Lama redefines India strategy

Lama Group is relooking at its strategy in India, revealed Kulwant Singh, Founder and Managing Director, while speaking at the Delhi leg of its four-city roadshow in the country.

TT Bureau

Lama Group, one of the leading DMCs in UAE, kicked off its four-city Tier-1 roadshow in New Delhi, before going to Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Bengaluru. Kulwant Singh said, “ This is our 18th year in India with our Tier-I  roadshow, where we have an entourage of nearly 15 plus co-partners who’ve come all the way from UAE to interact with the trade partners and understand how we can enhance and keep Dubai and Abu Dhabi as the top arrival destinations for Indian travellers. Our strategy in India is very aggressive, and at this roadshow, we are launching www.lamatrip.com, an app-based website for B2B trade, where the rates are going to be very dynamic. We have a lot of inventory, which may not be utilised on certain days of a week, such as Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Hence, on these days the prices are going to be dropped and agents will see static and dynamic packages of the combo.”

“At this roadshow, we are launching www.lamatrip.com, an app-based website for B2B trade, where the rates will be very dynamic”

Talking about the company’s growth in India, Singh said, “While the last two years were low owing to demonetisation and GST, it’s been a fantastic growth for the industry overall and Lama is also witnessing a 16-18 per cent growth.” He said that they need to be different to stand out from competition. “Giving clients packages that are valid for six to nine months a year is a thing of the past, as everyone is doing the same thing. We started this concept 20 years ago, which was followed by many other competitors. However, www.lamatrip.com is going to be unique and companies who have infrastructure and know how to maintain their inventory will be able to do something like this,” he shared.

However, this time Singh added Ahmedabad in place of Chennai in its Tier-I roadshow. “Ahmedabad is not one of the metro cities, but the numbers we get from there is close to what we receive from Delhi and Mumbai. People in Ahmedabad ask for unique itineraries, special request for food and usually stay not only for three-four nights but also for six nights. Hence, it’s important to visit this city even twice a year, if required. We will be including Chennai in our Tier-II city roadshow,” he revealed.

In fact, Singh revealed that they are changing their strategy in India and might even appoint a person who will be the face of Lama Group in India. “We have many people on ground in India and even have 20 sales managers across major cities. We have plans of bringing somebody for India, either operating from Dubai and frequently visiting India, or he/she would be permanently located in India. Right now, we are discussing the options and may reveal the same in the near future,” he said.