July 18, 2018 TnH Global 1

Thomas Cook India launches ‘Study Buddy’ to leverage the peak student travel season

Thomas Cook India eyes the high potential student travel segment for its Foreign Exchange business.

In a strategic move to capitalise on the significant and growing student travel segment, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., India’s leading integrated travel and travel related financial services company, has launched “Study Buddy”. This is an exclusive student focussed Foreign Exchange promotion available across Thomas Cook India’s omni-channel network, including over 150 foreign exchange outlets pan India, and extends over a 3 month period ending September 30, 2018.

Against the backdrop of a steady increase in Indian students opting to study abroad for graduate and post graduate studies, Thomas Cook India has registered an impressive 20-25% YoY growth in its foreign exchange student business over the last 3-4 years. Given the strong growth potential and in a focussed initiative to catalyse demand and expand its student market-share, Thomas Cook India has launched a 3 month strategic Study Buddy promotion- timed strategically to target the critical booking window for student travel. Study Buddy’s attractive offers and deals intend to inspire student foreign exchange transactions with a range of assured gifts, including a 20% discount Myntra gift voucher, a 10% discount on Skybags, and a laptop every day to a lucky winner.

In addition to the Study Buddy offers, Thomas Cook India’s Student portfolio offers a range of significant benefits:

· Attractive rates on purchase of foreign exchange

· Doorstep delivery

· Zero charges on Remittances for university/ tuition fees and living expenses

· The convenience and security of Thomas Cook India’s Borderless and One Currency Prepaid cards

· Free ATM withdrawals

· Currency Notes across all global currencies and Demand Drafts

· Special Student airfares; 10% discount on base fare

· Excess baggage allowance on select airlines

· Overseas Travel Insurance

Thomas Cook India’s omni-channel presence (its portal www.thomascook.in backed by its Call Centres and its extensive network of over 150 retail outlets) offers students ease and convenience in booking their student travel products/services. The Company’s Online Forex Store and Forex app are handy tools to equip the digitally savvy student segment with foreign exchange bookings on-the-go, coupled with the added advantage of doorstep delivery.

Deepesh Varma, Senior Vice President, Foreign Exchange – Sales & Relationship Management, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. said, “The student travel market in India is a significant opportunity and at Thomas Cook India we have already witnessed impressive growth of 20-25% YoY. Hence in an initiative to inspire demand and maximize transactions, we conceptualized “Study Buddy”, timed to coincide with the student travel season. Study Buddy’s attractive offers and assured gifts are intended to delight the value seeking student community!”

He added, “Being a specialist in Foreign Exchange, our core product-service offering includes Remittance of University/Tuition Fees, Forex Prepaid Cards and Currency Notes backed with years of experience in guiding students and parents on changing forex regulations and the safest way in carrying foreign exchange abroad. This together with our “Study Buddy” offers creates a compelling proposition for students and parents to fulfil all their foreign exchange requirements through us, and with ease- via our omni-channel network.”