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Over the summer of 2019 I completed an internship with Parlo Tours Berhad in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This internship was under the Marketing Department. During my time with Parlo Tours I was tasked with data analysis which I have a sample of below, video creation and editing, and the completion of a presentation for promotion of a satellite branch in a neighboring Malaysian state, Penang. My time at this agency has taught me the difference between a tour guide and a tourism agency as well as
5 company competitive Analysis and Summary
Overall target market: 2 major groups are being targeted by all 5 companies
- Younger generation who want to go to more Western and European countries. This customer base also consists of people who are always or highly present on social media and like to travel for the aesthetic and the culture more than just seeing the sights. The location does not matter to them all the time but they are also cool and trendy and want to do what others are doing. This group of people is also more likely to be seen “living the good life.” They do this by taking trips. On these trips they will post images and videos of themselves engaged in the “coolest” or “trendiest” activity.
- Older generation customers who want to go sightseeing but don’t want to spend a lot of money, or are willing to spend a lot of money as long as they are not traveling alone. These customers will most likely pick a package that allows them to be in large groups and has everything arranged ahead of time. Aside from traveling together they do not want to venture out and try new and different things and instead want to have their meals, and activities pre-arranged and priced to avoid the hassle of spending extra money.
Competitive Company Trends:
All companies are doing the celebrity tour packages where travelers can tag along with a famous influencer. They are also all going to similar destinations and offering similar packages with few changes in excursion locations or trip length. The trend the other companies seem to be following is a Northern vs. Southern Hemisphere switch that also goes from East to West. For example, on the Apple Vacations Facebook page they are currently promoting their Hokkaido charter tour that is celebrating its 10th year of operation. On the world map Hokkaido, Japan is in the Northern hemisphere. AV’s most featured trip promotion last year was in the Middle east which compared to Japan is in the Southern hemisphere and to the West. The other companies follow the same trend whether it be Northeastern this year or not. The only difference is that they are mirroring each other. An example of the mirrored version of this theme would be how this year Tour Rite is promoting a trip to Alaska, USA which is North West and last year they were promoting a trip to Singapore (also this year which means it could be their constant trip) which is South East.
- Apple Vacations https://applevacations.my/web/
Facebook: @applevacationsmy
Featuring trips to Fujian, Japan $3,899 and up. Taiwan from $ 1,999-3,999 and Hokkaido Japan from $11,554-13,699. This company also features UNESCO world heritage sites that emphasize culture and history. Apple Vacations is one of the most well known groups with a steady social media background. They also are the fastest in expansion and in interchanging their featured trips. Their main competitors with the most similar products and methods are Golden Destination and Tour Rite. They promote a lot of packages that range on the more expensive side and target customers who are more well to do and who are willing to pay the ticket price for their “perfect experience.” Apple Vacations group also attended MATTA fair and other events in the local area. Their main emphasis is on the upper class “celebrity trips” are their main focus and their social media is more centered around aesthetic postings which suggest a more upper class and “well to do”/influencer lifestyle. Although Apple Vacations does not have an official channel they do have the oldest video posts of any of the companies and are mainly exposed to outsiders in customer videos.
2. Tour Rite: http://www.tourite.com.my/services
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tourritemy/
Tour Rite is an almost completely online based company with very few physical locations. They target mainly young generation students or working people who want to take short vacations at an affordable price. They have the most contact with customers on social media and have the best reviews overall of any other company. One of their main focuses is on tours with famous people (a “travel with…” tour) especially when going to Europe. The company also boasts amenities such as 4-5 star hotels, bilingual travel agents, and authentic dining locations (for foodies) features that would appeal mostly to their target market. They are currently featuring trips to Africa/Middle East, Russia, Ukraine (eastern Europe), Japan, and South America. It also mentions both on their website and social media pages that they have participated in Matta fair 2018. They are extremely active on social media and to the most to encourage contact with their guests. Both customers and employees post on site. They receive very positive and specific comments from customers that include names of employees and specific activities from trips. Most of their posts consist of promotions with images, package information, pricing, and a booking option. Each trip has its own post for more detailed information and easier access for customers. They are one of the most detailed groups when it comes to promotional posts about their content. They have posts that include detailed information about the trip shown as well as short videos that give customers suggestions on activities, safety, and even packing for certain destinations.The company is also emphasizing that they will be participating in the “Run for Good” event and has sign ups for customers to join too.
3. Golden Destination https://www.goldendestinations.com/?p=114
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goldendestinations/
Golden Destination is the company with the second best rating on Facebook after Tour Rite and tied with Malaysian Harmony Travel. This suggests that the company is doing very well. However, while Golden Destination does have customer interaction they do restrict the types of comments customers can make. This leads to only positive comments being shown on their Facebook page and therefore may clouds their company’s sincerity. The company’s main featured trips this year are 5 day 4 night (GD themed) cruises. Each cruise travels to a different location around the world and has a celebrity for guests to travel with during the duration of the trip. Golden destination is the only group that aggressively offers a package for a portable wifi that is connectable for up to 5 devices and has an entire separate posting for the product. Prices for the featured trips range from RM 3500 to RM21000+ (Alaska). Golden Destination also has the second oldest and most active Youtube channel with over 1,000 subscribers despite having only 47 posts.
4. Golden Tourworld Travels http://gtt.com.my/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Golden-Tourworld-Travel/308296579287582
This company does not keep up with facebook posts and also does not respond to negative comments. However, they do post on their page but only inbound tourists would be interested. Their outbound trips have no follow up and their seem to be poorly organized and executed. Their featured trips this year are: Silk Road (x2 but from 2 different locations with different itineraries), Sydney, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Vietnam the trips people are most likely to take are below 7,000 RM. Trips that cost more (Pakistan and Sydney) have no price and you have to contact the agency for further information. This company seems to be targeting nore well to do travelers but also has a set of trips geared toward students on school holiday. The trips last around 1-2 weeks and go to hot school break locations like the west coast of America (California). While the company does not have an official channel they do get annual exposure to the youtube community when their employees post videos about their annual dinner.
5. Malaysian Harmony https://www.malaysianharmony.com.my/
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/malaysianharmony/
What this company lacks in social media content they make up for in destinations. Malaysian Harmony has the largest selection of destinations for individuals or small groups among the competitors. They also receive both good and bad comments from guests. Most of the company’s social media is employee driven with posts about things the company has done and events they have attended such as the travel fair in Japan. There are also personal trip posts and images from customers and staff who want to share their experiences. Their Instagram is mostly run by one very enthusiastic employee/traveler who keeps the page up to date with trips and personal experience pictures from their trips/tours. This year’s featured trips are from mostly central and eastern hemisphere tourism areas with 8 packages in total: Asia (Japan, Vietnam, and Korea), Middle East (Egypt and ancient Silk Road:(multiple country tour? Following the silk road), and Europe/Islander (Scandinavia, and New Zealand)
What Parlo Tours can do:
To join the race even more or better yet get ahead Parlo Tours as a company might consider the 3 following action options:
- Tour guides need to post their own images and tag the company for the trip so that it generates more traffic on social media and also allows them to keep up to date with comments or posts linked to the page.
- A faster response rate/time to customer inquiries or issues. Apple Vacations is leading in this field with their response time on social media being between 1-2 hours and also having the most open forum with live chat options available on almost all platforms including their main website.
- Have employees go on trips more often to boost social media content and discussion. In Malaysian Harmony’s case the employee/traveler is dedicated to posting their experiences on the company’s instagram page and is the sole if not one of 2 content generators for that platform. Making personal posts will also allow customers to get to know and build relationships with the company staff. Relationships like these can then lead to multigenerational customers (parents, children, grandchildren all use the agency to book vacations and the customers become more or less permanent). Use of social media may also attract influencers who are looking for a partnership and may reach out to the company to create or try packages for themselves.
Sources
- Apple Vacations https://applevacations.my/web/
- Facebook: @applevacationsmy
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/applevacationsmy/
- Tour Rite: http://www.tourite.com.my/services
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tourritemy/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tourrite/
- Golden Destination https://www.goldendestinations.com/?p=114
- Golden Tourworld Travels http://gtt.com.my/
- Malaysian Harmony https://www.malaysianharmony.com.my/
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