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Lessons from 35,000 feet: How ALTOUR used an open mind and an open door policy to energize the travel industry
Author(s) -
Chemla Alexandre
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
global business and organizational excellence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.227
H-Index - 16
eISSN - 1932-2062
pISSN - 1932-2054
DOI - 10.1002/joe.20382
Subject(s) - chose , entrepreneurship , agency (philosophy) , marketing , management , club , deregulation , business , public relations , economics , sociology , political science , market economy , finance , medicine , social science , law , anatomy
When a former Club Med executive decided to leave his comfortable corporate berth of ten years and dive into the waters of entrepreneurship, he chose to stay in the turbulent travel agency business, even though it was reeling from the airline industry's game‐changing deregulation. Rather than sticking with business as usual, he chose to follow an innovative business model and, subsequently, expand on it by creating ALTOUR. Sound strategy, combined with an ability to adapt to meet the needs of his customers, has led to 20 percent annual growth since the company's founding in 1991. This article explains the discipline behind this accomplishment and offers lessons that can apply across all industries. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.