Mumbai : Thomas Cook (India) Limited – India’s leading omnichannel travel services company and its Group Company, SOTC Travel, have been selected by Tourism New Zealand to showcase the destination in a fresh, exciting “gaming” format. The joint marketing campaign has been timed perfectly with the launch of the upcoming “A Minecraft Movie”, shot in New Zealand (in partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures and Mojang Studios) to create a world-first destination Minecraft DLC (downloadable content), inviting users to ‘play’ New Zealand in game mode.
With undeniable global appeal and over 300 million copies sold, Minecraft is the best-selling video game of all time. The innovative joint-marketing collaboration with Tourism New Zealand intends to inspire Thomas Cook & SOTC’s powerful young India consumer base who actively engage with Minecraft. The campaign creatives offer a teaser of the game, set against vibrant backdrops and experiences in New Zealand, including Waitomo Caves (Waikato), Rotorua (Bay of Plenty), Kapiti Island (Wellington), Abel Tasman (Nelson/Tasman), Tekapo (Mackenzie) and Doubtful Sound (Fiordland).
This unique initiative intends to make young Indians the protagonist of their travel story – inspiring them to recreate their Minecraft experience via a real-life adventure trip to New Zealand. To ensure quick transition from gaming to booking, Thomas Cook India and SOTC have curated a range of exciting and fun Minecraft itineraries, designed around experiences featured in the Minecraft Aotearoa New Zealand DLC – from paddling a waka/canoe in Abel Tasman, visiting glowworm caves in Waitomo, or stargazing in Tekapo, and more. The Thomas Cook & SOTC immersive product portfolio blends adventure with culture, allowing users to engage with New Zealand’s Māori heritage and breathtaking vistas while indulging in amazing outdoor exploration. What sets this partnership apart is the seamless transition from the virtual world to real-life travel discovery.
René de Monchy, Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive hopes the initiative will inspire people to convert pixels into plane tickets and come and ‘play’ New Zealand for real. “This is our chance to invite Indian travellers to play Aotearoa New Zealand and show just how much fun people can have here. We want to give people an immersive taste of what New Zealand has to offer and our marketing collaboration with Thomas Cook and SOTC Travel intends to highlight this,” says Mr de Monchy.
Abraham Alapatt, President and Group head – Marketing, Service Quality, Value-added services and Innovation at Thomas Cook India and SOTC Travel said, “We are excited to be selected as travel partners in this exciting collaboration with New Zealand Tourism. India’s young, dynamic demographic is engaging with travel in new ways, and leveraging gaming offers a unique opportunity to connect. With the Minecraft DLC set against New Zealand’s landscapes, our campaign intends to inspire travel – by converting their digital journey into a real-world adventure and experiencing New Zealand firsthand.”
He added, “This collaboration aligns with our vision to offer innovative travel solutions that resonate with India’s digital natives, seamlessly moving from pixels to places!”
About Thomas Cook (India) Limited: Set up in 1881, Thomas Cook (India) Limited (TCIL) is the leading omnichannel travel company in the country offering a broad spectrum of services including Foreign Exchange, Corporate Travel, MICE, Leisure Travel, Value Added Services, and Visa Services. It operates leading B2C and B2B brands including Thomas Cook, SOTC, TCI, SITA, Asian Trails, Allied TPro, Australian Tours Management, Desert Adventures, Travel Circle International Limited (TCI 勝景), Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited, Distant Frontiers, TC Tours, Digiphoto Entertainment Imaging (DEI), Go Vacation, Private Safaris East & South Africa.
As one of the largest travel service provider networks headquartered in the Asia-Pacific region, The Thomas Cook India Group spans 28 countries across 5 continents.
TCIL has been felicitated with Outbound Travel Operator of the Year and MICE Travel Operator of the Year and at The Economic Times Travel & Tourism Annual Awards 2024, MICE Travel Agency (Outbound) at the Economic Times MICE & Wedding Tourism Awards 2024, ‘Masters of Risk – Travel & Hospitality’ at India Risk Management Awards 2024, MICE Tour Operator of the Year – Outbound at SATTE 2024, Best Tour Operator at India Travel Awards North 2023, MICE Travel Operator of the Year at the Economic Times Travel & Tourism Awards 2023, winner of the Corporate Citizen Award (Travel Tourism & Hospitality) at the Corporate Citizen Conclave & Award 2023, The Outbound Tour Operator of the Year 2022 & 2019 at the SATTE Awards, IAMAI India Digital Awards 2022, CNBC-TV18 & ICICI Lombard India Risk Management Award – Travel & Leisure Category 2022 & 2021, CIO100 Award for digital innovation 2022, ‘Innovation in Omni-experience’ Award at International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Industry Innovation Awards 2021, The Best Travel Agency – India at TTG Travel Awards 2019, The Best Outbound Tour Operator at the Times Travel Awards 2019 & 2018, Silver award for Asia’s Best Integrated Report (First Time) category at the Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards 2019-2021, Best Risk Management-Framework & Systems at the India Risk Management Awards 2019; The French Ambassador’s Award for Exemplary Achievements in Visa Issuance 5 years in a row and the Condé Nast Traveller – Readers’ Travel Awards from 2011 to 2019.
CRISIL has reaffirmed the rating on debt programs and bank facilities of TCIL – ‘CRISIL AA- / Positive’ on the long-term bank facilities of TCIL and ‘CRISIL A1+’ rating on the short-term bank facilities and short- term debt of the company.
