NS Travel & Tours aims for global recognition

Locally known as NoomSao Tours, the 35-year-old company is following in the footsteps of Mayflower in Singapore and HIS Tours and Sakura in Japan, which have played a role in the international travel market.
Behind its ambition are the company’s twin heirs Chotechuang and Chatchawan Soorangura, both 31. “Why not [pursue] such a goal?” Chotechuang, the older brother, told The Nation. He took on the role of assistant managing director only a month ago.
He said Thailand was a perfect value-for-money destination. Clearly, the tourism industry has helped spur national economic prosperity, contributing 16 per cent to gross domestic product.
Meanwhile Chatchawan pointed out that tour service was considered a “commodity” product that was offering a business opportunity for the company.
“We talked to my father about this ambition and he was not opposed to it. He will let us try,” one of the brothers said.
Suparerk, 64, is the company’s founder and now acts as consultant to his sons as they plan to make NS the country’s leading one-stop tour-service agency.
The NS group has seven companies running tourism-related businesses ranging from car rental to hotels, camping-equipment production and distribution, and overseas education services.
Before moving to a higher level, they said it was essential to modernise its internal operation. Outlets are undergoing makeovers, with the focus on making internal management more professional.
Service standardisation is its ultimate goal to secure its business, along with a strong commitment not to jump into price wars to earn market share, because that could ruin its service quality.
Externally, promotion of the company’s brand will be on the move. NS is looking for ways to form ties with travel agents abroad to expand its network. That is a key to successfully becoming a global brand, and the firm has already established some overseas relationships.
The brothers said the company would go step by step from region to region to ensure its stability and brand recognition. This is partly to prepare for the opening of the Asean Economic Community in 2015, which will drive the flow of tourists across the region.
The firm will strengthen its performance next year by focusing on a business-to-business wholesale service, operated by a new company. The concept is to work with small travel agencies by allowing them to help sell its tour packages. The firm is willing to slash its margins for them in the hope of expanding its sale channels.
Another venture is World Collection Co. It will go into operation early next year to put more focus on providing four-star tour services. NS has found that incentive tourism has become a new trend with rising demand from travellers. NS itself will provide three-star service packages.
At present, 65 per cent of the company’s clients are corporate. Domestic tours make up 60 per cent of the total, followed by outbound tours at 30 per cent, and 10 per cent inbound. Last year, the company served 6,000-7,000 travellers.
Furthermore, a charter-flight service will be launched next year to serve key markets in Asia, especially to Japan, where Thais are allowed in without a visa.
Beyond tour services, hotel expansion will be included in its business plan. Currently, it has 16 properties under 16 brands from three to four and half stars in nine locations nationwide.
Hotel de Bangkok and The Paradise Koh Yao in Phang Nga are brands under its portfolio. Having different brands is aimed at creating their own characters to serve different traveller demands.
Chatchawan, who is responsible for hotel operation as group marketing and brand director of Serenata Hotels & Resorts Group, said new hotel openings would be both in Bangkok and tourism destinations. Especially in Bangkok, it will keep a focus on three-star hotel openings because the capital city is a travel hub in Asean, driven by the rising number of low-cost airlines.
In Asean, the firm will look for opportunities for new openings via both joint investment and marketing operations.
At present, the company helps define marketing strategy at a hotel in Luang Prabang, Laos. Myanmar is also attractive for investment, but there are regulatory risks.
The brothers declined to disclose the group’s sales revenue, but said sales from hotel operations made up 60 per cent of the total, with the rest from tour business. By 2015, tour business is projected to grow by 25-30 per cent annually, while the hotel business sees annual growth of 10-15 per cent.