Critical Analysis of Thomas Cook Travel Agency

This document provides a critical analysis of Thomas Cook Travel Agency, including an analysis of its objectives, SWOT and PESTLE analysis, and potential improvements. The analysis highlights the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the business, as well as the political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors that impact the business. The document also includes a business plan for improving the business.

Running Head: CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THOMAS COOK TRAVEL AGENCY
Critical analysis of Thomas-Cook travel agency
Name of the student
Nam of the University
Author’s Note

Table of Contents
1. TASK 1:...................................................................................................................................3
a. Introduction, which includes a short description of the selected travel or tourism business...3
b. Analysis of the objectives of the case study business. A merit level analysis will consider
how well these relate to the stated mission, vision, goals, priorities, etc. of the business...........3
c. SWOT and PESTLE analysis of the business?........................................................................4
d. Explanation of the different factors which impact on the business, based on the SWOT and
PESTLE analyses?.....................................................................................................................11
e. Review of the effectiveness of the business?.........................................................................12
f. Determination of potential improvements that could be made to the business, based on the
SWOT, PESTLE and market analyses that have been carried out?..........................................12
g. Business plan that you have developed for improving the business. This plan must be
justified?....................................................................................................................................13
h. Conclusion with summarises the key points of your analysis and the main proposals for
improvement?............................................................................................................................13
2. TASK 2:.....................................................................................................................................15
i. Introduction, which recaps the short description of the selected travel or tourism business?15
j. Evaluation of the current skills of key managers and selected staff?.....................................15
k. Plan that you have devised for developing the skills of key managers and selected staff?...16
l. Conclusion which summarizes your key recommendations for the travel / tourism?............17
References......................................................................................................................................18

1. TASK 1:
a. Introduction, which includes a short description of the selected travel or tourism
business.
The chosen company of the discussion of the topic is the Thomas Cook Travel Agency. It
is a travel and tourism-based business firm that has been operation for a longer period of time.
Speaking in terms of their business activities, it ranges from that of the hospitality services. On
the other hand, it also provide an international tour to the required ones (Thomascook.com,
2019). Besides, they even carry on the hassle-free task of booking the desired flights and hotel
booking for the clients upon their request. They make a number of efforts towards the
achievement of their consumer satisfaction.
The business firm was inaugurated in the year of 2007 on the 19th of June. It was
Thomas-Cook who established the travel agency with the aim to serve the consumer market and
those who desire to enjoy a pleasant time with the family and that of the belonging ones.
Speaking in terms of their services, it ranges from that of the foreign exchanges, international
and that of the domestic holidays, Insurance of Visa, Passport, Availability of travel insurance
and much more others. It extended over the 233 different regions of the country with the change
in time (Thomascook.com, 2019).
b. Analysis of the objectives of the case study business. A merit level analysis will consider
how well these relate to the stated mission, vision, goals, priorities, etc. of the business
Mission: The missionary statement of the concerning business firm is “Travel is the only thing
you buy that makes you richer”. They were to occupy a major proportion of the consumer market
and to obtain their satisfaction for the sole purpose of obtaining a bulk of loyal consumers from
the potential consumer market.

Vision: Speaking in terms of their visionary goals, they have a strong desire to be one of the
reputed and qualitative firms within the travel and tourism industry. On the other hand, the
business firm even aims to penetrate within the international boundaries in order to reach the
international market demands.
Goals: They operate on sustaining the three of the aspects they are as quality, service, and
reliability (Thomascook.com, 2019).
Quality, they claim themselves to be one of the passionate business firms in the field of
travel, and they claim that they have a huge presence of professional experts that any rival firms
strive to get.
Service, they make use of the team that is present all time to look after the concern of the
consumers.
Reliability, they care for a number of issues that takes place over time and try to
eliminate those issues in the near era of time.
Priorities: They give immense priority to the consumer feedback; they obtain this set of
feedback from the online market presence as well as from the physical presence of the consumer
market (Thomascook.com, 2019).
c. SWOT and PESTLE analysis of the business?
The SWOT analysis of the concerning business firm is as follows:
STRENGTH - The presence of brand equity and that
of the goodwill that exists within the
taste of the consumer preference.
- One of the biggest and oldest business
firm that has been able to sustain for a

longer period of time. This time
period has helped the firm to obtain
the faith and loyalty of the consumers.
- Speaking in terms of its pricing
strategy, the firm has been able to
serve services at an affordable price,
and that is possibly accessible by the
consumer market (Buhalis et al.,
2014).
- Availability of global presence, since
the firm makes use of the internet a
well as a physical platform. There lies
huge potential for the firm for future
business prospects.
WEAKNESS - The firm has a limited market share in
comparison to the overall consumer
individuals.
- The long term debts for the
concerning business firm is one of the
biggest headaches and may even lead
to the failure of the business.
OPPORTUNITIES - Since the travel and tourism are one of
the growing industry; it is one of the

professional platforms to fit their
product offerings and that of their
services within the right place and at a
right point of time.
- By making use of the digital platform,
a platform such as that of the digital
marketing will help the firm to
generate huge number of potential
consumers from the large proportion
of the market (Bohdanowicz et al.,
2017).
THREATS - The technology that the firm is
making use of may become outdated
with the change in time. There is a
need for the firm to adopt the new
innovative technology to sustain the
business undertakings.
- The number of rival firms that are
taking place in the market has the
potential to outdate the concerning
business firm. Since the firm is
already huge competition from the
consumer market, the new entry of the

firms may create a serious stressful
business environment for the firm.
The PESTLE analysis of the concerning business firm is as follows:
POLITICAL - Much of the risk stays in regards to
political stability and the importance
of the Travel & Leisure sector in the
country's economy.
- Risk in terms of military invasion.
- The prevailing extent of corruption
that prevails in the region of the
economy.
- Bureaucracy and interference within
the field of Travel & Leisure industry
by the government (Bohdanowicz et
al., 2017).
- Legal framework for contract
enforcement
- Intellectual property protection
- Trade regulations & tariffs related to
Consumer Services
- Favoured trading partners
- Anti-trust laws related to Travel &

Leisure
- Pricing regulations – Are there any
pricing regulatory mechanism for
Consumer Services.
- Mandatory employee benefits
- Industrial safety regulations in the
Consumer Services sector.
- Product labelling and other
requirements in Travel & Leisure
- Taxation - tax rates and incentives
- Wage legislation - minimum wage and
overtime (Bohdanowicz et al., 2017).
- Workweek regulations in Travel &
Leisure.
ECONOMICAL - The economical state of the region in
which the business is being carried
out, the economical state such as that
of the recession period of the country.
- The purchasing power that stays
within the hands of the country. It is
more of concerned with the flow of
money within the economy.
- The fluctuations within the currency

rate is another factor of threat to the
firm.
- Threat in regard to the labour cost and
that of the productivity within the
prevailing economy.
- The interest rate that is being modified
on a periodic basis by the local
government body.
- The competitive advantage of the firm
may be outdated by some other rival
business firm.
SOCIAL - The skills level, potential and that of
the demographic factors are required
to be taken into consideration.
- Within the society, it is to be
evaluated, the social class structure,
hierarchy and power structure that
prevails within the economy.
- Cultural traits such as that of gender
roles, social controversies, and much
more (Bohdanowicz et al., 2017).
- The consumer market has a number of
options because of the availability of

the number of firms. Hence, there are
many uncertainties in the business
market.
TECHNOLOGICAL - Since the firm makes use of the online
presence, there are huge possibilities
for the market of the firm to sustain.
Any consumer queries can be dealt
with. On the other hand, bookings are
being done online, which is one of the
innovative moves in today’s era of
time.
- Impact within the cost structure of the
travel and leisure industry.
- The rate of technological diffusion.
LEGAL - The local government tax structure is
to be strictly obeyed. On the other
hand, this tax structure changes with
the economic surrounding such that
the management body continuously is
required to cope up with the tax
structure.
- Anti-trust law in the Travel & Leisure
industry and overall in the country.

- Discrimination law.
- Consumer protection and e-commerce.
ENVIRONMENTAL - Employment law.
- Health and safety law.
- Copyright, patents / Intellectual
property law.
- Data Protection.
d. Explanation of the different factors which impact on the business, based on the SWOT
and PESTLE analyses?
On the basis of the analysis that is being carried out, it is found that the firm lacks much
of the management skills such that the company organised service such as railway outings for the
potential consumers of the members who belong from that of the local temperance movement.
On the other hand, Shares within the Thomas Cook have plunged up to about 30% after analysts
at a bank claimed that the travel firm's shares were "worthless". The stakeholders of the firm
didn’t find much interest g a there were issues in regard to the profit sharing ration. On the other
hand, the output after the investment was not acceptable by the various stakeholders of the
company (Henne et al., 2014).
e. Review of the effectiveness of the business?
Their product and services range from the hospitality services; they even tailor make their
product offerings taking into consideration the diversified category of the market segment that
prevails within the economy. They make use of the internet platform for the booking purpose.

On the other hand, the firm also makes use of the paper form for the local peoples who visit the
firm for the booking purpose.
Their marketing strategy comprises of a rapid “one-stop-shop” in order to appreciate the
business corporation. This one-stop-shop helps in the improvement of the business/sales
performance by means of the sympathetic customer’s commerce better. The company makes
sure that their operational department obtains the detailed stats and monetary & planned analysis
of companies functioning within the same industry (Dale et al., 2016). It recognizes the potential
associate and suppliers – with key information on their businesses and places.
Figure: Fluctuations in the market share
Source: (Statistica, 2019)

f. Determination of potential improvements that could be made to the business, based on
the SWOT, PESTLE and market analyses that have been carried out?
On the basis of the evaluation, it is to note that the firm can undertake joint partnership
with that of the start-up firms or with that of the growing firms. This will help the firm to be
stronger in terms of business objectives. On the other perspective, it will help in the process of
sharing the responsibility and the burden of work that stays within the hand of the concerning
business firm. Besides, in order to generate competitive advantage, the firm should focus on its
product offerings extra fringe benefits scheme is to be introduced for the potential consumers of
the market who are loyal consumers and that for the new consumers.
The firm should also take care of its supply chain they are to be given immense priority
such that they fail to undertake with any other rival business firm.
g. A business plan that you have developed for improving the business. This plan must be
justified?
A suitable business plan would be to make use of e-mail marketing and that of the
newsletters. Besides, there is a need for the firm on a real time basis to bring in the consumers
feedback and that of their interest and ratings within the internet platform. Besides, making use
of the digital billboards and banners within the outside physical outlet in order to attract the
interest of the passer-by.
Speaking in terms of the operational department, there is a need to classify each of the
team into minor peer groups such that responsibilities and duties can be shared equally. Large
groups often create mess and conflicts among each other.
Speaking in terms of their marketing objectives, there is a requirement for the firm to
make use of the local marketing professional upon the introduction of the formal groups this will

help them in better understanding of the market environment and that of their characteristics
(Dale et al., 2016).
However, within the internal environment, the use of the focus group will be undertaken
to observe the behaviour and the management efforts of the individual concerning employees,
workers and that of the HR professionals.
Figure: Change in market trends
Source: (Statistica, 2019)
h. Conclusion with summarises the key points of your analysis and the main proposals for
improvement?
Thus, it is being concluded that the firm is able to sustain in the market. However, there
lies huge number of threats in the coming era of time for which there is a need for the firm to
develop its own set of competitive strategy and advantage in order to tackle the obstacles that

take place in the near days. Besides, there is a need for the firm to make use of the professional
experts in order to give their advice in the marketing strategies and that of their business plan. On
the other hand, the use of the democratic kind of leadership is to be maintained such that the
voice and recommendations of the employee should be heard. This is to make sure that the
maximum efforts are being undertaken to make the business objective fall in the formulated
business plan.

2. TASK 2:
i. Introduction, which recaps the short description of the selected travel or tourism
business?
The concerning firm maintains about 22,672 employees. The firm’s annual revenue is
about $10.5B. The CEO of the firm is Peter Fankhauser. The firm is operating for the early era of
2007; it is of British originated firm. The business firm was inaugurated in the year of 2007 on
the 19th of June (Thomascook.com, 2019). It was Thomas-Cook who established the travel
agency with the aim to serve the consumer market and those who desire to enjoy a pleasant time
with the family and that of the belonging ones. Speaking in terms of their services, it ranges from
that of the foreign exchanges, international and that of the domestic holidays, Insurance of Visa,
Passport, Availability of travel insurance and much more others. It extended over the 233
different regions of the country with the change in time.
j. Evaluation of the current skills of key managers and selected staff?
Speaking in terms of the manager they are very professional, they are highly graduate,
and most of them are from well-known institutions and colleges. They are mostly educated
within the field of the hospitality industry.
Their technical team keeps track and movement of the consumers within the official
website of the company. This IT professional team is the primary body for maintaining the
records of the booking and that of the transactions (Thomascook.com, 2019).
Their management skills comprise of the diving the entire organisation in the three
individual levels they are as the top level, middle level, and the lower level management team.
Their management team is professionally acquired with the set of knowledge in regard to

marketing and strategic business moves. Their roles comprise of the following criteria, they are
as:
 Promoting and marketing the business.
 Dealing with customer queries and complaints.
 Providing advice about visas or passports.
 Meeting profit or sales targets.
 Preparing promotional materials and displays.
 Recruiting, training and supervising staff.
 Managing budgets.
 Maintaining statistical and financial records.
 Planning.
 Selling holidays and insurance.
k. The plan that you have devised for developing the skills of key managers and selected
staff?
The skills development plan is as follows:
The manager & the top level management:
Periodic training will be carried out for the manager to make them aware of the changes
that are taking place within the travel industry and the future scope that stays within the hands of
the rival business firm. On the other hand making use of the statistical measures, there is a need
for the firm to compare the financial report and t bring them in the eye of the top management
department in order to make the superior hierarchy aware of the up shifts and down shifts within
the business activities of the firm (O'Neil et al., 2014). The use of the third party like that of the

marketing consultant can be undertaken in order to study the nature of the business scenario and
that of the modification that can be made to achieve further efficiency. There is also a need to
prepare a primary business plan that will be backed up by the contingency plan of the firm.
The Employees:
Periodic basis training is required for the employees and that for the unions and workers.
They are to be equipped with the knowledge of other business firms manner of working such that
they will gain a scenario as of what are the set of the skills gaps in terms of management,
individual efforts ad that of the technology means in order to cope up with them and to
successfully obtain a major proportion of the market share (O'Neil et al., 2014). The training
method will comprise of the two different strategies that are the on-the-job training and that of
the off-the-job training both will be carried upon. However, off-the-job training will be carried
upon the proceedings of the on-the-job training.
l. The conclusion which summarizes your key recommendations for travel / tourism?
Thus, it is being concluded that the behaviours of the consumers keep on fluctuating with
the changes in the product offerings. It is the competitive advantage of the firm that makes it
different in comparison to the other rival business firms. There are various factors that together
contribute towards the success of the concerning business firm. Besides, there is a need for the
firm to make use of the innovative latest technology in order to cope up with the dynamic
changes. On the other hand, the training criteria is required on a periodic basis. This is to make
sure that each of the individuals stays motivated and contributes jointly towards the aim of the
concerning business environment.

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