THOMAS COOK INDIA AND SOTC TARGET EXTENDED WEEKEND OF RAKSHA BANDHAN AND INDEPENDENCE DAY: LAUNCH RANGE OF HOLIDAY – BREAKS WITH SPECIAL OFFERS, ACROSS DOMESTIC AND CLOSER –TO-HOME DESTINATIONS

BY TTT NEWS SERVICE

MUMBAI, 9 AUGUST 2022

• Ready to book and personalised Domestic and  International holidays.
• Unique experiences, outdoor adventure, wellness and spa-cations.
• Buy One Get One – Companion Free across select India  and International holidays.
• Early Bird offer on select tours.
• Holiday Now, Pay on ReturnWith Raksha Bandhan falling on a Thursday followed by Independence Day on Monday, the second week of August offers an ideal opportunity for an exciting 4-5 days extended weekend getaway. Raksha Bandhan being a school holiday and Independence Day a bank holiday, families, young professionals/millennials and couples/DINKs are displaying a strong appetite for a holiday break. To maximise on this opportunity, Thomas Cook India, India’s leading omnichannel travel services company and its Group Company, SOTC Travel, have introduced a range of holidays with special offers/deals across domestic and closer-to-home destinations.

Thomas Cook and SOTC’s consumer data reveals growing demand for short holidays/mini-vacations – with 69% of respondents displaying keen interest in the upcoming Raksha Bandhan-Independence Day extended weekend. Over 66% of the respondents indicated preference for domestic locales, while 34% were open to short-haul international options.

To tap into the extended weekend demand Thomas Cook India and SOTC have launched an exciting holiday range to favourite Indian locales (like Kashmir, Leh-Ladakh, Kerala, Goa and Andaman) and closer-to-home and easy visa destinations like Dubai, Abu Dhabi; island destinations like Maldives and Mauritius and South East Asia’s Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Special offers have been announced to capitalize on the cruise opportunity as well. Cruise options for the extended weekend include: Genting Dream (2 nights Singapore-Malaysia on 10 th Aug); Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Spectrum of the Seas (3 nights cruise from Singapore on 11 th Aug) or Cordelia Cruises from Chennai to Chennai or Vizag to Chennai via Puducherry.

Thomas Cook and SOTC’s extended weekend holiday breaks include a range of ready-to-book and personalised experiences: outdoor and adventure, including: safaris, biking, hiking/trekking, camping, water rafting and paragliding; drivecations to nearby locales and spa-wellness getaways. Additionally, the Companies also offer air-inclusive tours with Vistara Getaways, Air Arabia Holidays and Emirates Holidays.

Rajeev Kale, President and  Country Head – Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India) Limited said, “With both Raksha Bandhan and Independence Day falling on weekdays, customers are offered a great opportunity of an extended weekend getaway! To help our customers plan their holiday break, we have launched an exciting range, across domestic and closer to home destinations.”.

“We have introduced a slew of attractive offers like Buy One Get One Free – Companion offers across select India and international destinations, early bird specials and many more. Customers can select from our array of options: safari-outdoor-adventure, wellness getaways, cruises and plenty more, he added.”

Daniel D’souza President and  Country Head – Holidays, SOTC Travel said, “Public holidays and festivals closer to the weekend can be utilised for an exciting mini-cation. For this upcoming long weekend of Raksha Bandhan and Independence Day, we are seeing a 69% increase in travel desire from various segments including family/ multi-generational family; millennials/young professionals and couples to explore both domestic and international locales. Our long weekend getaways include unique experiences at attractive price points to a range of favourite destinations that will create unforgettable memories for our customers.

Additionally, our unique omnichannel network offers customers the convenience of selecting their preferred mode of contacting us: via our holiday apps, virtual holiday store, portal, call centre or extensive retail outlets pan India.”

About Thomas Cook (India) Limited:

Set up in 1881, Thomas Cook (India) Limited. (TCIL) is the leading omnichannel travel company in the country offering a broad spectrum of services including Foreign Exchange, Corporate Travel, MICE, Leisure Travel and Value Added Services. It operates leading B2C and B2B brands including Thomas Cook, SOTC, TCI, SITA, Asian Trails, Allied T Pro, Australian Tours Management, Desert Adventures, Luxe Asia, Travel Circle International Limited (TCI L), Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited, Distant Frontiers, TC Tours, Digiphoto Entertainment Imaging (DEI), Go Vacation, Private Safaris East  and South Africa.

As one of the largest travel service provider networks headquartered in the Asia-Pacific region, The Thomas Cook India Group spans 25 countries across 5 continents.