Tag Archives: Cox & Kings

The who’s who of India’s travel and hospitality fraternity, diplomats and several business leaders gathered at a glitzy evening gala hosted by Cox & Kings at the Shangri-La’s Eros Hotel, New Delhi, to mark the 260th anniversary of Cox and Kings, also the world’s oldest travel company. The evening was graced by KJ Alphons, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism, who lauded the company for its continuous service to the tourism industry. Alphons said, “I am very happy to be a part of Cox & Kings’ 260th year celebration and congratulate everyone who has contributed to this rich legacy by enabling holidays and spreading happiness into the world. The tourism sector in India is looking very positive this year as we have crossed the 10 million mark for foreign tourist arrivals and earned revenue of 27 billion dollars through foreign tourist arrivals. This has been possible because of companies like Cox & Kings who have been working together with the government. In the next three years, we aim to double the foreign tourists inflow and the revenue we earn from the foreign tourist arrivals and that is only possible if the industry continues to work together.” Speaking at the event, Peter Kerkar, Group CEO, Cox & Kings, said, “We are unique in the leisure space with an unrivalled tradition of 260 years of service to our customers. It is with pride that I commend our staff for making our company so successful and more particularly relevant even today. Our longevity is a testimony to their ingenuity and transformative spirit that Cox & Kings remains a world leader in the travel, education and hotel space.”

As a part of its 260 years’ celebration, Cox & Kings’ Bharat Deko held its first-ever Partner’s Meet with its vendors from across India. Hoteliers, transporters and other suppliers, who have long been partnered with Cox & Kings, participated in the meet. The domestic wing of Cox & Kings, Bharat Deko had organised the event for its panel of partners and suppliers to recognise their support and performance. The event served as an opportunity for both suppliers and the operational staff to interact with each other who otherwise are connected digitally. Bharat Deko also conducted an orientation presentation to familiarise the partners with its ethos, policies, achievements and new plans. Speaking about the event, Yusuf Poonawala, Head, Bharat Deko said,” The Partner’s Meet reiterates our efforts in acknowledging our supplier’s commitment to our brand. They are our important stakeholders who encourage us to be further innovative by offering us their timely and commendable service. While the oldest travel brand Cox & Kings is turning 260 years, we wish to have our partners to be a part of the celebration”

Cox & Kings Global Services (CKGS) has opened a Morocco Visa Application and Information Centres (MVAIC) in New Delhi. It was inaugurated by His Excellency Mohamed Maliki, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco, in the presence of Venku Murthi, Chief Operating Officer, CKGS. Maliki said, “Both Morocco and India have shared values and a history that goes back over several centuries. Foreseeing growth and significance of the Indian tourism market to Morocco, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco has decided to outsource the visa application services and entrusted CKGS to open visa application centres in India. The opening of the visa application centres in major cities in India is an important milestone which reflects the strength of the two countries’ relations as well as Morocco’s outreach to Indian travellers.” In the first phase, centres have opened in the four key metros—Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Murthi said, “We are happy to be entrusted with the role of providing visa application services by the Embassy of Morocco as this is an opportune time to tap the growing Indian outbound travel market. Our offices across 11 centres in India will seamlessly facilitate visa processing, thereby increasing the number of Indians travelling to Morocco.’’  

Cox & Kings announced the ‘Free Fly to Kashmir’ packages in its bid to promote Kashmir Tourism under its domestic brand ‘Bharat Deko’. The initiative offers free airfare ex New Delhi, thus making the package attractive. ‘Glorious Kashmir’ and ‘Kashmir Delight’ are the two packages announced for travellers. The special packages were formally launched by Mahmood Ahmad Shah, Director Tourism, Kashmir along with Yusuf Poonawala, Senior Vice President, Cox & Kings at the Nigeen Club, Srinagar. The packages that span for a week have been specially crafted to offer a holistic Kashmir experience with price starting from only Rs 22,099. The Free Fly tours will allow the tourists to explore Kashmir’s nature, local culture and history. Sonamarg, Thajwas Glacier, Pahalgam, Awantisvamin and Betaab Valley are a few of the many sites that have been included in the tour. Poonawala said,”Kashmir is on the priority list of travellers. This offer will further boost tourist influx into Kashmir.” Bharat Deko has also created theme-based videos besides other marketing materials to promote the snow-state of India. The package offer is valid for travel period January 1 to June 30, 2018.

Cox & Kings has opened its first Holiday Club store in Mumbai to cater to the increasing demand for holiday products. The centre, located at Dadar, is the fourth Holiday Club store in India with the other three in New Delhi. The stores aim to attract a diverse set of customers through innovative offers and customised solutions, and offer a range of domestic and international holiday packages. In keeping with recent travel trends, the company has forayed into niche segments such as Enable Travel for the physically challenged, Trip 360 for adventure enthusiasts and Getaway Goddess for the women-only travel segment. Karan Anand, Head, Relationships, Cox & Kings said, “Central Mumbai is now the hub of retail activity and our Holiday Club store is perfectly positioned to engage with customers on a one-on-one basis, as they seek personal engagement in making sure they have a memorable holiday.” The Holiday Club stores will complement the existing points of sales that Cox & Kings has in Mumbai.  

Seychelles Tourist Office, India recently conducted a seminar for local hoteliers, DMCs, tourism board head office and other establishments in Seychelles. The seminar is aimed at defining the Indian market and presenting its nitty-gritties to the local travel trade fraternity of Seychelles. The event witnessed speeches on the cultural and behavioural differences between the two countries by three eminent speakers from India. These included Ashutosh Mehere, COO Alliances, Cox & Kings, India; Jai Bujhwala, Founder, Holidays Box; and Parthip Thyagarajan, Founder, WeddingSutra.com. Sherin Francis, CEO, Seychelles Tourism Board, was also present at the event. She said, “The seminar was one of its kind and highly informative for all our private sector partners. It created awareness about the diversity of India and answered many questions about the trade and tourist behaviour. It certainly created a high inquisitiveness about the market among the locals which is a great sign for developing further relations with the Indian market.” Lubaina Sheerazi, COO, Blue Square Consultants, Seychelles Tourist office India, explained the cultural diversity and uniqueness of the Indian market setting stage for the speakers. She says, “We were happy with the reception of the seminar and glad that our agenda of bringing out the differences between any other market and India for Seychelles had been met. The speakers gave some highly thought provoking inputs which will certainly better equip the private sector to cater differently to the Indian audience and allow us to further expand our vision for the destination.”

Cox & Kings launched Trip 360º as a one-stop-shop for all adventure travel in India. The company is offering adventure seekers a mix of 200 itineraries which include Diving with Sharks in Maldives to Skiing to the South Pole, Cycling trips in the Northeast India to some of the most remote corners of Laos, Cruising parts of Galapagos Islands and other parts of Central America to trekking the Vinson Massif in Antarctica and Sahyadri Ranges in Maharashtra. It will also launch new routes and trips to offbeat destinations like Myanmar, Papua New Guinea and sections that remain untouched by other tour operators. Rohan Prakash, Business Head, Trip 360º said, “Trip 360º is the first adventure specialist which will operate as both, an aggregator and tour operator. Our selected partners are locals from the area or specialists in their respective fields with an in-depth knowledge of the region and the local environment. We aim to consolidate their expertise with ours and create a platform for travellers to live and achieve their outdoor dream in a safe and healthy environment.” The company would offer tailored itineraries which will vary from soft, medium and hard adventures and would cater to all levels of adventure travellers. “We have handpicked and trained expert guides, leaders and suppliers to offer different adventures of international standards. We will be introducing activities like scuba diving, cycling, diving, biking and trekking and more exciting experiences within and outside India,” adds Prakash. Speaking at the launch, Karan Anand, Head-Relationships, Cox & Kings, said, “With increasing number of travellers shifting focus to experience-oriented vacations, there is an increase in the demand for the adventure travel services. The adventure travel business is …

Backed by Cox & Kings, Enable Travel, an accessible holiday provider was launched on March 16 in New Delhi. It aims to make travel more inclusive and will cater to the travel aspirations of people with disabilities. Curated leisure tours will be offered to travellers with disabilities across mobility (wheelchairs), hearing, speech and vision impairment. Speaking at the launch, Debolin Sen, Head, Enable Travel said, “It is a long term commitment to make travel easy and hassle free in India and to empower every individual to celebrate their love for travel. Through this initiative we are trying to address various barriers like inaccessible travel information, lack of transportation and disabled friendly hotel rooms that prevent people from traveling.” The company is currently offering inbound and domestic holidays and will introduce quality transportation, support services including investments in specially trained manpower such as caregivers, sign language interpreters, expert guides and escorts. Karan Anand, Head-Relationships, Cox & Kings, commented, “Many tourists with disabilities within an outside India are keen on exploring different travel experiences the country has to offer. It is important to tap this largely underserved segment of travellers by providing quality assistance and services that focus on individual needs. Enabling barrier-free travel for people with disabilities will contribute to a significant increase in inbound and domestic tourism.”

Deccan Odyssey, the award-winning luxury train operated by Cox & Kings, has launched an exclusive companion offer on select journeys starting January 2017. Travellers can book a twin-sharing cabin in Deccan Odyssey and avail flat 50% discount for their companion. The offer is applicable on bookings made from January 1–April 30, 2017. The scheme is open to all including Indian citizens, Foreign diplomats/expats resident in India having work/resident permit. The Deccan Odyssey has 21 luxury coaches of which 12 are guest cabins. The train is also home to four Presidential Suites.

Karan Anand, Head (Relationship), Cox & Kings, has been nominated by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India to the National Tourism Advisory Council for a period of three years. The Council will act as a ‘Think Tank’ and advise the government on policy matters relating to tourism in the country. The committee comprises luminaries from the central government and the private sector. Anand will continue to carry out his responsibilities at Cox & Kings.