Analysis of Tour and Transport service business in Turku archipelago
Sairanen, Roosa (2018)
Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoulu
2018
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 1.0 Suomi
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201805046523
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201805046523
Tiivistelmä
This thesis studies the business models of three case companies, which are offering seasonal tour and transport services in Turku archipelago. The purpose of this thesis was to gain knowledge about how to operate transport services successfully in an operational environment, where changing weather conditions and holiday seasons cause drastic changes in demand on monthly, daily and possibly even hourly basis. The scope of this thesis was limited to tour- and transport operators in Turku archipelago.
The primary research was conducted in the form of structured interviews with the case company owners who all have tens of years of experience in operating the seasonal services in Turku archipelago. The primary research method allowed access to first-hand information about offering the services in the archipelago environment. The aims of this thesis were to understand better the operational environment and its challenges and to provide development suggestions for City of Espoo on how to operate and develop seasonal tour and transport services in Espoo archipelago, based on the research in Turku archipelago and the analysis of the case companies.
A visual approach “the business model canvas” was used in the analysis section of the thesis to present the business models of the case companies and to name and analyze their key elements of operations on the basis of customer experience and service design. The business model canvas presents only in a general level the elements that are necessary to pay attention to in business planning and in organizing the operations of a business to offer services to markets.
The main results of the research and analysis of this thesis were that the changes of seasons and weather do not seem to affect the businesses in such measures, as the writer had anticipated in the beginning of the research and that companies which are operating other services in addition to seasonal transport services, have a better starting point to offer seasonal services reliably and continuously in the archipelago environment, than a company operating only charter services. The most suitable business model to the archipelago environment would seem to be the kind, which is based on partnerships and co-operation, since the case companies have organized their operations on a base of co-operation and partnerships. The case companies have also invested in good quality of customer service to ensure the satisfaction of customers on their services and into offering customizable services and service packages to cater to expectations and needs of different customer segments. These, would seem to be the keys to offering seasonal services successfully. The results of this thesis may be used in the development of transport services in Espoo Archipelago.
The primary research was conducted in the form of structured interviews with the case company owners who all have tens of years of experience in operating the seasonal services in Turku archipelago. The primary research method allowed access to first-hand information about offering the services in the archipelago environment. The aims of this thesis were to understand better the operational environment and its challenges and to provide development suggestions for City of Espoo on how to operate and develop seasonal tour and transport services in Espoo archipelago, based on the research in Turku archipelago and the analysis of the case companies.
A visual approach “the business model canvas” was used in the analysis section of the thesis to present the business models of the case companies and to name and analyze their key elements of operations on the basis of customer experience and service design. The business model canvas presents only in a general level the elements that are necessary to pay attention to in business planning and in organizing the operations of a business to offer services to markets.
The main results of the research and analysis of this thesis were that the changes of seasons and weather do not seem to affect the businesses in such measures, as the writer had anticipated in the beginning of the research and that companies which are operating other services in addition to seasonal transport services, have a better starting point to offer seasonal services reliably and continuously in the archipelago environment, than a company operating only charter services. The most suitable business model to the archipelago environment would seem to be the kind, which is based on partnerships and co-operation, since the case companies have organized their operations on a base of co-operation and partnerships. The case companies have also invested in good quality of customer service to ensure the satisfaction of customers on their services and into offering customizable services and service packages to cater to expectations and needs of different customer segments. These, would seem to be the keys to offering seasonal services successfully. The results of this thesis may be used in the development of transport services in Espoo Archipelago.