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Thomas Cook to strengthen domestic ops through site

Chetan Kapoor - Mumbai

(L-R) Madhavan Menon, managing director; Udayan Bose, chairman and Amitabh Pandey, president and head, e Business of Thomas Cook (India) at the launch of its new portal

Thomas Cook, which launched its web portal this May, is looking to build its domestic portfolio through it. Udayan Bose, chairman of Thomas Cook (India), said, "For the better part of the last year, we have been planning to go live with our website but couldn't because of certain restrictions to use the name. However, with the recent acquisition by Thomas Cook Group, we are now eligible to use the name and have launched the website which will add, yet cannibalise our business in the long run particularly in the domestic segment, which is one of our target areas."

According to the company, 75 per cent of e-commerce spend is attributed to online travel booking. Elaborating on the website, Amitabh Pandey, its president and head (e Business), added "We will focus on the domestic business through our website. Online is the future and Indians are quick to adapt. While flight bookings are one of the major items to be bought online, we are increasingly working towards selling holidays as well, as the time approaches when Indians will buy it online."

Elaborating further, Madhavan Menon, the company's managing director, regards the initiative as a fillip. He said, "We are the first major brick-and-mortar to enter the online space with the same name, which will be an added channel of distribution. Visitors can now access live inventory of airlines, insurance and RailEurope besides integrated inventory from our international acquisitions and global network (which will be available soon) through Hotels4u.com and Travco, and over 30 cruises globally. The portal will also enable our B2B partners, franchisees and preferred agents to view and buy our products directly."