The Kuoni Group: An Overview
Kuoni Travel Holdings, headquartered at Switzerland is one of the largest Travel Companies in the world with a business portfolio of Leisure Travel, Business Travel and Incoming Services.
Kuoni is committed to creating the best value for customers, employees, shareholders and business partners. Kuoni Travel strives to be successful in its core business activities that include: Leisure Travel, Business Travel and Incoming Services.
The Company encourages entrepreneurship and innovation at all levels.
It thinks and acts internationally.
Kuoni stands for reliability, best value for money, quality and fairness in business. Kuoni has a network in 27 countries and 6500 employees all over the world. In 2001, for the 4th time in a row Kuoni won the World Travel Award as best Tour Operator
SOTC -SPORT ABROAD
SOTC Sport Abroad is the new division of Kuoni Travel (India) Pvt. Ltd., exclusively promoting sports related leisure travel. Being the first specialized division of its kind, this division and its tours offer the same superlative quality and innovation, which have been the hallmarks of SOTC’s holiday packages for over three decades.
SOTC Sport Abroad addresses the demands of the “new” traveler for a unique holiday experience. It aims at simplifying the sports holiday experience by being a one stop shop; blending the thrill and excitement of major international sports events with confirmed air tickets, luxurious and comfortable hotels, comprehensive sightseeing options and more. Moreover with its direct associations with the organizers of these events, clients can rest assured that the best seats in the house are there for the taking.
As India’s first and only dedicated sports Travel Company, the following are the offerings and highlights of SOTC Sport Abroad to promote sports related leisure travel as well as sports viewer ship and following in general.
As Official Agents (in association with World of Events – Global Association) of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003, South Africa over one thousand cricket fans traveled with SOTC Sport Abroad. These included film stars, TV personalities, ex – cricketers, celebrities, corporate incentive groups as well as individuals. The marketing effort here included production of a full color brochure, posters and direct mailers that were sent to key people in corporate houses, VIP clients and an extensive network of GSA's.
Exclusive live screenings of the India v. Pakistan World Cup match in 8 cities throughout India. The event included extensive branding, complimentary F&B service, & giveaways held at prime 5 star hotels across all 8 city venues. This match being a most eagerly awaited one drew an impressive crowd for all screenings.
SOTC Sport Abroad was the Official Agent for the Malaysian Grand Prix. This year, despite it being its first year in the business and the fact that the Cricket World Cup Finals and the GP were taking place the same day, SOTC Sport Abroad notched up 100 plus sales for our 2003 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix Packages.
To launch the Division as well as the packages for the above mentioned event, a press conference and road show was held on the 6th of January, 2003 at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai.
Both functions were extremely well received by all and were attended in strength by the press, and it received coverage in all relevant media. Mr. Ahmad Mustafa, General Manager of the Sepang International Circuit and the entire marketing team flew down for this event cementing their faith in our credibility as well as highlighting the significance of the growing F1 following in India for GP organizers. A full color brochure was unveiled at the event, drawing rave reviews from one and all for its design.
Celina Jaitly, Femina Ms. India – 2001 was appointed as Brand Ambassador for SOTC Sport Abroad. She was present at the launch press conference as well as the GP itself. The Circuit Management was so awed by her charm and beauty that in February, a month before the race, they flew her down to the circuit for a press conference and photo shoot. All major Malaysian news publications carried these photographs on the front page the next day. Celina Jaitly has agreed to join SOTC Sport Abroad for 4 sports events through the year. Most packages include a concluding lunch or dinner for our clients with Ms. Jaitly.
so awed by her charm and beauty that in February, a month before the race, they flew her down to the circuit for a press conference and photo shoot. All major Malaysian news publications carried these photographs on the front page the next day. Celina Jaitly has agreed to join SOTC Sport Abroad for 4 sports events through the year. Most packages include a concluding lunch or dinner for our clients with Ms. Jaitly.
Sport Abroad has also decided to become one of the main sponsors of Autocar’s (India’s leading automotive and motor sports publication) F1 Fantasy game which runs through the season. As a prize, SOTC Sport Abroad will be sending a winning contestant to Monza, amongst other GPs. In return SOTC Sport Abroad will receive a massive branding on the center spread contest page along with a full-page color ad promoting the upcoming GP. This arrangement reaches out to the core fans of the sport in a focused manner.
With Sports Marketing still a niche segment, Sport Abroad has decided key tie-ups with key players in this field such as ESPN STAR Sports and Foster’s, etc. This includes regular work on events with them and promotion of sports travel in new and exciting ways. Recently an exclusive Race Day party was organized by Foster’s and SOTC Sport Abroad for the San Marino Grand Prix at Club Velocity. With a host of celebrities attending and a fun filled interactive event on the cards, success was insured. The response was wonderful with the page 3 newspapers taking a bite.
One of the biggest event’s that was recently participated in by SOTC Sport Abroad was Speed Run 2002. This was a first of its kind road race held on the new Bandra Worli Express Way. The event was an “open to public” 400 meters drag race for motorbikes as well as cars. For 2 days straight it drew the crowds as well as the contestants, making it an extremely successful event. SOTC Sport Abroad used it as a platform for promoting the Malaysian Grand Prix. Bharat Petroleum, Autocar and Sport Abroad jointly organized the event, with Hungama Events as the event managers.
Sport Abroad also tied up with select bars and restaurants to promote sports events and packages. These included an exclusive tie ups with the Sports Bar at the Bowling Co sports bars and retail spaces throughout the country to use these venues for marketing our packages as well as running consumer driven contests. A host of other venues have been short-listed and which includes a number of venues that have formally approached us for cross-marketing initiatives.
Posted on 11/11/2004 6:06:52 PM
