Category Archives: Agents

Trafalgar has announced 100% Definite Departures on its Europe and Britain trips for the 2019 summer season. “We know it’s been a challenging sales year for our agent partners with high consumer interest yet a later booking window, so we are going 100% definite to help our valued partners close the sale and reassure their clients that now is the best time to book.” says Gavin Tollman, Trafalgar’s CEO. To celebrate 100 per cent definite departures and a decade of connecting guests with the locals through its ‘Be My Guest’, Trafalgar is offering US$200 savings per couple for bookings made before 31 March 2019. “Travellers globally are craving reassurance, which they will always get with Trafalgar. With our existing deposit guarantees, our extensive range of 100+ award-winning European trips and our 4.7/5 independent Feefo rating, now combined with our 100% definite departure status, agent partners can sell us with 100 per cent confidence. Cultural experiences like cooking lessons, after-hours dining at the Vatican are other experiences Trafalgar’s guests can buy. “We are always AgentsFirst, and by making our trips 100% Definite Departure status, alongside our great offers right now with up to 15 per cent off all May departures for our Europe and Britain departures, Trafalgar is the only choice to truly deliver on fulfilling one’s travel dreams,” Tollman concluded.

The Indian trade delegation that is currently in France to attend the annual show Rendezvous en France 2019 organised by Atout France has been exploring the potential of regions yet unfamiliar to the Indian travellers. The 32-member delegation hosted by Atout France India includes tour operators from Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Bengaluru. The regions that the Indian delegates found appealing for their clients include Provence and the Rhône-Alpes. The two-day show is being held in Marseille this year to promote the region in the international markets. About 915 tour operators from 73 different countries are attending this B2B travel show, one of the biggest trade events in France.

After acquiring Arzoo.com recently, Parag Thakker, MD, Shri Mahalaxmi Vacations, has invested in JustClickKaro.com. Navjot Bhasin, Founder, JustClickKaro.com, announced that with this investment, Thakker would be a director in the company. “We are very excited to announce that Parag Thakker of Shri Mahalaxmi Vacations has made an investment of an undisclosed amount. With this, our 1.5 year long search for an investor has finally come to an end. The company has today become a one-stop shop for any B2B requirement, and with this investment we will be expanding our wings further.” Thakker added that he sees a great potential in the growth of JustClickKaro.com. “We are happy to be investing in JustClickKaro.com and we are sure that it will reach new heights very soon. We have many plans going forward for the company and you will hear many new announcements soon from our end.”

FCM Travel Solutions and KPMG’s recent whitepaper titled ‘Redefining Corporate Travel Management’ forecasts that the Indian business travel market is highly fragmented, with 70 per cent of corporates spending less than Rs 10 million. IT companies have the highest share amongst those spending more than Rs 10 million followed by engineering and pharmaceutical companies. IT, BPO/ITeS and pharmaceutical industries have higher travel spends as a percentage of their revenue. The cost incurred while travelling for business is the second highest operational cost for most organisations. Business travel is central to both maintaining business as well as expanding it and due to rising cost of travel, it is becoming imperative for corporates to drive higher levels of efficiency in their managed travel programme.

A new DMC – One Above – that offers Destination Marketing Services, opened its new office in Mumbai recently. Located in Andheri East, it is headed by BA Rahim, Director, along with co-directors Vishal Somaiya and Irshad Dadan. It already has 15 DMCs in its kitty in countries including Maldives, South Africa, Dubai, Russia, USA, Baku, Cambodia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Mauritius.

Travel agents in Kashmir are requesting the Central Government to include Kashmir as a destination in the Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN). This comes as a result of the increasing fares to the destination and the negative perception about the state after the Pulwama attacks. Zahoor Qari, Chairman, TAAI – J&K Chapter, says, “We are demanding that the Government extends the UDAN scheme to Kashmir as well. Currently, the perception of travellers towards Kashmir is negative after the recent attacks, and it is a difficult situation. However, the attack happened in a remote area which is far off from all the tourist attractions, where the situation is normal as usual. Also, if UDAN is extended to Kashmir, the state will have domestic connectivity, which would give a positive signal to the entire nation that tourism is normal in Kashmir and travellers should not hesitate in going there. Currently the situation is difficult, and the valley is suffering from a financial crunch, which can improve if domestic tourism develops in the state.”

Red Apple Travel has shut down its operational services in the Pakistan markets with immediate effect in view of the recent Pulwama terror attack. The company condemns the heinous attack of the Indian CRPF bravehearts in Pulwama, Jammu & Kashmir. Red Apple Travel is a B2B travel DMC offering customised holidays that is driven by pioneering technology, designing contextual products and a dedicated team.

Global Destinations is organising a four-city roadshow in the country in order to strengthen relations with the travel fraternity and various private players. Having kicked off in Delhi, the roadshow will travel to Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Chennai. Pranav Kapadia, Founder & Director, Global Destinations, shared, “We have got 12 partners with for the roadshow, which includes five properties from Bintan Resorts and partners from Greece, Vietnam and Bulgaria. We’ve got  Swiss-Belhotel International from Bali, a partner from United states and Air New Zealand from New Zealand. We have invited very select agents for the roadshow. The idea is to either target agents who have the potential as we have not been getting the required support from them or look at agents who have been supporting Global Destinations and haven’t met the partners.”  

The Global DMC Network by JTB group, which owns Europamundo Vacations, recently concluded a multi-city roadshow in India. A total of six DMCs under the JTB umbrella from Asia-Pacific, Europe, Japan and Korea participated at the JTB roadshow, namely—Tour East, Tumlare Destination Management, Kuoni Global Travel Services, Europamundo Vacaciones, JTB Global Marketing & Travel and LOTTE JTB. Aparna C Basumalik, Country Head, Europamundo Vacations, claimed that the roadshow was a great opportunity for JTB to show the solidarity of the vast product range that they have. “Not only are we doing the Asia Pacific, Europe and America region, but also Japan. Now that Europamundo is an integral part of JTB, it was great to participate in the roadshow. The roadshow began with introducing JTB as a group and all the companies under its umbrella, followed by the break-away sessions with every DMC, which gave each company an opportunity to showcase their product. This is unlike other roadshows where agents only listen to what the suppliers have. However, here the suppliers are listening to what the trade is looking for. It’s a two-way process and I am sure it’s going to be beneficial for both parties,” she added.

EbixCash has announced that it has signed agreements to acquire the assets of Delhi-based Pearl International Tour & Travels and Mumbai-based Lawson Travels & Tours. The two companies cumulatively conduct a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of approximately $140 million. Both these companies will be integrated into EbixCash’s Via travel Division. The acquisition of the assets of the two companies will increase EbixCash’s travel expanse across its two travels brands Via & Mercury, to a total GMV of $ 1.16 Billion. Besides increasing EbixCash’s travel foothold by 10,000 agents, it will also add 300 corporate clients and key B2C portals like www.sastiticket.com to the EbixCash travel spectrum of products and services. Ebix believes that the two acquisitions, once fully integrated into its Via division will generate operating margins of 30 per cent or more, over the next few months. Robin Raina, Chairman, President and CEO, Ebix, said, “We have set up a very simple goal for ourselves in 2019 as far as the travel industry goes. We want to be India’s most profitable travel company besides being a clear No 2 in terms of top line by the end of 2019. With GMV of approximately 8,000 crores ($ 1.16 billion) including Pearl and Lawson at present, we are clearly getting very close to that goal. We are in the unique position of having a rich portfolio of other services like travel insurance, health insurance, foreign exchange, outward remittances, visa services etc., that perfectly complement our travel portfolio leading to extensive cross selling opportunities for us and a one-stop service experience for our B2B and B2C travel clients across the globe.”