Tag Archives: TBO Group

TBO Group, which acquired Island Hopper in 2019, has now also acquired Gemini Tours & Travels. Headquartered out of Bangalore India, Gemini Tours & Travels, will be merging with Island Hopper, which already has over 21% share of Indian Travel Market to Maldives. Mr. Ankush Nijhawan, Co-Founder, TBO Group, said “Gemini merger will help Island Hopper further expand its presence in South India Market and consolidate its numero uno position as an Island Specialist even further. This acquisition would also help in providing our customers more hotel options especially in the luxury segment in Maldives.”

Ankush Nijhawan, Co-founder, TBO Group and Managing Director, Nijhawan Group, has been appointed as the Chairperson of the FICCI Outbound Tourism Sub Committee. In his role, his contribution and perspective will help in outlining the road map for a robust regulatory policy for the promotion of the travel & tourism sector. Nijhawan said, “I am honoured to be appointed as the Chairperson of this sub-committee. With the support of our stakeholders, I am confident that FICCI will be able to achieve greater heights in the tourism industry.” Jyotsna Suri, congratulated, saying, “We intend to work on a more focused way for each and every sub sectors of Travel, Tourism & Hospitality which will be very crucial for the revival.”

With an established background in B2B travel, TBO Group has diversified into cargo business with its first office in New Delhi operational since October 17. Ankush Nijhawan, Co-Founder, TBO Group, said they want to change the way cargo business is done in India, with different ideas, better technology and make the industry more organised. The Group plans to expand to western India in the next 6 months followed by footprints in South India as well. The company will act as a facilitator for agents to get the best prices for shipping cargo via airlines for now, and later plans to get into ocean cargo as well.

TBO Group hosted its first roadshow for its preferred hotel partners in India. The roadshow, with 30 hoteliers from Las Vegas, Baku, Dubai, Maldives and Thailand,  travelled across three cities starting with Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai. The event brought together 700 decision makers from the Indian travel fraternity resulting in almost 8,000 business meetings across the three city footprint. Ankush Nijhawan from TBO Group said, “This is a first initiative from the TBO Group to engage our India B2B partners first-hand with our preferred hotels to enthuse a sense of confidence and transparency. This one-on-one interaction with hoteliers will ensure a seamless experience for our partners, their groups and FIT requirements as facilitated for them through the TBO online Portal.” The roadshow was spearheaded by Andy Tan, Global Director –Contracting and Supplier Partnerships, TBO Group who led the delegation of hoteliers comprising Sales Directors and General Managers from leading hotels Like Wynn – Las Vegas and Encore, Pan Pacific Hotels group, AccorHotels, Park Hotel Group, Hilton London Metroplole, Papillon Group, Fairmont Baku, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, to name a few. All roadshows featured 30 raffle draws, conducted for all attending B2B partners. 85 lucky winners won for themselves hotel room nights coupled with special privileges at various partner hotels.

TBO Group seems to have come out stronger as Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) acquires Naspers’ stake in TBO Group. SCPE now owns 49 per cent of the stake vis-a-vis Nasper that earlier owned 52 per cent with both co-founders currently owning 51 per cent stake. Ankush Nijhawan, Co-founder, TBO Group, says, “SCPE now believes in our business model that we have built in the last twelve years; I think the game has just begun.” In his message to travel agents, he added, “TBO has been known for innovations in tech-segments. TBO Academy is something we just built and started, and we have also recently launched the Roamer App. We will also bring cruises online by the end of the year.” Talking about SCPE’s plans for TBO, Nijhawan said, “SCPE is very bullish on our business plans, they believe in us and they are going to be the growth drivers for us in the global market as well as India. They will back us in whatever we think is great for the company.”  

Catering to the demands of high value customers and requirements for exotic itineraries, TBO Group has launched a luxurious book creating awareness about new high-end products. Starting at $15,000 dollars a night, the book has 24 handpicked hotels across the world and two experiences that will help the agents offer their clients new ideas and crisp content. The book will be distributed to key travel agents.