The Managing Director here at Ocho Chocolate Company has decided it’s time to see where else in the world needs to be tasting our wonderful product, and they want to know what the potential would be like in Chennai, India. There are many costs which are involved in an exercise like this, as I will be having to live in Chennai for at least a couple of weeks because these sorts of things don’t just happen overnight! Things like flights, accomodation, food and other things will be needed accounted for, which my Managing Director will be paying for so long as I plan what is needed. So this blog is going to go into detail about what we need in for this trip and what the prices will be.
First things first, we need to get to Chennai. I’m gonna go ahead and announce that I will be flying over to Chennai by plane, as I’m not so keen on travelling by boat or pigeon or whatever other way is available. I’ve planned that I’ll be going for three weeks, which I feel will be a perfect amount of time to be scoping out the potential market in Chennai. The dates which have been decided on are that I’ll be leaving on May 4th which is a Saturday, and returning on May 25th which is again a Saturday. For the first flight, I will departing from Dunedin, with stopovers in Auckland and also Kuala Lumpur. The flights will be with JetStar for the first flight, then Emirates for the rest of the flights. The total time of duration for all these flights is 26 hours and 25 minutes, which will be fine as I’ll be able to watch that many movies on the plane, I hope. The cost for this is $1,587 (according to Expedia), which also includes a checked bag. The flight for the trip home home again has the same stop overs in Kuala Lumpur and also Auckland, with the duration this time being 24 hours and 10 minutes. The price has gone up for the flight home, as it is priced at $2,011 NZD (according to Expedia) but thats to be expected. This brings to the total for the flights to $3,598 NZD which I feel is reasonably priced. Now to get on to the accomodation, where it starts to get interesting.
I’ve got this feeling that I’ll be needing to find some accomodation which is in the centre of Chennai, so that I am able to get around the place easy enough with out getting lost, which may be easier said than done. The accommodation I have gone is The Park Chennai, which is located only 100 metres from the town centre, so it’s well and truely in the thick of it. This will be handy for me when inspecting the markets and also surveying people in the city. There should also be no need for taxis during the time I spend here. Other perks of the hotel are that there is a free airport shuttle from the airport which is great as that is another cost which is avoided. This will also be a great chance to talk to people on the shuttle
about what their thoughts are on our product. Ocho Chocolate for everyone. The hotel also has conference centres which could be used for presentations and business meetings if we are able to get that far in the timeI am there, but I’m not optimistic this will be necessary. There is also a restaurant at the hotel, which also provides a free breakfast which I will be gladly taking. Can’t say no to free food. The total cost for the 20 nights of this trip comes to a total of $2,036 NZD (according to their website) which I feel is a great price as it is right in the heart of Chennai and also has some extra perks with it. Exciting times ahead now.
My mouth starts to dribble a bit when I start to think about the food planning for this trip, but I need to put this aside and get to the nitty gritty. Breakfast doesn’t need to be covered as it comes free with the hotel so that’s not necessary. For my budgeting on the costs of meals for lunches and also dinners while in Chennai is www.numbeo.com as it provides a great average on the cost of meals after looking through restaurant websites. They say that average price for a meal in Chennai with two coarse in just your middle of the pack restaurant would cost around $10.00 NZD. This is for both lunch and also dinners. A meal at a place like McDonald’s for 1 person averages at $5.00 NZD. I feel as though these need to be factored in, as after travelling overseas before I have found that I like to have a change up of meals, and have something that reminds me of home so shops like th
ese will be visited. And really, who doesn’t like McDonald’s. So for the 21 days that I’ll be away, I am budgeting that I’ll be needing $350.00 NZD for food, but I’m going to through in another $500.00 NZD just incase there is a change in decision on where to eat, other snacks and also for meals at airports. This brings the total to $850.00 NZD which is very respectable.
The last thing which needs to be factored in for the trip is applying for a visa. This is because some countries require you to pay a fee when doing work in their country. However in India, I would only need the visitors visa as I am not actually doing any business while in Chennai, just scoping out a potential market. However if we choose in the future to do business in India, then we would need to apply for a work visa.
After looking at these factors for this trip and adding them together, it brings the total budget to $6,484 NZD. I feel as though this is a very well priced business trip for 21 days, as I haven’t really gone for the cheapest options. However, I’m going to add in another $2,000 to the budget just incase unexpected situations pop up. These sorts of things always happen. This now brings the total to $8,484 NZD. This is a number that not only I am happy with, but also the Managing Director will be happy with.
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