"1001 Tour" - reviews. "1001 Tour" - Novosibirsk, Moscow

How to buy a tour ticket with benefits? An excellent option is to use the opportunities of large agent networks. There you can buy tours with a decent discount, not at the expense of the quality of the holiday. Firms that give such an opportunity are, as a rule, large companies, known to consumers and in demand on the market. They have a large client base and a wide range of partnerships with tourism operators in various segments. The agency "1001 tour" belongs to their number.

About company

One of the most popular Russian agencies providing travel services is the "1001 tour", reviews of which are found on many online portals. This company operates in a network format, as well as franchise. Firm - more than 10 years. The city where the central office "1001 tour" is located - Moscow.

Now the company has about 200 representative offices - in the Russian capital, in St. Petersburg and many other major cities of the country. The company positions itself as a supplier of permits for a very wide range of destinations.

What are the customers talking about?

About the Agency "1001 tour" reviews, if you look at the popular sources in the industry, mostly positive. Clients say that the company employs sufficiently qualified managers who are able to pick up the optimal tour in the near future. Many buyers of permits emphasize the usefulness of the company's discount programs, as well as the availability of cumulative points.

Among the drawbacks noted by customers is the fact that some hotels in practice were of a lower level than in the description contained in the agency brochures. Although some customers immediately justify the "1001 tour" - the reviews, in their opinion, are not entirely justified because the initial data can be provided by hotels themselves, seeking to attract more guests.

Scope of business

In 2011, the newspaper Kommersant, together with the Association of Tour Operators of the Russian Federation, included the 1001 tour network in the rating of the largest Russian agencies. This was the first experience for our country of compiling industrial lists of this kind. The rating methodology was based on a survey of players in the tourism market - they had to disclose revenue figures for two years, the number of offices, the dynamics of network expansion, the number of customers, the sales of packages of tourist services and their characteristics. The companies participating in the survey had to ensure that the data provided was reliable by certifying the documents with seals and signatures of officials. The company grew, in many cities of Russia began to appear offices "1001 tour" - Kostroma, Orel, Voronezh.

In the rating of "Kommersant" and the Association of Tour Operators, the company "1001 tour" took the sixth line. At the same time, it was noted that the agency became the leader in the growth dynamics of the network - in 2011 the company's revenue increased by 80% compared to 2010, the number of clients who went to rest increased by 54%. The number of offices in the network doubled.

The general director of the 1001 round, Sergey Vatutin, noted that participation in the prestigious rating is the first such experience of the company, and stressed that encouraging the growth dynamics of the network, accompanied by control over the quality of services, is the top priority for the agency.

Success in Novosibirsk

In the spring of 2014, one of the largest business publications in Novosibirsk - the portal "Business Quarter" put the company "1001 tour" (Novosibirsk, local office) in first place in the regional rating of travel agencies. In addition to the Moscow brand, the list includes many other major companies in the segment. From that moment, the representative office of the "1001 tour" in this region has every right to be called the market leader. For the "1001 tour" Novosibirsk is a city that has brought unquestionable success.

The franchise from the "1001 tour"

Let's talk about the brand promotion strategy. "1001" tour is an agency that actively uses the franchise network expansion model. Many market players call the company one of the most recognizable in the tourist segment, emphasize that the client base of the company is very high. And so buying a franchise can be an excellent financial investment.

Analysts calculated that the average payback period of the franchise from the "1001 tour", reviews of which began to appear regularly and be discussed in the business environment, - only 4 months with initial investments of 500 thousand rubles. The size of the lump-sum contribution depends on the specific region. For Moscow, it is 1.5 million rubles, for the Moscow region - three times less. In some constituent entities of the federation, the fee for a franchise does not exceed 20,000 rubles. Royalties - also in a fairly large range, 6-75 thousand rubles. There are, therefore, "expensive" regions of network presence, and there are others that use the 1001 tour brand, Kostroma, for example.

The peculiarities of interaction with the firm "1001 tour" within the framework of franchising include many opportunities for the entrepreneur. First of all, it is the franchisor's willingness to help in business, give advice on recruiting personnel and solving many issues, and provide training materials. "1001 tour" also helps its franchisees in advertising, the formation of the optimal cost of permits for end customers. It does not matter where the franchise "1001 tour" - Kaluga, another city center, northern Russia or Siberia.

Agency "1001 tour": business model

The company can offer tours to tourists in several price categories. Among the most "budgetary" destinations "1001 tour" - Turkey, bus trips, the most "star" - travel premium, which are made for each VIP-client individually. The company also sells rail and air tickets to various destinations.

The firm "1001 tour" has a convenient website (www.1001tur.ru), where you can pick up a ticket, book it, and also make similar actions with individual rooms in hotels or tickets. Also in online mode, the company provides useful advice on any relevant issues. On the site the same customers and guests can leave feedback. There is all the necessary information on how to find the right office of a company in a particular region. Thanks to the site, a very large number of cities can use the offers from the "1001 tour" - Vladimir, for example, or Tula.

Franchise "1001 tour": the secrets of success

The fact that the federal network of the company "1001 tour" is growing successfully may indicate a well thought out strategy for brand promotion. In an interview with the press, top managers of the travel agency called several components of the success of the company.

Among the main advantages of the "1001 tour" in front of competitors are a great experience of being present on the market, reputation, perfectly transparent conditions for concluding franchising contracts. Also, the "1001 tour", as the top managers of the company state, guarantees the influx of buyers of permits, promotes the qualitative integration of the franchisee's work with online tools, shares effective methods of promoting the franchisee's website on the Internet. The best Moscow methods are used by other cities of the network "1001 tour" - Yaroslavl, for example.

Each partner travel agency, entering the "1001 tour" network, immediately receives a special status and is called the exclusive partner of the Moscow office. This, according to company managers, reduces competition.

Franchisees receive a rather high commission of tour operators with whom partner agreements have been concluded with the head office of the 1001 round. This rule is retained for representative offices in any city, even one that can be relatively removed from the Moscow office of the "1001 tour" - Saransk, for example.

Franchisee "1001 tour" receives from the head office comprehensive support in the field of marketing, legal documentation, information, as well as in the field of finance.

The head office of the travel agency pays special attention to control over the quality of the services provided, regardless of the region of presence. Before starting a business or signing a contract with a franchisee, partners are trained to improve their knowledge of providing the best services. There are courses on doing business - they describe the cycles that are typical for travel agencies, the nuances associated with choosing the location of the office, motivating employees, optimizing the marketing strategy, working with the client base.

During the training, the head office "1001 tour" pays special attention to training partners in the aspect of the legislative framework governing the provision of tourist services. Local legislation is also taken into account, and sometimes municipal - that which publishes the city of the presence of the brand "1001 tour" - Voronezh, as an option.

Absorption by the Russian Express and ICS

In early 2014, a major deal was concluded on the Russian tourism market . Tourist operator "Russian Express", together with the firm ICS Travel Group, purchased a stake in the company "1001 tour." The amount of the transaction and its other terms the parties preferred not to disclose.

For the end customer, the fact of the transaction could remain completely unnoticed - the brand "1001 tour" remained on the market, and Sergey Vatutin retained the post of the company's CEO.

It is assumed that Ruben Acosta, one of the main actors in the company, will be the CEO of the Russian Express and the executive director of the 1001 round. Experts believe that Mr. Acosta will focus exclusively on the development of the acquired network of travel agencies.

Sergei Vatutin in his interviews made statements that the network after the acquisition transaction will develop very actively, will be intensive and high-quality training of the franchisee. The top manager also highlighted the fact of the company's openness for interaction with many other tour operators.

Market players were not able to unequivocally assess the prospects for the deal to sell Vatutin assets "1001 tour." There were opinions that this absorption may not be very beneficial to Sergei Vatutin. Some analysts felt that the transaction was more necessary for the Russian Express and ICS, as they felt the need for an agency network of federal scale. Also, experts believe, investor's attention could be attracted to Vatutin's portal Turizm.ru, which due to the growth prospects of the online segment of tourist services could become an attractive asset.

A number of experts stressed the desire of "RE" and ICS to integrate - due to the fact that both companies separately worked in quite different segments of the market. The prospect of the deal, as some market players have found, depends on whether the company "1001 round" is really profitable. If this is the case, then the logic of "RE" and ICS is understandable, but if not - then the motivation of investors is unclear, since there is no particular reason to buy assets of the unprofitable agent network. Some experts believe that if the 1001 round is still unprofitable, then RE and ICS are not likely to be able to compensate for the company's losses.

Deal Details

Dmitry Shevchenko, who occupies the post of ICS Travel Group CEO, told in one of his interviews some details about the acquisition deal for the "1001 tour." The top manager emphasized that the combination of two business lines of Sergey Vatutin, the agency network itself and the Turizm.ru portal, seemed particularly attractive to investors. This combination Shevchenko considered the most successful in terms of modern realities of the tourist business.

The choice of Russian Express as a partner in the transaction, as Dmitry Shevchenko said, was due to the desire to interact with an equal partner in the market, but representing another segment and therefore not directly competitive ICS. There was an opportunity to exchange experience in mastering various technologies, as well as join forces in controlling market shares. These intentions have also been understood by Sergei Vatutin.

As particularly promising areas, Shevchenko calls the conduct of a joint development policy in the regions of the Russian Federation. For example, if the city of the presence of the "1001 tour" is the Eagle, then, consolidating the experience of each of the companies operating in this city and the Orel region, it is possible to achieve a powerful impetus for the qualitative growth of both firms.

Shevchenko explained the main legal point of the deal - "RE" and ICS remain independent tour operators, combining efforts only in retail. ICS CEO explained that Sergei Vatutin still remained the main shareholder of the "1001 tour", and the shares of ICS and "RE" in the possession of a network of travel agencies are the same.

Dmitry Shevchenko confirmed the absence of intentions to change the brand "1001 tour" to any other, as it is well-known and well-established in the market. Also, the top manager said that Sergei Vatutin's firm is profitable and has good prospects for growth.

But what about Turizm.ru?

The acquisition of assets owned by Sergei Vatutin, as reported in a number of sources, was largely motivated by the presence of the businessman of a promising online portal Turizm.ru. At the time of the transaction between "1001 tour", "RE" and ICS, this site was one of the most popular in the RuNet, it sought to get the largest tour operators in Russia. Top-managers of ICS in their interviews noted that the sale of new packages of services will perfectly go through this site.

Business Prospects

Some analysts of the tourism segment are trying to assess the prospects for further expansion of agent networks in Russia. A number of experts are arguing, referring to the frequent bankruptcies of tour operators that have occurred recently. In connection with this trend, experts believe, there will be a period of consolidation of the market, it will become more structured. In this regard, the transaction to absorb the "1000 round" by the Russian Express and ICS companies is seen by analysts as a promising business solution.

According to some experts, the 1001 round, despite the scale of its activities, is by no means the most influential agent network. But taking into account the high influence of retail on the efficiency of the business, the acquisition of this company's assets is a useful move for any market player. At the same time, online portals, such as Turizm.ru, are now gaining momentum, and therefore the purchase by investors of this site is estimated by analysts also positively.

Experts believe that the main thing for "RE" and ICS is to competently retain the acquired assets, build an effective management system for the company, create a unity of management principles. From the new owners of the "1001 tour", analysts believe, thoughtful, strategically important decisions will be required.

Support for third-party projects

The management of the company "1001 tour" does business not only on the basic profile. Among the priority areas of the company's activities are investing in the development of other companies. In particular, in June 2014, the Weatlas start-up received significant investments from the "1001 round" (experts estimated the transaction at $ 2 million). Sergei Vatutin, CEO of the 1001 round, commenting on the investment in Weatlas, said that this work can be considered a logical continuation of the development of its Internet resources. Before Weatlas received investment from Vatutin, the business accelerator Frii was invested in the start-up (the deal amounted to about 1.4 million rubles).