Zooey Travel: Tour Company Overview Proposal

Executive summary

Who we are

We are Zooey Travel, a tour company in Edinburgh that offer Scotland customized tour to Chinese tourists. Customers can book a tour through our website, there are different day of itineraries in our website and they can adjustment these itineraries depending on their wants through communicate with our operator. For the first three years, we would operate in Scotland only and eventually expand to England as the business grows. For those tourists who coming to Scotland from china, our operator will provide a detail introduction that makes customer to exactly what and where they’d like to go. Furthermore, our tour guides will have the expert knowledge to provide the best possible experience for the customer.

Why this name

The pronunciation of zooey in Cantonese is like, zooey travel means like to travel.

The business opportunity

According to COTRI (China outbound tourism research institute) 2018 report, customized tour has become the third largest market for outbound travel in China and is expected to occupy 33% of the market soon. Data of 2017 shows that group tours, FIT (free independent travel), and customized tour was 44%, 42% and 14% of the outbound travel market respectively.

Why customized tour

Customized tour VS FIT

• Making travel plan is cumbersome.
• No one serves and introduces attractions.
• No one help when encounter difficulties.
• Language problems.

Our operator will making itinerary for the customer, our tour guide know how to make travel experience better and they will help to deal with difficulties.

Customized tour VS group tour

• Flexible.
• Better service (1 guide : maximum 8 customer).
• Save time (don’t spend time in dislike attractio.

According to UK CHINESE TIMES, customized tour is attracting the attention of many tourists with new travel needs.

According to Diageo report, the number of Chinese tourists visiting whisky distillery increased by 147% in 2017 compare with 2016, total sale amount has increased by 210%.

2017 saw a record number of Chinese visitors to Scotland, with 51% growth compared to 2016.

The competition

• Experienced operator.
• High efficiency.
• Reliable tour guide.
• Cheaper.
• More choices.

Marketing and sales strategy

We promote our products in different ways, both online and offline, so that potential customers can know us through as many channels as possible.

Financial analysis

Based on product development and promotion, the income and profit forecasts for the first three years:

Business details

Company name: zooey travel.

The business will: (Provide a brief description of what your business will do)

Zooey travel is specializing in providing customized tour in Scotland to Chinese tourists and Chinese students who study in UK.

Key personnel

Position/main responsibilities

• Director / exercise independent judgement in all decision-making.
• Financial bookkeeper/ record financial transaction
• Tour operator/ organising tours, communicate with customers and guides.

Experience and knowledge of our industry

I worked in a Chinese travel agency in Scotland for about three years, and I was doing many positions in that company during the three years.

• Bookkeeper: processing invoices, receipts, payments; prepare the profit / loss sheet of every single tours; checking company bank statement; completing VAT return;
• HR: recruiting, screening, interviewing and placing office staffs, and handle payroll for them. Conduct new tour guide training and testing for 3-4 day highland tour.
• Marketing: to analyse the ads costs and conversion data in google adwords and baidu PPC (seeking people who are interested in our services); implement promotion in Chinese student association (enhance reputation) ; organize events with other companies (lower the organize cost)
• Customer service: phone customer for feedback

Previous employment: Wangping Travel Ltd (the largest tour operator in Scotland).

Key skills brought to the business

• Bookkeeper: legal knowledge; resourcefulness; analytical skill; attention to detail; math; computer.
• HR: organization, multitasking, communication, problem solving,
• Marketing: communication, creativity, stress management, analytical thinking.
• Customer service: patience, attentiveness, knowledge of the product, ability to read customer, persuasion skill.

Academic/professional qualifications:

• International finance: accounting practices, statistics, financial management, banking and insurance.

Other key personnel (including shareholders)

Position/main responsibilities

• Vehicle manager/ purchasing and maintain vehicles.
• Tour guide/ accompany tourists to attractions, and give them information and insights that help them make the most of the experience.

Experience and knowledge of our industry

Was working in this industry since 2012, he has much relative experience such as tour guide; product sales;

• Go to Scotland 2012-2015 Tour guide / Guide the business and official travel with 8/9 seaters around UK.
• Wangping travel 2015-2017 Tour guide/ Guide the small group tourists with 8/9 seaters for highland tours.
• Edinburgh travel 2018 product developer; sales/ Planning, develop and pricing products, maintain the relationship with customer and domestic tour wholesalers.

Key skills brought to the business

• Tour guide/ communication, narration skill, problem solving skill, memory, professional driving skill.
• Developer, sales/ business basics, strategic thinking, product vision.

Academic/professional qualifications

Business management/ leadership, professional selling and sales strategies.

The business idea

sum up your business idea

ZOOEY TRAVEL is a tour operator base in Edinburgh, we provide customize tour with local guide on foot or with vehicle to Chinese independent tourists and Chinese students who in UK to show around Scotland. We target at Chinese tourists and the Chinese students in UK who wants customizable tour and interested in in-depth travel in Scotland. There are many different itineraries in our website for the reference to customers, customer can negotiate with our operator and adjust itinerary. And we also offer happy hour (activities and transportation) in off-peak season to tourists and students who wants a short time activities around Edinburgh.

Business goals

What do you want to achieve in your first year of business? (for example, turnover of £100,000 or trading at breakeven)

1. A good website.
2. One 9 seaters vehicle.
3. 1 full-time staff.
4. 1 part-time staff.
5. 2 reliable part-time tour guides (at least one can do guide with car).
6. Enhance reputation/ popularity in Scotland tourism industry.
7. Building relationship with supplier, extend the credit term, reduce the cost.
8. Turnover over 100,000.

Where do you see your business in 3-5 years’ time?

1. Base on the first-year achievement.
2. Customized tour expanded to the whole UK.
3. Improve product price.
4. Develop an APP.
5. two more 9 seaters vehicles in Scotland.
6. three more tour guides.
7. one more full-time staff in Edinburgh (operator).
8. Develop more day trip activities.
9. Develop highland 3-4 day small group package.
10. Setting a branch in London.
11. one full time and one part time staff in London branch.
12. two 9-seater in London.
13. 2 reliable tour guides in London.
14. Develop cooperative tour guide with vehicle in Manchester, Belfast.
15. Turnover reaches 200,000 per year.

What the business does

Why We Provide Customised Tours

The marketing research conducted for this report showed that there was significant demand for customised tours that would give clients a more in-depth and unique experience

Why We Provide Happy Hours

• The attraction is a unique feature of the company that is not matched by any of its competitors that currently operate in the market.
• Happy Hours target Chinese students who are receiving an education in the United Kingdom, an audience that is generally ignored by tour providers
• The feature reduces the company’s reliance on peak tourism seasons, as Happy Hours can be conducted throughout the year, normalising traffic and enabling an additional source of income

Why We Provide Free Independent Tours

• The feature targets students who live in Edinburgh during their education period. This category of consumers is going to be more familiar with Scotland and the English language than the average tourist and, as such, they would not need the assistance of a tour guide.
• Students likely lack knowledge of the various special landmarks and attractions that can be interesting to a person that wants to explore. Internet research is challenging and unreliable, and our company will provide a dependable source of information for a small fee.
• The company can refer people to its partnered attractions and other locations and receive further financial benefits from the agreements it has with those facilities and the increased traffic it creates for them.

Recommend itinerary

One day

Edinburgh city tour on foot

Highlight

Edinburgh is not only the capital of Scotland, but also the origin of the most familiar Scottish kilt. As a famous cultural city in the UK, there are many well-preserved monuments in the historic city of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, St. Giles Cathedral and other places of interest are located.

Itinerary

Departure from waterloo place—Carlton hill—princess street (Scott monument, princes street garden) — national gallery of Scotland—bank of Scotland headquarters – royal mile (st giles cathedral, Edinburgh castle, the whisky experience) – the elephant house –greyfriars bobby — national museum of Scotland – museum of childhood – the people’s story museum – museum of Edinburgh – palace of Holyrood

Discover malt whisky & St. Andrews

Highlight

Scotch whisky is a whisky that is only produced in Scotland. Scotch whisky is made by malting, mashing, fermentation, and distillation. In this tour, we can see the entire whisky making process and tasting. Then, we will come to St. Andrews, a quiet coastal city, there is the oldest university in Scotland, the origin of golf, it is also the place where Prince William and his wife met. Upon returning to Edinburgh we will pass the forth bridge, the first major structure in Britain to be constructed of steel, its also where Jay Chou’s MV was shot.

Itinerary

Departure from customer require – pitlochry – blair athol distillery – St. Andrews – forth bridge – Edinburgh

North Berwick

Highlight

North Berwick is a pleasant seaside town in 40 mins by drive from Edinburgh, boasting great beaches and coastal scenery, and the Scottish Seabird Centre. When we arrived, we will visit Tantallon castle first, Ascend Tantallon’s towers for spectacular views of the Bass Rock and to watch gannets plunge into the North Sea. Then we will have an about 3 hours boat trip, we can sight seeing, bird watching, fishing for cod or mackerel.

Itinerary

Edinburgh – north Berwick (Tantallon Castle, bass rock, fishing) – Edinburgh

Loch Lomond & Sterling

Highlight

Loch lomond is the largest loch in Scotland and is protected as scotland’s first national park, also is one of most beautiful and iconic places. Much of the luss village to see today was created in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, with elaborate flower displays on all sides as visitors make their way to the loch shore. Glencoe is one of the most beautiful scenery on the A82, and Glencoe is also one of the locations for the film 007 skyfall. We can visit stirling castle when we arrived in stirling, the castle sits atop castle hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the stirling sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three Between the steep cliffs, giving it a strong defensive position.

Itinerary

• Edinburgh—loch Lomond – Luss – Glencoe – Sterling – Edinburgh.

Two days highland tour

• D1: Edinburgh—Loch Lomond—Luss village—glencoe — Glenfinnan Viaduct – fort William.
• D2: fort William—distillery – pitlochry – St. Andrews – forth bridge – Edinburgh.

Three days highland tour

• D1: Edinburgh—Loch Lomond—Luss village—glencoe — Glenfinnan Viaduct – fort William.
• D2: Fort William—loch ness – eilean donan castle – portree – inverness.
• D3: Inverness —distillery – pitlochry – St. Andrews – forth bridge – Edinburgh.

Four days highland tour

• D1: Edinburgh—Loch Lomond—Luss village—glencoe — Glenfinnan Viaduct – fort William.
• D2: Fort William—loch ness – eilean donan castle – portree.
• D3: Portree – the old man of storr – lealt – inverness.
• D3: Inverness —distillery – pitlochry – St. Andrews – forth bridge – Edinburgh.

North Coast 500

• D1: Edinburgh – Oban – fort William.
• D2: Fort William – poolewe – ullapool.
• D3: ullapool – scourie – durness – Thurso.
• D4: Thurso – John O’Groats – Dornoch.
• D5: Dornoch – Inverness.
• D6: Inverness – St. Andrews – Edinburgh.

Happy hour

• Option1: paintball.
• Option2: fishing.
• Option3: karting.
• Option4: horsing.
• Pick up from waterloo place – activity – drop off in waterloo place.

How is works

Customised Tour

The company’s website will display several different itinerary variations that the users can view for reference. These options will display the various attractions the company usually shows. After determining whether he or she likes the options, the user can contact the company. It will always have one or several employees, depending on the demand, online and ready to discuss the specific details of the trip. Once the customer is satisfied with the details, he or she will reserve the tour by submitting a 30% deposit. Finally, five days before the beginning of the trip, the customer will finalise the operation by transferring the rest of the payment. In the case of additional services such as ticket and accommodation arrangements, a separate discussion will be necessary for the fee arrangement.

Happy Hour

Happy Hour trips will be held regularly, with dates being listed on the website. The customer will visit the page, decide to make a reservation for the appropriate time, and pay the full sum via an online payment processor. Afterwards, he or she will have to arrive at the designation location and time with some form of proof of purchase.

Free Independent Tour

Free Independent Tours will be advertised on the company’s website, but purchasable only physically in the company’s office. The customer will arrive, make the payment, receive a brochure with a guide to various landmarks and flyers for the company’s partnered locations, and leave. If the feature becomes popular, the company will consider arranging a delivery service, particularly if buyers are located on university campuses.

Example

Assume that there is a customer want to book a three days tour, after he look our website, and live chat with our customer.

Upon confirmation, the customer will provide his or her name, contact number, and email address to the operator. The company will use these to send him or her an invoice for the initial deposit sum. He or she will pay the amount, which is equal to 30% of the total cost, in a manner that is convenient for them. The company will then finalise the procedure and send the client a confirmation letter via email. It will notify the customer of the details, such as the name of the guide, shortly before the tour’s beginning.

In this case, the tour guide will pick the group up at 9:00, arriving at Apex hotel on the 8^th of June. He or she will be the driver, transporting the tourists to various attractions and introducing them. The guide will elaborate and provide additional information if the customers request it, and requests for slight alterations such as short stops for photography and closer inspections will be permitted. However, the driver will take time into consideration and make sure to remind the clients when it is time to leave. He or she will bring them to Waverley Station by 17:00, collect feedback, and help them gather their luggage for the departure of their train.

What makes the business different

Your product/service is unique or different compared with the competition because:

• Customised Tour
• Personalised Operator Experience

Competitor: Competitors usually employ independent contractors who use standardised routes and tour programs. A guide can work for multiple operators, forcing employers to plan tours while taking the schedules of both customers and workers into consideration.

Difference: Our company will employ professional guides in a full-time capacity, ensuring that they are available immediately or at the time of the customers’ choosing. The approach will also enable the guides to plan customised routes according to the clients’ wishes.

• High Efficiency

Competitor: There is no coordination between the different tour guides employed by competing companies. As such, it takes a considerable amount of time to check whether there is a guide available for a specific tour at a particular time frame. The operation is inefficient and increases customer wait time, lowering their satisfaction as a result.

Difference: Our company will have a dedicated operator who will coordinate the activities of all your guides in its employment. He or she will organise a timetable and be able to determine whether a particular period is available for booking by inspecting the table. The approach will be efficient, increase satisfaction, and enable data gathering about areas where services are lacking and require improvements.

• Additional Services

Competitor: Competing agencies limit themselves to offering tours to consumers and ending the relationship at that stage, leaving the customer to secure travel arrangements and accommodations on their own. In doing so, they limit their financial opportunities and the potential income per customer.

Difference: Our company can take a more comprehensive approach to enabling an excellent tourist experience for consumers. It will offer an extensive service that will begin before the customer arrives in the country. If necessary, our agents will provide the client assistance with securing a tourist visa. They will also purchase tickets, book accommodations, and tables at restaurants the clients want to visit, meet them at the airport, and do their best to improve the customer’s experience. It will also be able to secure an additional source of profit by partnering with local businesses and directing customers there for accommodations and meals in exchange for a fee.

• Service Risk

Competitor: Independent guides are unreliable, as they are prone to not arriving for the tour on time or at all and trying to cheat their employers. Competing firms usually put tourists in contact with a guide and take a 10-15% commission from the worker once the booking is finished. However, guides will often request that the customer book directly and skip the platform during negotiations. They can also send someone else to conduct the tour in their place, and the independent nature of their work means they may render poor service or fail to arrive.

Difference: Our company will use guides that are directly employed and receive salaries on a monthly basis or after the conclusion of the tour. It will contact customers directly and assign them a guide without having them negotiate with the employee themselves. In doing so, the company will provide a guarantee of quality and security, and, as it will receive the payment instead of the guide, there is no risk of being cheated.

• Reliable Tour Guide

Competitor: There are no qualifications necessary to apply as an independent guide, as competitors expect measures such as rating systems to leave guides who provide inadequate services without work. However, in practice, these companies are interested in retaining everybody regardless of their quality as a guide. The commission-based model used by these firms means that they only care about the number of bookings, and the guides will take the reputation damage in case of unsatisfactory service instead of the firm.

Difference: Our guide employment process will be strict and demand a variety of qualifications. We will require a period of residence in Scotland of at least three years, mastery of both Mandarin and English, awareness of the local culture, and prior guide training. We will also screen for traits such as love of Scotland and communicativeness as well as a helpful nature. By selecting elite staff and offering them financial incentives, our company will establish a consistent quality standard that our competitors will struggle to match and potentially convince their best guides to change workplaces.

• More Choices

Most competitors expect to serve large tourist groups and purchase 9-seat vehicles for transport. As such, customers are forced to pay for a large car even if they are alone or with a small group. Tour operators usually charge the full price, which is financially sound from their perspective, but not consumer-friendly.

• Happy Hour
• A Unique Experience

Happy Hours are promotional activities in which various entertainment facilities throughout Edinburgh offer discounts for limited periods. Our company will find places that offer Happy Hours and offer customers to visit these locations. Other companies do not do this nor inform clients of the tradition or the opportunity. As such, Happy Hours will be a distinctive feature of the company and an additional profit opportunity through partnerships with these locations.

Legal requirements (including regulations and licences particular to your business)

The legal and insurance requirements that apply in your business are:

1. Vehicle insurance commercial purpose
2. Insurance for employees and customers

You will meet your legal and insurance requirements by:

• Purchase hire and reward insurance for vehicles (comprehensive)

More information on the last page

• Purchase public liability insurance

Limits:

• public/products liability
  • £2,000,000 any one occurrence, and in the annual aggregate in respect of products.
  • Excess: £250 each and every occurrence in respect of damage to property.
• professional indemnity
  • £500,000 any one loss and in all any one period of insurance.
  • Excess: £250 per person, but limited to £1,250 in all any one occurrence.
• employers’ liability:
  • £10,000,000 any one occurrence, limited to £5,000,000 any one occurrence in respect of terrorism &/or asbestos.

Market research

Trends in your chosen market are

As of 2017, Great Britain was becoming a popular tourism location among Chinese travellers, with a constant growth of visits. Toward the end of the year, approximately 337,000 people from China visited the country and spent up to $900 million on their trips. The trend is unlikely to slow, as China’s population is currently becoming more interested in tourism, and it has been the country with the most outbound travellers for the past three years. Furthermore, as many as 95,000 Chinese students were studying in the United Kingdom as of 2017, and this number is likely to increase, as well. China is the country that sends the most people to European countries for purposes such as education.

Chinese tourists prefer to visit large cities, and as such, London is the United Kingdom’s most popular destination for Chinese people who go sightseeing. However, Scotland is also a popular location, and Edinburgh, its capital, is second only to London in its tourist numbers. In 2018, Hainan airlines ran direct return flights between Edinburgh and Beijing twice a week, establishing the first direct air link between Scotland and mainland China. According to a Visit Scotland report in 2017, the number of visitors from China to Scotland has grown consistently, showing an increase of 51% in 2017, with the total spending becoming 22% higher.

In January 2016, the UK officially launched a new visitor visa scheme that was intended to improve tourism by making it easier for people to visit the country repeatedly. Chinese citizens are now able to apply for a two-year multi-entry visa that is suitable for both business and touristic activities. The previous standard tourist visa for Chinese people was limited to 6 months, and the new regime represents a substantial increase. Due to the extra air routes, increased flight frequencies, and more accessible tourist visa procedures, more and more Chinese tourists have begun coming to Scotland in the following years.

With the increase in the number of Chinese tourists throughout the world came an increased interest in sophistication and customisation. According to Sina Finance, personalised travels by Chinese tourists increased in number by 130% in 2017. The visitors want to be able to plan trips and visit historical and attractive locations to experience Scotland’s culture without falling into tourist traps and receiving a superficial view of the country. Furthermore, the report shows that the most popular country for customised touring in Europe is the United Kingdom.

Tourism is one of the biggest economic drivers in Scotland, a country with an abundance of historical architecture and beautiful views. It makes a substantial contribution to Scotland’s financial performance and is a significant source of employment within Scotland with one in twelve people employed in the tourism sector. The size and success of the industry, combined with the increased interest Chinese tourists are showing in Scotland, indicate that a business that targets this category of visitors can produce significant financial results.

Profiling customers

The customer groups you will be selling to are

Our company will target middle-class Chinese tourists who want a comprehensive tour experience and can afford to stay in the country for extended periods. These people will typically be middle-aged and travel in families, possibly with one or two children. As students undergoing higher education, they will be somewhat knowledgeable and open to new experiences. They will typically be highly educated but may not speak English, necessitating the use of guides who can speak both Mandarin and English. These customers will want high-quality service and likely try to organise their trip in detail before embarking. As such, they will be concerned about reliability and transparency, while the price will be a secondary priority. These customers will be willing to pay a premium for excellent service and a guarantee that the arrangement will be honoured.

A secondary target group will be younger people, such as students, who want to experience the area outside of Edinburgh. These customers will generally value cost above everything else, as students are usually not wealthy. As residents of Edinburgh, they will likely be able to speak English at a level sufficient for communication. Quality will probably not be a significant concern, and they will be unable to afford a lengthy stay. As such, the company will offer them shorter tours that will concentrate on visits to unique locations and charge lower prices to accommodate their needs.

A majority of tourists from China visits Scotland in the period between July and September due to the coincidence of the time frame with Chinese summer holidays. However, there are reasons to travel in the other seasons that are related to different celebrations. The Chinese National Day and the traditional mid-autumn festival occur in October, giving people time to visit. February is when the Chinese New Year is celebrated, along with its associated holiday, giving people another opportunity to travel. Easter is celebrated in April, providing Chinese students with a break that they can use to go on a short tour of Edinburgh’s outskirts. Lastly, June is when students graduate and invite their parents to Edinburgh for a celebration.

Generally speaking, the influx of Chinese tourists into Scotland tends to exceed the capability of the tour system to accommodate it. As such, the supply is sufficient to enable the company to function in the industry despite the presence of competition. As such, once the company is sufficiently settled to gain the trust of consumers and have its reputation spread through marketing and word of mouth, it should experience a significant influx of business after several years of operations. This trend is represented in the projection by the growth of income and profits from the second year of operations to the third when the company can be expected to be well-established and popular.

Due to our products charge by per day, I made the first two year forecast days of tour per vehicle blow.

Year 1

How to calculate

Year 2

How to calculate

Your customer research has shown what your customers want is:

• Customised Tour
  • 1-7day (Scotland)
  • In-depth travel
  • Niche attractions
  • Special restaurant
  • Relaxing tour
  • Private
  • Flexible
• Happy Hour
  • Cheaper than taking a taxi
  • Together with other Chinese
  • Package price (transportation & ticket)
• Free Independent Tour
  • Low price
  • Short duration
  • Can be incorporated into other programs

How you know this

Customised Tour

According to Sina Finance, over 69% of Chinese tourists who travel to the United Kingdom in 2017 are in the 19-49 age range. Furthermore, the “Chinese Visitors to Scotland” 2017 report notes that Highlands and Islands were among the three most popular regions to visit, making it a priority target for tours.

According to the Ctrip report for 2017, more and more Chinese tourists do not like to travel through many cities in one trip. As such, customised, in-depth trips are becoming more popular because they can satisfy both needs and leave other areas for later exploration.

Happy Hour

According to my questionnaire results, most students, especially Chinese ones, are interested in experiencing short term, inexpensive activities. The results of the survey I conducted to determine this statistic are presented below (130 people were initially selected, I accepted the answers of 120 of them, 90% of responders are current or former students whose alma mater is in the United Kingdom)

• Do you want a short time activity when you are in Scotland?
  • Absolutely yes- 82.64%
  • Not sure-11.57%
  • No-5.79%
• For the day trip fee, what do you want to include
  • Transportation only-3.31%
  • Activity fee only-7.44%
  • Transportation and activity fee-89.26%
• How much is the highest you can accept for day trip.
  • Under 30-19.83%
  • 30 to 50- 51.24%
  • 50 to 60- 21.49%
  • Over 60 – 7.44%
  • Independent Tour

The questionnaire shows that many students are not prepared to spend large sums of money on tours. Furthermore, as people who have resided in Scotland for some time, they should have some familiarity with the country. As such, the company can offer tours without a guide’s assistance or transportation, providing people with information on the locations they can visit for a small fee. It can also point them to its partnered sites, allowing them to experience activities at a discount.

Number of customers you expect to win in each group and what they might pay:

Profiling competitors

For customized tour

How you can improve on their offer and/or price(s):

• We offer local guide on foot and with vehicle, we charge different prices to group 1-4 people and 5-8 people
• Our experienced operator will tailor itinerary, provide some hidden interesting attraction.
• Our operator manage the tour so that customer does not need to check availability one by one
• We will have live chat in our website during the working hour, expect working hour, customer can contact us by wechat, and they can get the respond in time.
• We will promote our product online and offline to increase publicity and visibility.
• Once our word of mouth and population increase, we will increase our price.

Managing market risks

Write down the risks you have identified

Low season

According to visit Scotland, off-season in Scotland from October to March, in 2017, there was 29% Chinese tourist visit Scotland.

Solution

We are a new business, we don’t recruit many full-time stuff, we don’t have many assets to maintain all around year. And we can use this period to prepare for the next peak season (recruit more guide, explore more marketing approaches, analysis product and services, develop more activity). Our day trip activity still running in off-peak season, snowboard/ski might very popular in that season.

Other tour company copy

With the demand rises, there will be more competitors, large company might use power of their own brands and combine with their own business, like fight ticket or accommodation to attract some customers.

Solution

Good service quality, good reputation, extensive experience is not easy to copy.

How to find customer with insufficient funds in marketing

For a new start-up company, there is no one know you, customer will not booking a tour from a company that they never know.

Solution

Upload our service to platform, which is free of charge, platform just charge the commission when customer has booked and paid.

Sending flyers in the city centre can also catch a part of potential customer, that’s also a low cost strategy.

Only one or two book day trip

For the day trip, if less than 3 people book, that will be loss.

Solution: we will still open this tour even though loss money, they have good experience with us, they will recommend us to others. If we don’t open this tour for these two customers, they may become competitor’s customer.

Pricing

How you can calculate your prices

• Customized tour
  • Tour guide wage;
  • Vehicle;
  • Petrol;
  • Parking fee;
  • Accommodation of guide;
  • Meal of guide;
  • Service charge.
• Happy hour
  • Tour guide wage;
  • Vehicle;
  • Activity ticket;
  • Petrol;
  • Parking fee.

How your prices compare with the competition

Reasons for the difference between your price(s) and your competitors’ price(s)

• The price is within the range of the offerings provided by the rest of the market, without significant outliers in either direction
• The price is close to the upper end of the range because the company offers premium, high-quality, and comprehensive services and aims to establish itself as an elite provider of tours and accommodations
• The price is lower than that of some of the competitors because they have sufficient brand power to increase their profit margins, unlike the newly established companies. Furthermore, some tour companies do not have full-time staff or a fleet of vehicles and have to rent them, increasing the costs for the consumer

Promotion and advertising

How and where will you promote your product/service?

Due to visit UK need visitor visa, they need to prepare the tour in advance, so we will promote our product before the peak season starts. Promote our products in different ways so that our customers can find us in different ways.

• Online promotion.
• SEM/PPC.

Through paid search advertising to buy advertising space in the search engine results is targeted, we can pay per click and get free traffic you pay to appear in front of the searches.

Marketing company domain on the popular search engine (baidu, google), China has an online population of 751 million, nearly 80% tourists using the search engine before they travel. But is a high cost method, sometime tourists clicked the website from search result when searching a destination, they just calling for consulting not booking a trip, but you will be charged. So we might stop this method on the low season.

How is work

Social media

According to China statistical report on internet development, Chinese people spend an average of three hours a day on their smartphone. Social media is one of the major driving forces of consumption in China. establishing a presence on the major social media is a key step.

Wechat- 980 million monthly active users by quarter 3 in 2017.

Weibo- with 376 million monthly active users as quarter 3 in 2017. (china’s version of Twitter)

How is work

E-commerce platform

China has an online population of 751 million and over 80% book their travel from e-commerce platform. So e-commerce platform is very helpful for marketing. The top ten e-commerce platform in China are Ctrip, Qunar.com, Piggy, Tuniu.com, Qyer.

We need to upload our product into platform for free of charge, and once the product sold, they will charge 8-10% commission.

• Offline promotion.
• Word of mouth marketing.

Encourage our customer write good review for us, and recommend us to their family or friend if needed.

• China’s hot cities local travel agency.

According to Sina finance, the population of top ten cities in 2017 travel to UK are Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Wuhan, Dongguan. According to Morgan Stanley, hot cities could become the larger driver of growth and consumer spending in the coming decade.

We plan to negotiate with travel agent in China, and provide a cheaper price (5% off) to attract them sending more tour to us.

Chinese student association

Chinese student association organizes events often, to provide prize to the event can increase reputation.

According to my experience in Wangping, many of Chinese student will invite their parents to travel around UK when they graduated from university, and most of them know Wangping from the association event.

We can provide 200 cash per union and put our leaflet in their gift bag for every audiences. We will sponsor these universities for their events: Edinburgh University, St.Andrew’s University, Stirling University, Glasgow University.

Poster in public area

Put the poster in the Chinese restaurant or Chinese supermarket.

1- year timeline of marketing

Due to the first year promotion, the visibility should be improved, in the second year we will cut half budge in google&baidu and Chinese association promotion.

Marketing budget for year 1

Staff

Working process

How to train the tour guide (process)

Premises

In year 3, office space of 2 worker in London, 300/month, office space of 3 worker in Edinburgh, 510/month.

Suppliers

Your key suppliers and their credit terms

Cooperative travel agents

• Beijing Shougang tourism ltd.
• Houniao travel.
• Naxuejia travel.
• China comfort travel haikou branch.
• Caissa travel Guangzhou branch.
• Edinburgh travel ltd.

Equipment

Managing operational risks

Start-up costs

Calculate how much money you need before you start trading

Personal survival budget

Profit and loss forecast

Sourcing finance

Total borrowing requirement for the business

Managing financial risks (such as, sales are less than forecasted or start-up finance takes three months longer to obtain)

The risks that you have identified for your financial forecast are:

1. Turnover less than expected.

Solution: provide discount, cooperate with more tour operator, cut costs.

2. Lack of start-up capital.

Solution: parent funding, looking for investor and give them dividends, sell my own asset.

3. Vehicle breakdown or repair fee more than expected.

Solution: purchase newer vehicle avoid breakdown.

4. E-commerce platform default money.

Solution: settlement the payment in time, stop cooperation if they cannot make payment in time.

5. Customer cancel the tour.

Solution: customer need to pay deposit when confirm the tour, if cancel without in advanced we don’t return the deposit, and looking for another tour immediately.

Cash flow forecast (first three year)

Sales =day of per month per vehicle (page 12) * we charge per day (vehicle)+ total day on foot * we charge per day (on foot) for example July sale= 25*360+5*150

Additional information