We will have more regionally relevant holiday products: Peter Kerkar

Interview with Director, Cox & Kings

Cox & Kings seems to have bucked the decceleration in the tour and travel industry in 2013. It has witnessed double digit growth in all its segments in India. Peter Kerkar, director, Cox & Kings, tells Digbijay Mishra that the company will come up with more regional tours for the market full of diversities, and is likely to bring Holidaybreak, an education and travel-based firm it had acquired in 2011, to India. Holidaybreak's brand, PGL conducts school trips and educational travel. Edited excerpts:

In a dampened consumer market, how have you managed to grow?

We are seeing double digit growth in all the segments, be it domestic or outbound, and the macro-economic situation has not dampened people's enthusiasm to holiday. Every holiday is not necessarily long haul. Many opt for festive breaks, weekend holidays and theme holidays which are catching the fancy of the Indian holidaymakers.

It is quite exciting for us as we launch a slew of holiday products for the next summer season.

How does your understanding of the market reflect in what you offer?

This year we have come up with MasterChef holidays, where we give customers the opportunity to travel with MasterChef contestants and get cooking tips from them. These are part of our culinary holiday programme. As the market matures such new products will find flavour.

The market is diverse with strong regional bias. We had launched the 'Rajasthan Rajvado' holidays, targeted at the Rajasthani vegetarian holiday market.

Food choices can make or mar a holiday and people opt for a tour if there are like-minded people in the group. For the last three years, we have successfully marketed 'Amhi Travelkar', a holiday programme for the Marathi-speaking community. Our most popular regional brand is the 'Gaurav Yatra', customised for the Gujarati and Jain communities. Next year, we plan to include South India-specific regional tours.

Will you bring Holidaybreak to India?

We will bring the PGL product, leveraging the growing tendency of the education system to focus on overall learning and development of the student through activities outside the classroom.   
 
How different are margins in educational travel and and holiday camping, compared to leisure travel? Will you focus more on higher margins?

In leisure travel, we enjoy high margins because of our strong brand, product portfolio and superior supplier-contracting ability. In the education and camping business, our margins are even higher, as we own the PGL centres and camping mobile homes. We focus equally on these three businesses, as all the verticals are highly profitable.

 
What is the contribution of domestic and of outbound traffic?

In leisure travel, outbound is around 65 per cent and the key growth driver.

Why is India important?

At a group level, India contributes 25 per cent of the profits and is a critical contributor to growth. As India continues to grow at 20 per cent per year, its contribution will only increase. The potential of the Indian holiday market is immense, and as an industry, we see tremendous opportunities in the next 10 years.

By how much do you expect domestic travel to grow?

We are seeing strong growth in the domestic business, both in retail (leisure) and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions). Our pan-India distribution network, along with specific products for various sub-segments that include weekend breaks, pilgrimage tours, educational tours, adventure and romantic getaways will continue to help.

Are online travel services a threat? 

Air ticketing has moved significantly online. However, when it comes to holiday packages, the transition is slower. The reason is that holidays need offline sorting of visas, customised itineraries, food preferences, constraints on credit card transaction limits etc. Most Indians who are travelling overseas for the first or second time prefer meeting an executive as they feel more assured. Cox & Kings would benefit if booking patterns move online as that will give us greater reach. Meanwhile, our call centres, with expert travel advice, has given us a pan-India reach.

Has your reach in tier II and tier III cities worked?

The franchise model for 100+ of these has seen growth. Metros give us over 60 per cent.