Mass-market holiday companies score worst for customer service - yet again!

The holiday industry is a tremendous source of lesson material - not just because most students can associate with the product due to their personal experiences. The publication this week of the annual Which? Holiday Report 2010 can help make some great points about segmentation, adding value and customer service.

Much press coverage of the report: e.g.

Travel Weekly (a specialist magazine for the holiday industry)

Simon Calder (excellent) writing in the Independent

The Simon Calder article above is well-worth giving to students - full of good insights into what makes a successful tour operator:

- Niche market positioning
- Differentiated product using personal service and specialist product knowledge
- Close day-to-day involvement of the tour operator owners / founders

By contrast, the mass-market tour operators yet again demonstrate that customers are less happy with an undifferentiated approach. It is only the economies of scale that the large operators enjoy which enables them to compete on price and availability.