The Fairy Queen Express
Fairy queen, now a vintage steam locomotive, was commissioned in 1855, and retired from service in 1909. It had been kept in the National rail museum, before being overhauled and put into use again in hauling a two coach super luxury train to Alwar since 1997, making it the oldest locomotive still in commercial revenue earning service. In 1999, Fairy Queen won the National Tourism Award in 1999 for most innovative & unique Tourism Venture.The main objective of reviving the Fairy Queen was to promote Indian tradition and culture and attract foreign tourists to India, to boost the tourism sector and earn foreign exchange. With steam engine being phased out of the world, the Fairy Queen express is the only one of its kind. This has the potential to rekindle the romance of the bygone era among the tourists. Traveling in such a vintage train is the unique selling point of the venture. Added to this, the luxurious overnight stay in a palace-turned-hotel, visit to a wild life sanctuary and ancient temples, and a traditional Indian folk dance program is sufficient to attr
2 The ProblemThe project however ran into problems from the very onset. * The destination, Alwar and Sariska, has a good combination of wildlife and ancient historical remains, and has a good potential of attracting foreigners. * Absence of an Internet site for promotion. Coupled with this is the shoddy image of the Indian railways as a luxury service provider, which led to a less than acceptable occupancy rate. act foreign tourists who are interested in Indian culture and tradition. * The market price of the ticket would be able to cover only the variable cost (25% of total cost), and give a margin of 7-8% at full occupancy. * It can not be converted to broad gauge, so meter gauge track would have to be maintained for the sole purpose of Fairy Queen. * The name "Fairy Queen Express" does not generate a feel of the experience. * It is the only one of its kind in the world. Moreover they value such ancient and vintage class locomotives. * Targets the same segment as the Palace on wheels, but its non AC short distance trip with no accommodation facility is not able the match the services of palace on wheels. * Due to slow speed, it would not be able to reroute to other destinations (like Agra) with heavy rail traffic. The high cost impact of overhauling the vintage locomotive, and its consequent operation to provide a superlative luxury to the tourists and maintaining its unique infrastructural requirements demanded a premium pricing, which had a very limited demand in the market. Opportunities: * Steam locomotive has been phased out of the world, but is still the most common perception about trains in human mind.
Common topics in this essay:
Fairy Queen,
Queen Express,
Absence Internet,
Palace Wheels,
,
Alwar Sariska,
Maharaja Alwar,
fairy queen,
SWOT Analysis,
Tourism Award,
Tourism Venture,
steam locomotive,
foreign tourists,
palace wheels,
tradition culture,
indian tradition,
indian tradition culture,
fairy queen express,
queen express,
* foreign tourists,
indian railways,
vintage steam locomotive,
culture *,
image indian,
image indian railways,
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Acceptance Essays
