Motivated to dream big

Vasudha Sondhi, Managing Director, Outbound Marketing, talks about what inspired her and kept her going during the pandemic. She also talks about her efforts to help women and young people.

Janice Alyosius

The OMPL Group, run by a woman, has many women in leadership positions. “I am a firm believer in bringing more women into the workforce,” said Vasudha Sondhi, Managing Director, Outbound Marketing, OMPL Group and Co-Founder, Parvada Rural Stays, Mukteshwar, Uttarakhand. “I am determined and I motivate our employees to dream big. We rebranded our business in 2020, and put all our verticals under the umbrella of the OMPL Group. We set up a PR and marketing communications vertical for hospitality and non-hospitality clients. The Annapurna Foundation has done some path-breaking work with rural tourism in India,” she informed.

As a leader, Sondhi kept herself motivated and managed to support her team through the pandemic. She thanked her clients who supported the group and came back to the market in October 2020.

Speaking of the challenges, she said, “The pandemic has pushed more women out of the workplace. To achieve an optimum economy, India needs its men and women to be earning members of society. Despite our great accomplishments, we are not an industry or a priority industry. People and enterprises who have succeeded in inbound and outbound travel despite challenging policies and divergent directions are among our accomplishments. We also recognise the success of firms that built and operated hotels without the ease of doing business.”

Sondhi concluded by appreciating the people in the tourism and hospitality industry, “I have to say hats off to the doyens of the industry who started their businesses in the 1960s and they made India so popular. I really wonder at their vision and spirit of adventure. Our achievements are all about success stories of men and women who made travel a success.”