TravTalk India Online Magazine
Adapting to the changes in industry, Atlas Tours & Travels has partnered with The Advantage Global Network and added new products and technology to help travel trade and corporate clients. Leading this journey is second-generation business honcho Muhammad Patel, Director, Atlas Tours & Travels, who has more plans for expansion in the new year.
Hazel Jain
Atlas Tours & Travels recently celebrated 35 years of service, along with the 25th anniversary of its Bengaluru office. Speaking on the occasion, Muhammad Patel, Director, Atlas Tours & Travels, said, “We see requirements of our clients change; they now require a more holistic approach and more affordable travel solutions in terms of flights and hotels. To adapt to this change, we have gone global and partnered with The Advantage Global Network (a global network connecting corporate clients to travel management experts). As a result, we now have access to 80+ countries and 6,000+ cities and numerous hotels and airlines, which helps us get the best deals for our clients.”
This helps Atlas Tours & Travels to connect with clients and improve inventory distribution. “This strategy also helps to create a corporate profile, which took us to London to meet the leaders of The Advantage Global Network. Teaming up with them is like joining forces with a global team that has connections to over 300,000 hotels and works closely with all airlines. This partnership doesn’t just make our reach wider around the world; it also means more choices and really great services for our customers,” he added.
In expansion mode
Patel’s focus is to show his clientele that Atlas is now more connected and approachable with an experience of more than 35 years in all aspects of travel, including flights, holidays, visa and forex. “We also want to reach more cities in India. To achieve this goal, we are also planning to open offices in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Hyderabad, Delhi and Kolkata by 2025 and also get into the tier II and tier III cities with our franchise partners. We are currently in partnership with 75+ franchise booking centres across India and we would like to grow this number to 200+ in the new year,” he said.
Atlas is also teaming up with top banks to make its clients’ travel experience even better. “Soon, you’ll spot us on bank websites, at cool events, and more!” Patel added.
Online booking tools
Atlas also has an online booking tool available on its website and a B2B Umrah portal for its 200+ booking centres across India. “We are also developing a Corporate Self Booking Tool to help our corporate clients book their flights, hotels, visas and holidays directly and check their travel account status on their dashboard. The portal will also help us communicate our corporate deals with our clientele. We want to encourage people in tier II and tier III cities to travel internationally without worrying about visa or flight,” Patel shares.
The new corporate tool is designed to streamline and enhance the corporate travel experience, providing efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and tailored solutions for businesses. Simultaneously, the B2B Visa Tool aims to empower smaller travel agents, enabling them to facilitate seamless visa processes. What’s more – Atlas is now developing a mobile app to help clients book flights, hotels, holidays, visas, forex and umrah. “This will help them get affordable travel solutions at their fingertips. We are currently tied up with the Saudi Tourism Authority and the Singapore Consulate since early 2000 and we recently had signing of an MoU with Nusuk, Saudi
Arabia,” Patel says.
Expectations from 2024
As we look ahead in 2024, the world of travel beckons with the excitement of exploring new places, making discoveries, and experiencing different cultures. “People in India have a strong wish to travel, but only 40 per cent of Indians travel abroad as statistics show. Our aim isn’t just to recognise their dreams, but we want to make them come true. We imagine a big change in how people travel, especially in smaller towns and cities. Our goal has two parts: first, to increase the percentage of Indians who travel by 10 per cent, and second, to help smaller travel agents in towns and cities,” Patel says.
