Thomas Cook Group

A common threat faced by the tour providers and also Thomas cook is the dependency of weather and products that are perishable. Weather patterns such as storms and heavy rain can delay flights therefore leading to a loss. Unoccupied flight seats or a reservation being cancelled at the last minute, leads to loss. Penalties should be implemented in last minute cancellations to discourage tourists from doing so, providing those seats to other customers at a reduced price to avoid loss. However there would be circumstances where it cant be overcome. The recent decades has shown that one of the most obvious market threats is decline in demand. Statistics show that the package holiday business has a slow growth and not exactly demanding. The main cause in this decline is the Internet, providing people with custom-made holidays. Thomas cook has to retain customers and make sure they provide unique packages with the affordable rates going forward. The merger of Thomas cook and Cooperative was followed in job cuts. This decreases employee morale and diminishes the brand name. The core competitor of the Thomas cook is TUI AG, which happens to hold the number 1 market position. The strategies implemented by TUI are a threat.

Thomas cook should be observant, review its own strategies and take appropriate actions when needed Thomas cook also faces threats from virtual tour operators. Due to there low overhead costs they can market more advertisements and sell at lower rates at the same time. The company partnered with Expedia to tackle these issues, however Thomas cook needs to increase its online presence to tackle these competitors. Opportunities Thomas cook has vast opportunities to explore and dive into different markets. The merging of different companies with Thomas cook opens them to new businesses, these businesses can continue activities to find unexplored markets and carter to them. With the rise of disposable income of consumers, opportunities lies with Thomas cook to expand into other countries and help consumers experience pleasure travel. Independent planning can help customer plan there vacations to go to places they at first were hesitant on going. This can be achieved by promoting cheap packages and rate so consumers will be attracted to find out more. Unpopular destinations can be put into popular packages to introduce new routes and tours thus tapping into new markets and strengthening the brand name and value. This increases the customer reliability. Thomas cook being a big company are forcing small tour operators out of business. They should ensure these gaps created by small companies are filled. Weaknesses Although Thomas cook being a market leader it also has weaknesses. One of them is owning multiple brands.

All these brands used to diversify the market is not been effectively promoted, lacking recognition leads to confusion within minds of the consumers. It is difficult to identify which brand does what and how it caters to the consumer. With the numerous numbers of head offices and multiple assets Thomas cook faces problems with proper coordination and utilization. Separate marketing strategies should be applied to each of these brands with effective promotions Fixed costs at Thomas cook are incredibly high. These costs include high costs spent on operations, administrations and marketing. The main reason these costs are high is that Thomas cook are serving less people currently than its actually capacity to serve, therefore the company is not benefiting from the economic scale. Strengths The Thomas cook brand is famous all over the world. Over the years they have gained a huge trust because of their dedication and excellent service, records on (Thomas cook group 2010) shows it was trusted by 22 million customers in the year 2009 alone. The highest recorded income was 9.3 billion pounds, this reassures the customer that it won't go into bankruptcy. This eliminates fear from customers and potential investors. Some of their strengths are they have become a major player in the travel industry by merging with other big businesses and companies, eliminating competition. Today they are left with only one major competitor, that is TUI travel company. Thomas cook has expanded it service not only to the west but also reached countries such as India and Egypt. They own 1200 distribution channels. This eliminates the use and services of a middleman resulting in reduced prices and deals with customers directly. The biggest strengths of Thomas cook however is that it has its own fleet of planes and also its own resorts for accommodation. It also has an insurance company. Due to this unwanted hassles can be avoided and revenue goes straight into the company rather than out. The company also provides their customers with reasonable rates on foreign exchange which can be easily accessible. With their unique travel packages Thomas cook aims on satisfying each of their customers desires. These reasons contribute to Thomas cook holding a strong market position by providing all services from one spot.

Conclusion

To conclude I can say that although the industry is growing at a slow pace and with the ups and downs, Thomas cook with its reliability and innovative ways are holding on as a market leader. It is in a good position to keep on expanding. With its loyal customer base, affordable rates, committed employees and competitiveness, Thomas cook has proven it has all the resources needed to be a successful organization.