A Comparative Study of an Innovative Marketing Strategies Adopted by Mahindra Holidays and Resorts (India) Ltd. (MHRIL) and Sterling Holidays Resorts (India) Ltd. (SHRIL)

Abstract

The tourism sector of India is economically important and though has been growing at a substantial rate, it has also undergone some turbulence post Mumbai attack on Hotel Taj at Mumbai on 26th November 2008. However it has started growing gradually and gaining back the momentum since 2009 with a marginal growth rate. The World Travel and Tourism Council calculated that tourism generated INR6.4 trillion or 6.6% of the nation's GDP in 2012. To capture the opportunity of the growing tourism market, and to compete in to the extreme competitive hotel chain market of India, Sterling Holiday Resorts (India) Limited (SHRIL) adopted the innovative marketing strategy in the year 1986 of ‘Providing Holidays on Time Share' basis model. In the current research paper authors have attempted to analyze and explain the ‘Holidays on Time Share Basis' concept and have also attempted to understand the comparative differences between both the service providing companies MHRIL and SHRIL which are leaders in the business with the help of the secondary data analysis obtained from their catalogs, website and marketing promotion programmes.