Encashing the festival season

With the festival of lights expected to bring in huge business to the Indian tourism industry, India Travel Award winners share their plans and expectations for the ongoing festival season.

TT Bureau

Entrepreneur of the year — KD Singh (North 2017)

According to KD Singh, Founder and President, TravelBullz, the company witnessed an increase of 20-25 per cent in guests traveling to its destinations during Dussehra and Durga Puja. He says, “Looking ahead, Christmas and New Year are the peak travelling months for us. From families travelling from India, we expect a growth of around 40-50 per cent on existing guest’s arrivals. October to March, as the major wedding season in India, attracts a lot of honeymooners to our destinations. We expect to serve approximately 20,000 travellers in the third quarter of 2018. We are focusing on family and honeymoon exclusive packages.”

Best Tour Operator- Inbound — A-La-Carte Tours (North 2017)

Atul Khanna, General Manager—Sales, A-La-Carte Tours feels that the fluctuating value of currencies is likely to affect business. “The rate of the dollar has increased all over the world with business rolling everywhere. We are expecting that by December, it should come down and business will become smooth again. If the currency remains stable, travel bookings are not affected. Regarding the special plans, we have gone ahead and negotiated deals with various hotels to boost bookings. We are entering a tie-up with them and arranging the rooms so that we can sell them to our partners at low prices,” he says.

Best Travel CRM — De Box Global (North 2017)

For Syed A Asim, Director, De Box Global, the festival season bring hopes for all the business in India. He tells, “From Diwali to Christmas and New Year, it’s high time for our Industry to make hay. Since we are in the business of helping travel industry in achieving more business and grow by organising their processes, we have launched many new tools, reports and dashboards to specifically handle more volumes. We have expanded our team, moved to a bigger office just to make sure our customers get the best support during their peak season. I would like to specifically mention about the launch of our new Voice Assistant and CEO Report in our TravCRM.

Best Luxury Camp — The Ultimate Travelling Camp (North 2017)

Dhun Cordo, Co-Founder, TUTC, reveals that her company has introduced early bird discounts and special festive family offers for its camps. “The concept of festive travelling is fast picking up with Indian travellers. Festive companion offers, discounted airfares, gift cards and special packages by hotels are further encouraging travellers to make the most of the festive season. It is also a time when Indian travellers seek to travel to domestic destinations. With our Kohima camps in Nagaland and Jaagir Lodge in UP starting operations in November, we have received a positive response in terms of inquiries from travellers,” shares Cordo.