many opportunities to reach out to their loved ones through a bouquet of attractive

services in 197 cities across India. Its services are rendered by 3500 dedicated Relationship

Ambassadors who are on call 24x365 to assist the customers and make their loved ones in India

feel that they genuinely care for their well being.

Anyone can avail these services by either becoming a member or transacting as a guest. The

services cater to the requirements for just about anything that needs to be done for them, their

families and friends in India. It is an exclusive NRI service and concierge service portal

designed to help NRIs extend a helping hand to their family members and loved ones in India.

Rather than simply sending money at home, NRIs can assist their family members in emergency

or routine life by selecting from our variety of products and services categorized under

Healthcare, Personalized, Utility and Shopping Services. Under these four verticals Non-

resident Indian (NRIs) may request for bill payments, property management, legal and taxation

services, school or college admission information service, travel and leisure, visit by

Relationship Ambassador and other specialized concierge services. Guests may also take care of

their loved one's health by gifting them Individual or Preventive Healthcare Package.

After targeting the NRIs Sahara Care House initiated the services for the Indian all over 350

cities with a change in price in their range of services in 2008. Mr. Romi Dutta is the CEO of

the Company.

Page 12

1.5.2 Objective

At Sahara Care House, we believe in providing outstanding personalized services to meet the

needs of our customers worldwide and their families in India.

Our service solutions ensure convenience, value and absolute satisfaction for our customers.

1.5.3 Business Ethos

Sahara Care House has imbibed the business ethos of credibility, reliability and trust of Sahara

India Pariwar.

'Security & Transparency' – Deep-rooted ethos and culture, transparent business

processes of Sahara Care House, combined with the highest degree of

professionalism.

'Trust' – Part of a respected and well established USD 10.87 billion conglomerate of

32 businesses.

'Heritage' – History spanning 28 years, + 910,000 employees, servicing 1 out of 17

Indians.

'Reliability' – 3500 'Relationship Ambassadors' across 197 cities ensuring coverage

of entire country.

'Dedication & Commitment' – Respect for human values; sensitivity &

responsiveness to customers' needs.

Sahara Care House – We understand your values, your needs and concerns

1.5.4 Sahara Care House Services

Sahara Care house (a part of Sahara Service Ltd.) provides various membership plans for its

customer base with Concierge services as the major attribute of all plans. As Indians are not

aware & accustomed with Concierge Services, all the membership plans are redesigned by

adding either Medical/Accidental Insurance or Travel Franchisee & Value Added Services

(VAS).

With a various range of concierge services & VAS Sahara Care House can provide tough

competition to the major players in the field of Health Insurance & Tours & Travels industry.

Page 13

1.5.5 Attributes of the Membership Plans

All the plans have the same membership attributes i.e. Concierge Services, Vacation Voucher,

Sahara Care House Privilege Card, Discount on buying products from Sahara Care House

Website.

1.5.5.1 Concierge Services

Membership entitles the purchaser to avail any of our 100+ services offered at a minimum

facilitation fee. These services make the life simpler by offering a helping hand in their daily

errand.

The concierge services provided by Sahara Care House are divided in four major verticals, i.e.

i) HealthCare Services:  Complete Healthcare Services including Preventive

Healthcare Checkup, Medicine delivery, Ambulance arrangement, visit by

Consultant, Lab investigations etc.  SCH has tie-up with over 3000 network

hospitals in 197 cities across the country.

ii) Personalized Services: A personalized service includes Travel, Tax Filing

Services, Car pickups, etc. We help NRI’s and their families in customizing

their Travel and Leisure plans in India also. We are also facilitating

Matrimonial Services, Event Management, and Astrology Services etc. We

can assist members in getting information about their ancestors too by our

Family Root Search Service.

iii) Utility Services: Allowing Members in any part of the world to pay their

family’s Utility Bills, Property and Legal Issues, Moving and much more. It

is a service to help Member's family members and friends in their day to day

requirements.

iv) Relationship/Shopping Services: This service entitles to purchase at

discounted rates, online on the portal with vide range of over 15000 products.

Flowers, consumer products and gift purchase and delivery.

Page 14

1.5.5.2 Vacation Vouchers

This voucher entitles the member and up to 3 of his family members/friends to a vacation 52

times in a year for seven nights and eight days in 4000 + resorts across 45 countries.

Member on booking a holiday has to pay a nominal booking and maintenance charges.

(Multiple Requests for holiday weeks may also be entertained) 

Could be availed 52 times in a year

In 4000+ resorts in 45 different countries

88 resorts in INDIA (RCI AFFILIATED)

Avail up to 50 to 80% discount on lodging (50% in seasonal times and

80% in off seasons), Discount is available in 3*, 4*, 5* resorts which

are affiliated by RCI (Resort Condominium International). RCI is an

international body which has certain standards and parameters for

resorts.

1.5.5.3 Discount on SCH Website shopping

The member will be entitled to avail a discount of 10% on all the purchases made on the Sahara

Care House Website.

1.5.5.4 SCH Privilege Card

The member will be entitled to avail a discount up to 25% on 1800 outlets across India

including schools, bars, pubs, restaurants, shops, beauty parlours etc.

Page 15

1.5.6 Concierge Services at a glance

Healthcare

Services

Preventive Healthcare Packages

Master Health Check-up Plan

Regular Health Check-up Plan

Family Healthcare Plan

Executive Healthcare Plan

Antenatal Care Plan

Diabetes Care Plan

Child Care Plan

Individual Healthcare Services

Lab Investigation

Home Visit by Consultants

Medicine Delivery & ambulance arrangement

Arranging Specialist Consultations at Clinic

Relationship/Shopping Services

IPod & MP3 Players Astro Products

Jewellery Card Delivery

Kids Toys Chocolate

LCD TV Dry Fruits

Kitchen ware Electronic Gadgets

Men's Apparels Flowers & Gifts

Mobile Phones Gift Delivery

Steel Magic Home Theater & Speaker Systems

Sweets Delivery Health & Fitness

Watches Home & Lifestyle

Page 16

Page 17

1.5.7 Sahara Care House Membership Plans\

1.5.7.1 Plan B1

Membership Fee: Rs. 6666/- (inclusive all taxes)

Renewal Fee: Rs. 3499/- (yearly)

Page 18

Concierge

Services

Discount on SCH website

shopping

Vacation Voucher

Sahara Privilege

Card

1.5.7.2 Plan A

Pic: Plan A

All facilities of Plan B1

Medical Insurance: The member and his family of 3(spouse & 2 dependent children

below 21 years) are covered by medical cover for Rs 2, 00,000 under floater policy.

Cashless hospitalization

Age limit of 70 Years

No Pre Medical Test & documentation Required

Covers Pre Existing diseases(after 6 months of policy endorsement)

Maternity benefit up to Rs 15000 for first 2 children.(after 9 months of

policy endorsement)

Covers pre (up to 30 days) & post (up to 60 days) Hospitalization

expenses.

OPD expenses of 1% or Rs 2000.

Accidental Cover: This policy covers each family member against accidental death of

Rs 1, 00,000 only.

Household Cover: Burglary, Fire, Earthquake and floods—this policy covers the

household of the purchaser against burglary, Fire, Earthquake and floods etc for Rs

1,50,000.

Page 19

Healthcare Insurance

+Accidental Benefit

+Maternity Benefits

+Insurance against

any Natural or Unnatural Events

+3 Health

Supplement Sample Pack

Concierge Service

+Privilege Card

+Vacation Voucher

+Sahara Care

House Website Shopping

3 Health Supplement Health Pack

Membership Fee: Rs.11027/- (inclusive all taxes)

Renewal Fee: Rs.6617/-

Diseases, which are not covered in this plan:

Laser surgery

Cosmetic surgery

Routine dental treatment

HIV

By birth diseases

Suicidal case

Dialysis

Chemotherapy (treatment of cancer)

All the above mentioned diseases are not covered in plan-A

Maximum Room rent of the hospital that would be paid by SCH would be Rs. 5000/-

per day

Maximum ICU rent of the hospital that would be paid by SCH would be Rs. 10000/- per

day

Reimbursement of Ambulance would be of maximum 2000/- (ambulance charges would

not be cashless but would be reimbursed)

 All the reimbursement would be done within 7 days.

Page 20

1.5.7.2 Plan B

All Facilities of Plan B1

Accidental Insurance Cover:– Rs.4 Lacs for the Husband + Rs.4 Lacs for the Wife 

TOTAL SUM INSURED P.A.COVER  HOSPITALISATION

Rs.4,00,000/-  Rs.3.2 LAC Rs.80,000/-

Discount at Thyrocare diagnostics tests:–The offer includes 20% discount on all tests

done at Thyrocare for Member, Spouse and 2 children.

Free Reebok watch worth Rs. 2000/-

3 health supplements sample pack

Membership Fee: Rs. 7777/- (inclusive all taxes)

Renewal Fee: Rs.3999/-

Page 21

Accidental Benefit

+Discount on diagnostics

tests at Thryocare

+Free Reebok

Watch+

3 Health Supplement Sample Pack

Concierge Service

+Privileged

Card+

Vacation Voucher

+Sahara Care

House Website

Shopping

1.5.7.3 Plan D

All Facilities of Plan B1

Franchisee of Sahara Global, a Tour & travel arm of Sahara India Pariwar. (Lifetime

Validity).

Can book Air tickets, Hotels, resorts, Car rental, holiday packages all over the world.

The person willing to start this business will need a phone (landline or mobile),

printer & an internet connection only.

He can start this business at any place he wishes.

Can open multiple number of branches using single User Id & Password

No certain infrastructure, staffs or security deposit is needed.

Will have to pay the amount once a week to Sahara after the sale of ticket.

Huge & attractive Commission Rate on each booking.

Attractive tour packages to expand your business.

Good Incentive & rewards all over the year.

12 months subscription of Sahara Lifestyle magazine

3 health supplementary sample pack

Membership Fee: Rs.9803/- (inclusive all taxes)

Page 22

Sahara Global Travel

Franchisee(lifetime validity)

Concierge Service

+Privileged

Card+

Vacation Voucher

+Sahara Care

House Website

Shopping

Renewal Fee: No renewal is needed for Sahara Global Franchisee

Rs. 4999/-

Rs. 3499/- (no magazine, will act as Plan B1)

1.5.7.4 Plan F

All Attributes of Plan D

Thailand Package of 4N/5D

For one person on twin sharing basis.

4 meal vouchers will be issued for Dinner.

3 star Resort

Membership Fee: Rs.19999/-

Renewal Fee: No renewal is needed for Sahara Global Franchisee

Rs. 4999/-

Rs. 3499/- (no magazine, will act as Plan B1)

1.6 Sahara Global

1.6.1 Company Profile

Sahara Global is an integrated Travel & Tourism Services provider, built around service

excellence, trust and integrity, providing a memorable experience to all its customers. It believes

in creating and managing long term sustainable relationships, based on its belief of Always

More for You. The business and service architecture is seamlessly built through cutting-edge

technology, processes and a futuristic vision. Talented and dedicated teams of professionals

from the tourism and hospitality industry ensure high standards of service excellence. Mr. Romi

Dutta is the CEO of the company.

1.6.2 Explanation of Logo Colour

ORANGE  

Page 23

Means the reach of a new dawn, a new beginning. The ritual fire in the core of our being.

YELLOW

Says we will spread cheer and happiness in your life, through fulfillment of services & promises. 

INDIGO 

Epitomizes certain regality about itself, a certain attitude which is positive & promising, which

borders on being just too sure of its services, yet retaining humility.

GREEN 

Says we are here, to stay forever. We are gentle in our dealings, consistent, constant and expect

the same from us each time.

BLUE 

Runs within us. Our roots run deep, strong. We carry a certain innate style with our business, a

touch of royalty.

Page 24

Chapter 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.1 Indian Consumers & their Behaviour:

Possibly the most challenging concept in the marketing is to deal with understanding the buyer

behaviour. The attitude of Indian consumers has undergone a major transformation over the last

few years. The Indian consumer today wants to lead a life full of luxury and comfort. He wants

to live in present and does not believe in savings for the future. An important and recent

development in India’s consumerism is the emergence of the rural market for several basic

consumer goods. The Indian middle class has provided a big boost to the consumer culture

during the recent past and it is hoped that their buying behaviour will continue to change in the

coming future. Due to fast growth of the services sector per capita income of people of India is

also increasing. The number of middle class is increasing due to another fact that people are fast

shifting from agriculture to the services and industry sector where growth prospects are

reasonably high as compared to the agriculture sector which is showing slow growth. The

consumption pattern of a country depends on liberalization of economic policies, buying habits

of the younger generation, financial independence at a young age, increase in number of nuclear

families and increase in media exposure of the people. The tastes and preferences of the current

generation are changing rapidly. The current generation does not mind paying extra for better

facilities and ambience. Another major factor that has led to increased consumerism is the

growth of credit culture in India. The Indian consumer does not feel shy to purchase products on

credit and pay tomorrow for what they use or buy today. This tendency has led to a tremendous

increase in purchase of homes, cars, two-wheelers and consumer goods. The market for luxury

products in India is also climbing at an astonishing rate as compared to a decade ago when it

was almost negligible. The reason behind this is that the purchasing power of people of India is

rising very steeply. The Indian consumer today is highly aware about the product, price, quality

and the options available with him. The purchasing is done by keeping all these factors in mind.

Today, price is not the only consideration as it was a few years back when prices played a major

role in purchasing. Marketers are trying hard to capture this ever increasing Indian middle class

as they form the bulk of Indian consumers.

Page 25

2.2 Online Travel Market in India

In Travel Distribution India Summit 2008, Lemon Tree Hotel Company presented a brief on the

online market in India. According to estimates, the online travel space will acquire about 23 per

cent of the total travel in the country, which was at 11 per cent in 2007 and 15 per cent in 2008.

It is known that major travel suppliers are moving their focus on online sales as the end

consumers are increasingly booking online. The number of Internet users in India is growing at

a high pace with about a billion searches per month. No doubt, India is one of the emerging

markets for online players across the globe. This can also be proved from the improving

infrastructure facilities in India. The travel market in India is subject to a unique blend of forces

driving growth in an online channel that is projected to quadruple in just two years.

Apart from the heating online space with huge potential of increasing online users, India is also

going to become a hot cake by 2015. India is going to have the highest number of youngsters

between the age group of 0-14 years. This means, by 2030, India will become a young country,

while strong economies like Japan, US and Europe will grow old. 

According to research 1 billion searches per month goes on in India.49 million Indians are

online today in India & 100 million plus Indians will be online by 2011.Drivers on the supply

side are dovetailing with social and economic forces on the demand side to both boost online

travel adoption and enable India to leapfrog distribution technologies. The result is booming

travel demand and rapid uptake of online transaction methods.

The nearly US$14 billion travel market in India presents massive online opportunities for legacy

and startup travel companies. In a country with over one billion people, whose population is

projected to exceed that of China by 2045 according to the United Nations, the market potential

ultimately surpasses that of the U.S. and Europe combined. As far off as these sounds,

especially for a developing nation, consider that the middle class of India is expected to exceed

100 million before the end of the decade.

The Indian online leisure/unmanaged business travel market reached nearly $800 million in

2006 from less than $300 million in 2005 (see Table 1). This hot market passed $1.3 billion in

2007 and swell to over $2 billion by 2008, a nearly sevenfold increase in just three years. The

Page 26

2005 online leisure/unmanaged business travel gross bookings figure represents just 2% of the

total travel market in India (see Table 2).

Supplier direct sales dominate the online channel, led by low-cost carriers (LCCs). While online

travel agencies will not significantly diminish supplier direct share in the next three years, they

will help spur overall online travel bookings as they quadruple their share of the channel.

Traditional travel agencies will see their online share shrink dramatically. Their current role as a

bridge to the online world (mainly booking LCC flights online for clients via agency login Web

pages) will be largely displaced by the invasion of online travel agencies.

In 2005 and 2006, at least eight startups or subsidiaries of established entities have or will have

launched sites in the market, including Makemytrip, Yatra.com, Cleartrip.com and Indiatimes

Travel. With an estimated $60 million in venture capital backing online travel agencies in the

past 12 months, Travelocity India in the wings and an Expedia entry certainly not far behind,

significant investment in the online channel in India is well underway.

2.3 Growth Drivers

Travel demand has been spurred by the following contributing factors:

Sustained economic liberalization and growth

Heavy infrastructure investment

Growing middle class

Cultural disposition more attuned to travel.

Page 27

At the same time, supply factors have driven e-commerce in the travel sector, including:

i. Travel supplier partnerships with the banking industry promoting online payments

ii. Early online success of Indian Railways

iii. Emerging technology sector permitting homegrown online solutions

iv. Explosive growth of LCC traffic.

This two-pronged drive to the Internet is in sharp contrast to other travel markets in the Asia

Pacific region such as in China, Japan, Korea and Singapore, where demand is the primary force

in the development of the online channel. An early catalyst of e-commerce in India was Indian

Railways, a continuing online success. Indian Railways teamed with banks to boost online

transaction comfort levels and increase the number of electronic payment options available to

consumers. LCCs and traditional airlines are driving consumers and agents to book domestic

tickets online, with LCCs now taking nearly two fifths of all domestic air gross bookings after

less than three years of operations. There is no major market in the world in which LCCs have

grabbed so many shares from traditional travel providers in such a short period of time.

The Indian travel market and Indian travelers have been underserved, receiving poor customer

service and limited choice. Online travel agencies will rapidly change the old paradigm,

providing customers a sophisticated online retail and shopping experience, enabling access to a

fragmented travel supply market, and consolidating Indian travel options with a pan-Indian

approach.

Page 28

Indian Travel Market (US $ Million)

2.4 Current Market Scenario of Online Tours & Travel Portals & Agencies

About US$130 million has been poured into the OTA space in the last 30 months,

indicating the serious potential of online travel in the country.

The Indian domestic air market will double in size from US$3.6 billion to reach $7

billion in 2010; the market share of LCCs rose to 49% in 2008.

Indian Railways has emerged as the largest online travel Web site in APAC in

transaction volume, tracking 113,000 transactions per day.

In India, religious travel is not a niche— it is akin to leisure travel. Religious travel

accounts for almost 20% of the total trips taken by the middle class in India.

The travel problem in India is not only the air and hotel. It is the about the last mile. The

bus segment has also seen the entry of online bus aggregators like Redbus and

Ticketvala.com.

The key to success in travel retailing in India will be to understand the mini cultural

systems that operate within the larger Indian cultural framework.

The cultural diversity of India needs to be acknowledged in building a pan-Indian travel

brand.

Page 29

Secondary research indicates that India will be a $6 billion online travel market by the end of

2010. The market is growing by 60 per cent and it will grow further with higher broadband PC

and mobile penetration. Moreover supplier websites and Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) will

further drive the growth of the market.

1. There is a continued, but moderating, increase in the use of the Internet for researching

and booking tours & travel. People look to multiple sites for travel information however

if an OTA offers more convenience and flexibility, people would gradually shift to

online purchase.

2. OTAs should concentrate on the growing internet users in non-metros and increasing

money spending middle class who can be new targets for travel products and services.

3. Unlike established brick and mortar travel agencies, the new OTAs would have to spend

a good amount of money to grab a share of the consumers’ mind space. Moreover, with

increased competition, brand differentiation has become difficult and only a continuous

stream of visibility would keep an OTA in the consumers’ brand recall set.

4. It can be inferred from research that advertisements have helped to increase visibility

and awareness but to increase customer confidence opinion leadership should be created.

Word-of-mouth or buzz marketing would play a very important role in this type of

service industry and hence experiences of people who have used online travel products

and services should be shared online by creating a special column for providing such

references on the travel agency’s website itself.

5. Most of the internet users indicate a positive attitude and intention for online purchase in

future. Though a very few respondents have actually experienced online ticket booking,

they are satisfied with their decision. However, since they give equal preference to other

choices also, it would become necessary for OTAs to market themselves properly since

there are many competitors.

6. Promotional campaigns and schemes like discounts, bundled attractive packages and

good customer service have become crucial for their success.

7. On the basis of consumers’ perceptions, it can be inferred that for developing an optimal

portal, an organization should focus on four key attributes, which are,

Structure—how information and options are presented

Technology—what technology to use for fast and accurate results

Aesthetics—design and look of the website

Page 30

Quality—quality and updated web content

8. OTAs should also concentrate on cross-selling opportunities in the form of hotel

reservations, wherein there would be competition from direct hotelier’s websites and

tour operators also. However, adding dynamic packages and value added services such

as various options of sightseeing tours, event tickets, car pick-up facility, guide facility,

etc, may help to attract customer and add on incremental revenues.

9. Security of transactions is also an important issue for consumers since they have

expressed fear of online paying through credit cards. OTAs can go for alliances with

banking firms which would help to increase payment options and speed up the payment

procedure.

10. OTAs have also tap railway travellers through their portals and offer attractive packages.

11. Customer retention is an area of focus for OTAs. To ensure customer loyalty, they

should implement loyalty rewards programs and better post sales care.

12. Thus the key to success for an online travel portal would be more and better tools to

enhance the customers’ online experience.

“65% Indians check 3 travel sites before they make their online flight booking” .This is the

finding of the survey conducted by INSEAD MBAs on behalf of iXiGO.com from August 2009

to February 2010, with responses from over 2,500 Indian online

travelers from across a diverse representative sample of Internet users searching

or booking travel online.

Here are some of the interesting findings from the survey:

Almost 65% of respondents checked 3 or more travel sites, before making a booking.

18% of respondents checked 5 or more travel sites before completing a transaction.

"Price" and "Good Deals" rated most often as the most important parameters in choosing

a website for booking flights, followed by "Comprehensiveness / Choice" and

"Simplicity".

Indian travelers have no clear preference for either airline sites or online travel agency

(OTA) sites. 61% of respondents booking "where the best deals are", 23% preferring to

book on airline official sites and 16% sticking to booking on OTA sites.

Page 31

Hotel Bookings

Almost 35% of the respondents book their hotels online.

When booking hotels online, "Price", "Hotel Location" and "Hotel Brand" have emerged

as the three most important parameters that help travelers decide which hotel they

choose to book.

Travelers have a marked tendency of needing to speak to someone, checking

multiple hotel booking sites and cross-checking offline rates of the hotel directly

with the hotel desk or a travel agent, before deciding to book their hotels.

Page 32

Chapter 3: OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

3.1 Primary Objective

To analyze the consumer behaviour regarding the major tour & travel operators with respect to

Sahara Care House.

3.2 Secondary Objectives:

1. To study the various plans provided by Sahara Care House to its Customers.

2. To find out the potential competitors of Sahara Care House in Travel & Tourism Sector.

3. To analyze the customer viewpoint about the Plan-D i.e. a travel agentship from Sahara

Global and other Value Added Services (Concierge Services, Vacation Voucher, Privilege

Card & etc.) provided by Sahara Care House.

4. To understand the perceptions and attitude of internet users related to online travel and ticket

booking.

5. To analyze the customers’ perceived importance of attributes related to online travel portals.

Page 33

Chapter 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The methodology of my summer internship project was purely based on personal observation as

well as interaction and discussion with customers with respect to Sahara Care House. The study

involved both exploratory and descriptive research techniques using both primary and secondary

sources.

4.1 Primary Research

Research Design: The research design used in the study was descriptive in nature.

Sample Design:

i) Population: Travelers across the world

ii) Survey population: Travelers in India

iii) Sampling frame: Traveler in Delhi & NCR city

iv) Sampling unit: A traveler (male or female)

v) Sampling technique: Non probability method using judgmental sampling (Two major

criteria were considered for selection of sampling units,

1. He should have used internet for more than 1 year.

2. He should have used internet for gathering travel related information

at least once).

vi) Sample size: 150

vii)Sample profile: As shown below.

20%

30%30%

20%

Monthly Income (INR)

20K-30K 30K-50K

50K-1L >1L

30%

40%

30%

Age Range

20-30 31-40 Above 40

Page 34

40%

30%

30%

Occupation

Service

Professional

Business

84%

16%

Gender

Male

Female

viii) Research Tool: Questionnaire & unstructured interview.

ix) Statistical Techniques: Cross Tabulation

x) Statistical Tool: SPSS 16.0

4.2 Secondary Research

Secondary research provided insights regarding Industry trends, Offerings of key players and

Consumer Profile and preferences; Focus Group discussions and Depth Interviews provided

information about Consumer perception about the Product/Service offering, Key factors that

influence their choice, Satisfaction levels with current offerings, and desirable features.

4.3 Design Considerations

All questions (except identification-based) were closed-ended. The basic questions were

posed first, and identification questions were at the end. Careful wording was used to avoid

ambiguity or biasing questions. Several questions involved the respondent expressing his/her

level of agreement with a certain issue. Few of these questions were stated positively and few

others negatively to avoid biasing in response. Sensitive information such as Information

regarding Income/Family Status had response categories and was placed towards the end of

the questionnaire to increase response rate.

4.4 Questionnaire Development

A well-structured questionnaire was developed after a review of Internet commerce literatures.

The first half of the questionnaire tried to study the general perceptions and attitudes of

consumers towards online ticket booking and the second half tried to study their perceptions

related to online travel portals. The questionnaire included different scales such as nominal

scale, Likert scale, importance rating scale as well as semantic differential scale.

Page 35

Chapter 5: OBSERVATION, ANALYSIS & DISCUSSION

5.1 Findings & Analysis

5.1.1 Questionnaire SurveyData Analysis:

1. Are you aware of Sahara Care house, a Sahara India Pariwar Initiative?

8%

92%

Are you aware of Sahara Care house, a Sahara India Pariwar Initiative?

Yes No

After conducting the survey, it is concluded that among 150 respondents only 8% (12) are aware

of Sahara Care house & its services. It shows there is a very little awareness about this Sahara

India Pariwar brand.

2. Do you need any type of Concierge & utility Services to share your responsibilities?

If yes, please specify

Healthcare Services 8

Personalized services 16

Utility Services 11

Sending Gifts 5

Others (please Specify) Nil

Page 36

Healthcare Services5%

Personalized services11%

Utility Services7%

Sending Gifts3%

Not Interested73%

Do you need any type of Concierge & utility Services to share your responsibilities

Among 150 respondents 73% did not show any interest for concierge Services, where as 17%

said that they need concierge services in which 11% asked for personalized services,5% for

healthcare services,7 % for utility services & 4 % asked for sending gifts.

3. Do you have any membership /concession voucher regarding tours & travels?

8% 3%

19%

10%

60%

Do you have any membership /concession voucher regarding tours & travels?

Club Mahindra Skywards Office/Organization

Ezeego NIL

60% among all the respondents said that they don’t have any membership/concession voucher

regarding tours & travels where as 8 % have Club Mahindra holidays voucher,19% gets such

offers from their respective organizations or offices where they work.10 % respondents have

such offer from Ezeego & 3 % have it from Skywards. It is also found that among these 150

respondents no one avails or is aware of the vacation voucher from Sahara Care House.

Page 37

4. How frequently do you travel?

1-5 times 5-10 times 10-15 times 15-20 times 20-25 times more than 25 times

05

1015202530354045

15

2328

2025

39

How frequently do you travel?

Frequency per year

No.

of P

eopl

e

The histogram clearly shows the frequency of travel per year of all the respondents. As all the

groups contain sufficient samples it proves that the sampling was unbiased.

5. What is the purpose of your travel?

25%

15%60%

What is the purpose of your travel?

Business Personal Both

It is found that among the 150 respondents 25% people travel for business purpose, 15 % people

travel for personal purpose where as 60 % people travel for both.

Page 38

6. How do you make your bookings & reservations? (Multiple responses accepted)

Online Booking Counter

Via Travel Agents

Others

Mode of Booking 127 53 38 22

10

30

50

70

90

110

130

How do you make your bookings & reservations?

When asked about their preference for ticket booking from the internet as against using local

travel agents and ticket counters, most of the respondents said that at present they would give

higher preference to online booking. The major barriers for purchasing tickets through internet

were found to be feeling of fear in giving the credit card details for online booking, internet

access speed and technical problems. Research indicates that most of the people who have

accessed travel portals for ticket booking have not found any major problems except customer

service and web disconnection. In fact, almost 86 per cent of the people agree that online travel

portals are very convenient tools to access any information related to travel or ticket booking

from any place at any point of time.

Page 39

7. Why do you book your ticket via online travel agencies? (Multiple responses accepted)

Time Saving

Ease of booking

User friendly design

Better Price Deal

Attractive travel packages

Avoiding hassles of travel agents.

Better range of Features

Customer Care Facility

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

135

128

108

96

67

116

60

98

Why do you book your ticket via online travel agencies?

Primary research indicates that almost all the respondents used the internet for communication

purpose. Since the sample was selected on judgmental basis it was found that all the users had

searched for travel related information at least once. The basic motivation factors for online

purchase were found to be—saving of time, ease of booking, better price deal ,attractive

packages, discount and avoiding hassles of travel agents.

8. From which of the following online travel Agencies you book your tickets? (Multiple

responses accepted)

Mak

emyt

rip.co

m

yatra

.com

Travelg

uru.c

omIX

IGO

Cleartr

ip.co

m

Ezeeg

o

Saha

ra Glo

bal

Travelo

city

Others

0

40

80

120112 108

80

38

105

68

3

64

15

From which of the following online travel Agencies you book your tickets?

Page 40

Majority of the respondent book their tickets from Makemytrip.com, yatra.com &

cleartrip.com.Travelguru.com & Ezeego are also less used by the people.5 % people refer other

metasearch engines like kayak, Yahoo!, rediff etc.

9. According to you what are the important attributes while choosing an online travel

portal? (Rating Scale = 5>4>3>2>1)

Secure transactions

Low Price

Attractive travel packages

Web design factors/User friendliness

Connectivity Issues

Customer support

Quality of web content

Other secondary facilities

Brand Awareness

According to you what are the important attributes while choosing an online travel por-tal

Extremely important (5) Very important (4) Somewhat important (3)

Not very important (2) Not at all important (1)

When respondents were asked to indicate their perceived importance of attributes for an online

travel portal, it was found that secure transactions, lower prices and quality of web content were

found to be most important. Attractive travel packages, web design factors and customer support

are also perceived to be important while other secondary facilities (ForEx, visa, insurance) and

brand awareness were found to be less important.

Page 41

10. Which kind of promotional strategy motivates you most to book tickets from a certain

online travel portal?

60%17%

20%3%

Which kind of promotional strategy motivates you most to book tickets from a certain online travel portal?

Discount Attractive Tour packages

Vouchers/Gifts other facilities

Research shows that customers are mostly motivated by discount & price deals which 60% of

the respondents. 17% of them are attracted towards Attractive tour packages where as 20 % are

attracted towards vouchers & gifts. Other facilities include ForEx, visa, sightseeing etc.

11. Which of the following advertising media are effective to increase sells and that can

change purchasing decision? (Multiple responses accepted)

Televi

sion

Banne

r/Hoa

rdin

g

Prin

t med

ia

Onlin

e Adv

ertise

...

E-mail

/SM

S aler

t

Blogs

& R

eview

s

57 4878

105132

93

Which of the following advertising media are effective to increase sells and that can change purchasing decision?

Majority of the respondents told that they got to know about the online portals through online

advertisements as well as online blogs & reviews, newspapers and through references from

close friends and colleagues.

Page 42

12. Will you buy/use Sahara Care House Plans in near future?

34%

54%

12%

Will you buy/use Sahara Care House Plans in near future?

Yes May be No

34% respondents said that they will use Sahara Care House & Sahara Global Services in near

future,54% said may be they can use. So as people are always interested to get better price deal

& services they are interested in Services offer by Sahara.34% said no as they are happy with

present service providers or not interested with Sahara products & services.

5.1.2 Cross Tabulation

With the help of SPSS 16.0(Statistical Process for Social Sciences) cross-tabulations were prepared. The findings are given below.

Gender * Promotional Plan Cross tabulation

Count Promotional Plan

Total

Attractive Tour

Packages Discount others Vouchers/Gifts

Sex F 4 15 0 6 25

M 21 75 5 24 125

Total 25 90 5 30 150

Age * Promotional Strategy Cross tabulation

Count Promotional Strategy

Total

Attractive Tour

packages Discount others Vouchers/Gifts

Age 20-30 2 30 2 11 45

31-40 10 38 2 10 60

Above 40 14 21 1 9 45

Total 26 89 5 30 150

Page 43

It was found that both male & female respondents are mostly attracted by discount on booking

& vouchers/gifts. It was also found that irrespective of age discount on booking plays a major

role to choose online travel portal.

Age*Online Travel Portal Attributes Cross Tabulation

The total respondents were divided in three age groups, i.e. 20-30, 30-40, & above 40. The

attributes chosen to judge customer perceptions about online travel portal were secure

transactions, lower prices, quality of web, attractive travel packages, web design factors,

customer support, other secondary facilities (ForEx, visa, and insurance) and brand awareness.

A scale was prepared to rate the importance of the attributes. When respondents were asked to

indicate their perceived importance of attributes for an online travel portal, it was found that

secure transactions, lower prices and quality of web content were found to be most important.

Attractive travel packages, web design factors and customer support are also perceived to be

important while other secondary facilities (ForEx, visa, insurance) and brand awareness were

found to be less important.

The findings are graphically represented below,

Page 44

Age*Secure Transaction Age*Attractive Packages Age* Low Price

Age* Web design Factors Age* Connectivity Issues Age*Customer Support

Age* Quality Web Content Age*Other Secondary facilities Age*Brand AwarenessAge group

20-3030-40

Above 40

Page 45

5.2 Comparison of Sahara Care House with other major players

5.2.1 Comparison between Sahara Care House Vacation Voucher & Club Mahindra Holidays:

Features Sahara Care Hose Club Mahindra

MEMBERSHIP Life time 25yrsSEASON 365 days Pink –extremely popular season, no

membership entertained.Blue Plan-low season.White Plan-middle season.Red Plan-peak season.

RESORT R.C.I afflicted 3years in R.C.I. affiliated resorts.Rest in Mahindra &Mahindra affiliated resorts

NO. OF RESORTS 4000 in all over world.(88 in India)

(88) + 32 resort in India

NO. OF DAYS 8 days & 7 nights 8 days & 7 nightsHOW MANY TIMES USE IN A

YEAR52 time One time

DISCOUNT 50-80% on lodging fee Lodging free for 25 yrsMEMBER 3-4 (can be extended depending on

availability) Only 2 (subjectto availability)

CHARGE & Rs.6666/-* Blue-Rs.1.6LWhite-Rs.2.6LRed-Rs.3.67L**

RENEWAL Rs.3499/-* Rs. 13,094/- to Rs. 6647 /-(depending on 2 bedroom, 1 bed room or Studio apartment)

ADDITIONAL BENEFITS Concierge Services & VAS from SCH for 1 year

Food voucher for 1 year LCD TV7 nights additional stay for 1st year

TRANSFERABLE yes Yes

** Interest is 15%

12/24/36/48 months EMI available

On down payment of 10% the first 12 EMI is interest free.

On down payment of 50% the first 24EMIs are interest free.

*VV- Rs.6666/- (Rs.3499/-)

VV+ Medical Insurance-Rs.11027/- (Rs.6617/-)

VV+ Accidental claim policy-Rs.7777/-(Rs.3999/-)

VV+ Sahara Global franchisee- Rs.9803/- (Rs.4999/- or Rs.3499/-)

VV+ Sahara global Franchisee+ Thailand Tour-Rs.19999/-(Rs.4999/- or Rs.3499/-)

Page 46

5.2.2 Comparison of Sahara Care House (Sahara Global travel agent) with other major players

Page 47

5.2.3 Comparison of Sahara Care House (Sahara Global travel agent) with other major players regarding Thailand tour

Page 48

5.3 SWOT Analysis

During the research it was found that there are lots of players in the online tour & travel segment & all of them provide almost same services at a very low margin. It is the better price deal, attractive offers, reliability, assurance & service quality that create the difference.

In fact it was found that Sahara Care has no recognition & awareness in the market. Being a part of Sahara India Pariwar it also suffers the problem of unawareness like other Sahara subsidiaries.

It was also found that cheap labour is becoming a problem to attract the customers towards concierge services, as nowadays almost all the organizations in services marketing sector try to provide their own concierge services for better customer relationship & increase the word of mouth & referrals.

As Sahara has entered recently in the glamorous world of Indian Cricket as an owner of an IPL team (Pune Warriors), promotion of Sahara Care House & Sahara Global can attract the customers towards them. Sahara care House & Sahara Global has enough potential to become a successful player in the Indian Services Marketing.

Page 49

Overcrowded MarketE-travel is becoming m-

travel

Brand "Sahara"Booming Tourism IndustryAdjoining with metasearch

engines

Very low margin marketAvilability of cheap labour

No recognitionA lot of compettitors already

present in the market

A unique range of servicesOne stop provider of any kind of

concierge services.Compititive business model.

Low price model.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Threats

Oppurtunities

5.4 Michael Porter’s Five Force Model

Industry Rivalry : Indian online travel industry is highly fragmented with intense

rivalry .Organized players would barely have 15-20% of the marketplace .Most of organized

players are present in metros & mini-metros .Large disposable incomes in towns like

Lucknow, Jaipur, Coimbatore etc. serviced by family run unorganized players .Industry rivalry

is intense but not cutthroat since exit barriers are not high, fixed costs are not high, market

growth is good .Rivalry is Intense because of low switching costs, low levels of product

differentiation, perishability of products diversity of rivals

Threat of Substitutes: As travel moves up the list of household priorities lot of possible

substitutes are arriving in the market. India is witnessing a growth of discretionary spend as %

of income from 30% in 2005 to around 70% by 2025. It can be said tours & travel are unlikely

to be substituted by a durable purchase or investments .Travel Industry currently at $16 billion,

is expected to touch $26 billion by 2010

Bargaining Power of Customers: While buyers are fragmented, their diminishing brand

loyalty and ability to switch (for most products) gives them reasonable buying power.

Diversification of retail buyer and corporate buyer profiles is needed. Switching costs for

buyers is not high as brand loyalty is diminishing. Credible threat of backward integration is

present as buyers can directly buy from suppliers (hotels, airlines etc) .Luxury segment is

brand conscious t and customers are willing to pay a premium for great experience and service

quality.

Page 50

Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Supplier usually sell commodity products .Concentration &

ability to sell direct gives power to suppliers (like airlines).Attempts by suppliers to sell

packages and complex itineraries not very successful .While suppliers concentrated in some

areas like domestic airlines, there is widespread fragmentation in hotels, tour operators, car

rentals etc. There is no significant cost to switch suppliers and products like airlines, car etc.

are fairly commoditized .Travel agency cannot typically buyout suppliers like airlines.

Threat of New Entrants: While entry and exit barriers are low ,it is difficult to build scale

because of lack of ready distribution channels .Government regulation of direct FDI in retail

restricts entry of foreign retailers .There are low level of proprietary travel knowledge and

asset specificity. This makes it relatively easier for new players to enter industry and does not

provoke very aggressive rivalry from existing players. Low minimum efficient level allow

entry of small startups, however significant scale is necessary to negotiate profitable deals. Due

to a fragmented market, travel agencies do not have access to ready distribution channels.

Online channel is growing at a rapid rate but is primarily selling air and rail. While buyers are

fragmented, their diminishing brand loyalty and ability to switch (for most products) gives

them reasonable buying power. Companies that thrive will not just meet travelers’ needs, but

also please their tastes and sensibilities – and do it for less. Suppliers usually sell commodity

products. Most suppliers are fragmented. Multi-linked channels and product offerings continue

to proliferate. The explosion of product offerings and channels continues to erode profit

margins and fragment markets

Strategic Imperative: To serve this segment, Travel Agencies must drive out costs and build

efficiencies. It has to build on products that fit well with core competencies and create

customer delight .Sahara Care House also needs out source low-cost, off-the-shelf packages for

frequent destinations. Improving technology and sharing routine functions with other players

can be a good strategy to gain the competitive edge. Leveraging data to increase accuracy,

build volume or purchase bulk inventory at discount can also help the organization.

Page 51

Chapter 6: Recommendations & Conclusion

6.1 RecommendationsBased on the analysis of information gathered and inferences made thereof, some

recommendations were proposed to the start-up to increase market share for Sahara Care House.

1. Promotional Offers: Consumers are price-conscious and are attracted towards an OTA

offering by promotional offers. The firm's strategy in this respect should be:

I. Give the usual promotional offers that other OTA sites do, like cash back

offers on usage of certain credit cards.

II. Provide free service of cab pickups and drops on certain flights (with

price exceeding a certain base amount).

III. Give small discounts on complete holiday packages, among others.

2. Customer Care: Easy and quick access to customer care acts as a re-assuring factor and

increases customer satisfaction with service offering. The company should look at providing

multiple channels of customer care, though the focus should be on customer care over phone,

as revealed through data analysis.

3. Usability: Usability of site is an important criterion affecting choice of an OTA site. The

start-up firm should not just create a user-friendly interface, but streamline the process of

booking tickets by creating a simple 2-step process. Through this, it should be ensured that the

time for a typical booking is around 5 minutes.

4. Information Content/Reviews: Consumers do not trust the hotel ratings available on an

OTA site as the perception seems to be that these might be subjected to bias. Hence ratings

and reviews of Users and 3rd party should be included on the website to increase credibility.

5. End-to-End Service: Users are increasingly asking for door-to-door service and wide

range of features such as cab pickups and special care at airports. By providing the complete

package, the company can create differentiated offering and thus charge a small premium.

6. Mobile Booking: Considering that mobile penetration is growing at a faster rate than

Internet penetration, this mode of sale should not be ignored.

7. Tap into Referrals: Referrals seem to play a significant role in consumer choice

process. Use of network marketing & word-of-mouth advertising, collaboration with online

metasearch travel engines is recommended.

Page 52

6.2 Limitations

Limited time was the major constraint of this study.

Comparison of all companies was not possible because there are lots of players in the

online tour & travel segment.

Sample size (which is 150) is also a limitation of this study as the sample may or may

not be the representative of the population.

A proper comparative study was not performed as there is no recognition & awareness of

Sahara Care house in the market.

6.3 Conclusion

The Focus Group Discussions and Depth Interviews gave key insights into the consumer

behaviour. OTAs were found useful for convenience in planning trips beforehand to avoid

major unforeseen expenditures by comparing prices across various sites.

The research showed the problems faced in booking through travel sites like issues of

coverage, accessibility of internet, reliability of transactions, technical issues with the site as

well as lack of human interface in case of problems. It was found that there was no major

differentiation factor among the Indian sites and the criterion for selection of site was heavily

based on price; secondary factors being availability, range of coverage, range of airlines and

convenience basis or commission charged by the site. Additional incentives like price-cuts

and credit card discounts are also somewhat significant for selection of the site. Past

experience also plays a role in site selection. It was found that the customers desired a Human

interface-based customer service and other support services for more reliability. They also

desired extensive coverage of airlines with greater options.

It was found that being an unique player with a huge range of services in the field of

concierge services, health insurance, online tour & travel agency, foreign tours(US,UK and

other tours are about to start) Sahara Care House doesn’t has any recognition in the market. It

can be said that as Sahara India Pariwar provides umbrella branding for all of its companies &

brands Sahara Care House & others suffer this unawareness problems.

Page 53

Chapter 8: Bibliography

8.1 Books Dhananjayan D (2007), Services Marketing: Integrating People, Technology and strategy;

Services Marketing: Issues and Cases, 1st edition, Edited by Keka Lahiri, ICFAI University

Press,pp 48-51

Kant Amitabh(2009), E-business:making travel & tourism click; Branding India: Incredible

story, 1st edition, Harper Collins Publishers, pg 157,158

Palmer Adrian(2001), Preface, Principles of Services marketing, 3rd edition,McGraw-Hill

Publishing company, pp xiv

Bhattacharjee C(2006), Service Sector Management; An Indian Perspective, 2nd edition,Jaico

Publishing House, pp xiii,7,9,10,391,409,416,617

Jha S.M.(2009), Services Marketing, reprint 2009, Himalaya Publishing House,

pp2,3,183,185,191,300,301

8.2 Web IANS, 2009, "Indians Prefer Online Travel Portals to Plan Holidays", Accessed on 24th April,

2010, Available on Web Link: http://tech2.in.com/india/news/internet/indians-prefer-online-

travel-portals-to-plan-holidays/85072/0.

Kanagal N. B.et al ,“Marketing Research in Online Travel Agency Space”, Accessed on 28 th

April, 2010, Available on Web Link: http://www.tejas-iimb.org/articles/41.php.

Badrinathan Ram, The Indian Online Travel Market Follows Powerful Growth Curve, Accessed

on 24th April, 2008, Available on Web Link:

http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article23934.html.

Ruparel Neelima 2009, Internet Users’ Perceptions and Attitude for Online Travel and Online

Travel Portals in an Emerging Market: The Indian Context, 3rd IIMA Conference on Marketing

Paradigms for Emerging Economies, pg. 198-204. Accessed on 26th April, 2008, Available on

Web Link:http://www.cfr-iima.org/abstracts/2009/Ruparel%20Neelima%20Internet

%20users’%20perceptions%20and%20attitude%20for%20online%20travel%20and%20online

%20travel%20portals%20i.pdf

Page 54

APPENDIX

Questionnaire

1. Are you aware of Sahara Care house, a Sahara India Pariwar Initiative?

Yes No

2. Do you need any type of Concierge & utility Services to share your responsibilities?

Yes No

If yes, then please specify

Healthcare Services

Personalized services

Utility Services

Sending Gifts

Others (please Specify)

3. Do you have any membership /concession voucher regarding tours & travels

Yes No

If yes, please specify which one: ___________________________________

4. How frequently do you travel?

1-5 times in a year 5-10 times in a year 10-15 times in a year

15-20 times in a year 20-25 times in a year more than 25 times in a year

5. What is the purpose of your travel?

Business Personal Both

6. How do you make your bookings & reservations? (Multiple responses accepted)

Page 55

Online Booking Counter

Via Travel Agents Others

For others please specify: ______________________________________________

7. Why do you book your ticket via online travel agencies? (Multiple responses

accepted)

Time Saving User friendly design Better range of Features

Ease of booking Attractive travel packages Customer Care Facility

Better Price Deal Avoiding hassles of travel agents. Others

For others please specify: ______________________________________________

8. From which of the following online travel Agencies you book your tickets? (Multiple

responses accepted)

Makemytrip.com yatra.com Travelguru.com Ezeego Others

IXIGO Cleartrip.com Sahara Global Travelocity

If others, please specify: ___________________________________

Please specify reason for choosing the online travel agencies above:

_____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________

9. According to you what are the important attributes while choosing an online travel

portal? (Rating Scale = 5>4>3>2>1)

Attributes 5 4 3 2 1

Secure transactions

Low Price

Attractive travel packages

Web design factors/User friendliness

Page 56

Connectivity Issues

Customer support

Quality of web content

Other secondary facilities (ForEx, visa, insurance etc.)

Brand Awareness

10. Which kind of promotional strategy motivates you most to book tickets from a

certain online travel portal?

Discount Voucher/gifts Attractive Tour packages other facilities

Please specify for others: __________________________________________________

11. Which of the following advertising media are effective to increase sells and that can

change purchasing decision? (Multiple responses accepted)

Television Print media E-mail/SMS alert

Banner/Hoarding Online advertisement Blogs & Reviews

12. Will you buy/use Sahara Care House Plans in near future?

Yes Maybe No

Personal Information

Sex: Male Female Age: 20-30 31-40 above 40

Occupation: Student Service Business

Professional Others

For others please specify: _________________________________

Monthly income: Rs 20,000-30,000 Rs 30,000-50,000

Rs 50,000-1, 00,000 above Rs. 1 Lakh

Page 57