28% growth expected for STHI

Gagan Kumar, Director, STHI Group, believes that by offering new destinations and products to the customers, they would achieve double digit growth this year. They are now creating a list of exotic destinations.

Gagan Kumar, Director, STHI Group has been in the business for quite some time. Under his leadership, the company is growing year on year. Talking about the growth figures for the current year, he said, “We have seen a 19 per cent increase in numbers from previous year and now we hope to scale this growth up to 28 per cent,” he said.

In order to reach this target, they are doing a number of things and offering new products to customers regularly. “Right now, we are creating a list of exotic destinations for repeat travellers. We still need to finalise the same and we will be putting it across once it is done. It is required to offer new products for customers to sustain in the industry today,” added Kumar.

Talking further regarding how the industry is changing with the times, he said, “The travel fraternity is amalgamating all services under one roof these days. However, my opinion is different in this regard—an agent or an operator should do only one thing that they excel in. According to me, this kind of approach is better in the long run.”

Today, India is one of the biggest markets when it comes to travel, with increasing number of people opting to travel both domestically and internationally. They are exploring popular, as well as new destinations and experiences. In his opinion, the destinations which are popular among Indians currently are “Singapore, Hong Kong and Macao for short haul travel, while Australia is popular for those preferring to travel long haul, as all these destinations have kids friendly attractions,” he revealed.

In terms of MICE, he said that the MICE business from India has not changed much. “MICE business is just the same from India, and is like old wine in a new bottle,” he said.

With the advent of technology things have changed for better in the travel industry. Kumar agreed, saying, “Technology is definitely adding value to our work ethos, which is eventually rolling up to our goals in collaborating all our efforts in streamlining giving one stop solution to our esteemed clients.”

Survival of the fittest

The company is required to offer new products and services for customers to sustain in the industry today.