For TravelPort Holidays India Private Limited, India’s largest travel and tourism marketing company, the dotcom burst may have dissuaded a lot of players from venturing into India, but it certainly did not deter Javed Aktar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TravelPort Holidays India Private Limited. Having established its operations in the year 2002, especially targeting the elastic domestic as well as international markets, the company took its time to launch in India. “We were waiting for the right time. We launched in India in 2002 because of our sheer belief and perseverance that there was a need and market for online players. The time was ripe, as the market had seen an advent of Low Cost Carriers (LCCs); differential pricing and the travel trade needed a tool like an Online Travel Agent (OTA) to cater to this growing void,” says Aktar.

When TravelPort was launched, Aktar recalls, there was no single service provider that could claim with any authority that they were providing the best deal. “When I look back, I feel that we should have launched earlier. There was a need to make sense of the confusion. We actually launched the portal with a ‘low fare guarantee’ and created a niche in the online space by establishing market leadership and, more so, a recognisable brand in the distribution stream,” offers Aktar. At its launch, the company was stunned and pleasantly so, by a market almost “starved” for an online interface to search for and book travel. “Our biggest advantage in India was the fact that our brand awareness was amazing; when people thought of an online option, it invariably was TravelPort,” says Aktar.

The company offered customers the cheapest fares and a gamut of airline options, all at the click of a mouse! The portal served as a single-point for sales, but there were limitations. Moving ahead less than two years down the line, the company is already being termed the largest issuer of airline tickets from Mumbai alone, accounting for 5,000 domestic tickets and around 300-400 international tickets. However, moving beyond the Mumbai market, the company has started its operations major cities of the country. Now, with a national presence, the company can focus on providing the best in the online space in every sense of the term. “The technology is smart – it enables the website to work well with inventory suppliers and provides a simple interface for users. With a market share of four per cent in the ticket issue segment, we target to reach at least 20 per cent by the year-end. There is a lot more space for growth and innovation and we want to capitalise on our brand,” maintains Aktar. Venturing beyond online ticketing, TravelPort now plans to enter the offline arena. The new advertising campaigns are aggressively targeting the holiday market offering packages to cater to all segments of tourists. The portal is looking at the hotel segment in a big way. As Aktar puts it, “We want to make the customer more comfortable with booking hotels online, which is not the case today. We will offer our customers a seamless process for bookings and in turn, change their buying behaviour. The challenge out there is to sell everything – right from the premium brand to the unbranded properties.” The company also has plans to experiment with the retail mode, which would be going the offline way. This is expected to further strengthen its offerings in India and make it more accessible for customers, both online and offline. Targeting huge malls and making travel more reachable is the next step. However, the company is not keen on taking the franchise route to garner more market share. “We do not want to dilute our brand in the process of reaching out to each and every corner of the country. We offer quality and need to maintain the standards of our products,” insists Aktar.

TravelPort, which has the largest network of franchised travel agencies in India, now plans to introduce another distribution channel in the form of retail outlets within lifestyle malls across the country. By the first week of July, TravelPort will have six such outlets between Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Gurgaon, for which it has tied-up with the Future Group. “By the end of 2008, we will have 50 retail shops across India that will provide customers with air and railway tickets, exclusive package deals, foreign exchange and passport update help,” says Aktar. Also, TravelPort will expand its franchise agencies from the existing 65 in India to around 75-80 in the coming months. The franchisees will be responsible for managing the terminals whereas the company will set-up the TravelPort terminals and handle the advertising and marketing of the concept. The terminals will offer domestic and international flight tickets, car rentals, Volvo tickets, hotel accommodation, Indian Railways’ inventory, travel insurance, forex services and domestic and international packages. “The company is currently in talks with Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and several travel insurance companies for selling their offerings at the terminals,” asserts Aktar. Apart from that, the company has also partnered with Yellowstone Pharmacy, a pharmacy chain, for setting-up TravelPort desks at its outlets. The pharmacy chain has set itself a target of setting-up 1,000 outlets across India by 2010.

TravelPort has acquired complete ownership (100 per cent stake) of Sri Balaji Tours and Travel for Rs 5 crore. TravelPort has strategic private equity investors funding the company and the acquisition has been done with a mix of equity and cash. According to Javed Akhtar, CEO of TravelPort, with the acquisition of Balaji Tours, the company has become the largest domestic player in Goa. “We are planning to further infuse Rs five crore in the first phase to fuel expansion plans in Goa. The money will be utilised for several new initiatives to promote tourism in Goa. The company also plans to underwrite 2-3 strategic hotel properties in Goa, which will be managed by TravelPort,” says Akhtar.

TravelPort, in a joint initiative with individual investors, is keen to launch B2B portals, hotelbook.in and tourbook.in, for travel agents in India by mid-January, 2008. The portals, claimed to be developed with an investment of Rs 1.5 crore, are slated to offer about 1,000 mid-sized and budget hotels across 70 destinations in India. Besides, in a bid to maximise the revenue for travel agents, commissions ranging from 15 to 60 per cent are expected to be offered on hotel bookings. “Through the websites, the agents will be able to book both, hotel stay, as well as customised packages to the particular destination. We are aiming to sell 75,000 room nights and earn a revenue of approximately seven crore rupees by March, 2009. At present, we have a network of about 750 agents and we intend to increase the number to 2,000 by the next fiscal,” said Aktar. The company has already tied-up with 826 mid-sized hotels for the portals, and is offering a tool named Yield Management System (YMS) in order to facilitate the bookings. “The tool, facilitating multiple modes of payment, will be provided free of cost to the hotels, ensuring effective inventory management,” says Aktar. “Besides registered travel agents having an online presence will be provided with a white label solution, by way of a user name and password,” Aktar added. The company is also looking to launch the portals in the overseas market. For starters, they will be operational in Sri Lanka, Dubai and Malaysia by April, 2008. “We have joined hands with Sri Lanka-based Hermes International Travel Private Limited in terms of the content for the portal to be operational in the Sri Lankan domestic market. For Dubai and Malaysia, the deals have not been signed yet,” maintained Aktar.

Source: travelbizmonitor.com