With online ticket booking and reservation increasing in the Indian travel and hospitality sector, established travel companies and operators are investing in technology and devices to secure their market position and business.
Thomas Cook (India), one of the oldest travel operators, has empowered its business operations with CRM and also invested in tablets and mobility.
“Last years we invested in the CRM software. We have over 200 branches across India along with hundreds of partners and resellers, which are engaged in online as well offline bookings of air-tickets, hotels and tours.
Use of CRM helps in providing a consistent information across all branches,” Madhavan Menon, Managing Director -Thomas Cook (India), said on a sideline of a travel industry event in Bangalore on Thursday.
In terms of other tech initiatives, Menon said, “From this year, we have stopped printing of brouchers and are using tablets to offer digital content and information to customers.”
While Menon pointed out that use of technology is good, but he also insisted that the human element shouldn’t be ignored. “From next season, all our in-trip employees will carry tablets. We should leverage technology, but without taking away our eyes on service deliveries,” said Menon.
He further said that his company has set-up separate portals for desktop and mobile platforms. Besides, from this year, customers can buy foreign currency online, which will be delivered to them within 24 hours across India.