eyefortravel - Travel Distribution India '06

‘Online and offline businesses complement each other’

Peter Kerkar Group CEO Cox & Kings

Peter Kerkar, group CEO of Cox & Kings, tells Express TravelWorld he believes online and offline businesses cannot exist in isolation

Where do you see the core of Cox & Kings' future distribution strategy - online or offline? Where do you think the emphasis will lie?

In India it would be both. The online and offline business models would complement each other in a very effective manner. A customer can make online bookings for a variety of products and services in the travel industry such as hotel rooms, airline tickets, attractions, insurance, car rentals, etc.

However, these online bookings have to be supported and enhanced by an offline presence for many services. For example, BTQ forms have to be signed and picked up. Documentation for visas such as income tax forms, photographs, etc are also required. We need to give the traveller a choice of payment options as they may not be in a position to book very high amounts via credit cards. So we need to provide them an offline location to make payments. In this case, an offline presence with a network of offices would act as fulfillment centres. This demonstrates that offline and online presence would be critical to our business plan.

Can the two be married effectively to enhance overall business?

Yes. For instance when we would like the passenger to sign the BTQ form, we would require an offline presence. It would be naive to believe that they can be independent of each other.

How has the Indian travel trade taken to the online business model?

The Indian online travel industry is growing at more than 100 per cent year-on-year. It generates revenues of around US $300 to US $500 million currently and the size of the online travel industry is not more than two per cent of the entire travel industry. It is primarily driven by the sale of tickets on low-cost carriers and the railways.

However, we would change this with the launch of ezeego1.com. There are tremendous opportunities that can be exploited and we plan to tap this market very aggressively. Ezeego1 is a neutral platform that would give the agents as well as customers a choice of options. They would be in a position to book airline tickets, holidays, car rentals, attractions, etc. We not only cater to customers but also the travel trade; we invite them to display their products and services and also provide inventory on a real time basis. The entire concept is modeled on dynamic packaging. Any person logging onto the site can view fares and deals and can book in real time. We believe that our offerings would change the nature of online travel business and revolutionise the concept.