Thomas Cook encourages voting in India by offering discounts for travel
Thomas Cook is incentivising migratory Indians to travel home to vote this year, by offering discounts for return flights if they can prove they are going to vote.
Thomas Cook encourages voters in India with discounts for travel
The travel brand said there was a 66.4% voter turnout in the worlds biggest democracy in 2014, and a key reason was that some people couldn’t, or wouldn’t, travel back home from cities to vote.
The brand is offering a discount of 1000 rupees to anyone who can prove they are heading home to vote, by presenting their voter ID or Aadhaar card.
Abraham Alapatt, president and group head of marketing, service quality, value-added services and innovation, said: “At Thomas Cook India, we are keen to do our part by motivating consumers to cast their vote in their hometowns and this formed the genesis of our Ghar Jao Vote Karo campaign.”
The company is also offering a post-election discount on holidays as it seeks to encourage ‘election tourism’, which will see many taking long weekend breaks to travel because the voting days are either a Monday or Tuesday. To cash in on that deal, voters must show their fingers that have been marked with election ink.
“Social media is expected to play a strong role in the upcoming elections. Be it voting selfies showcasing an inked finger or the use of hashtags, consumers are taking their involvement beyond the booth. However, there is a strong urgency in getting the voting population involved in the pre-voting phase as well and hence our campaign motivates customers- both during the pre and post voting phases.
“Via our Ghar Jao Vote Karo campaign, we look forward to engineering a new wave of proactive social consciousness across metros as well as Tier II and III regions of the country,” he added.
India is one of several major Asia Pacific countries to have elections this year, placing the attention on social networks, news organizations and brands around this critical time.