DRMumbai: SOTC, which recently forayed into the Forex business, is redefining travel with offerings like Great Rail Journeys and the Self-Drive holiday packages. Vishal Suri, Managing Director, SOTC Travel, talks about the scope of experiential travel and the firm’s future.
You have entered the forex business now considered a very low margin, volume play. What is the opportunity you see here?
Convenience to the traveller is the key. With SOTC’s entry into the Forex business, our customers now have easy access to foreign exchange, and can conveniently view exchange rates on-the-go while securely paying at their convenience. This opens the doors for SOTC to the retail and wholesale foreign exchange businesses which also adds to our overall revenue. With the feature of premium security, we are also assuring the traveller of making secure payments with no risk attached.
For India market, which are some of the most sought-after offerings from your stable? How are some of the recent products like Great Rail Journeys, Self-Drive Holidays and Perfect Moments doing since their launch?
Experiential travel is becoming big in the Indian market. Indians are looking for quick and hassle-free getaways; two offerings on the table are the Great Rail Journeys and the Self-Drive holiday packages.
These packages enable the traveller to discover more than what meets the eye. Visitors can personalise their travel plans for an epic global adventure through railways that are indigenous to the localities. With an aim to carve out a niche segment, SOTC introduced the Great Rail Journeys through experiential trains. We have chosen 30 end-to-end land itineraries across geographies that we want to promote with departure dates year-round. We will be using digital space as an important medium to reach out to our customers. We are targeting value-seeking travellers for this product.
With road trips becoming a major fad among families, couples and travel groups, these packages offer cost-effective arrangements for the new-age traveller who wants to go on experiential holiday. Self- Drive packages provide the customer with vehicles to explore destinations and visit the locales, giving them the benefit of value for money and convenience of travel.
Luxury travel has always been in demand, hence we introduced Perfect Moments. Most visitors believe that they could do with the thrills of being introduced to new unexplored lands with the added luxury of activities like scuba diving, sky diving, private yacht parties, fine dining, spas, meditation and wellness centres at destinations like Europe, South America, Botswana, New Zealand, Jordan, Oman, South Africa and the like.
How are you addressing the South India market and their unique needs?
Another addition to our primary markets is South India. We have introduced a package in response to our growing South Indian customer base with the following perks:
- Ensuring that the tour manager is fluent in one South Indian language
- One South Indian meal per day
- One South Indian item included in breakfast and option of Masala Chai
Customers from South India are enthusiastic travellers who love to travel with their own community. Strong demand for important aspects like language and special South Indian food on tour are usually an important factor. We have two packages under this category for now – Vanakam Europe and the other being Darshanam Europe.
Can you comment on the incentive travel market in India? What are the prospects?
The MICE market is witnessing a rising demand for destination conferences, seminars and other events at a professional set up with a change of scene and offerings as the Indian business traveller seeks a niche experience on these trips.
Our customer focused strategy and innovation together with national presence have resulted in happy travellers in the past years on behalf of most renowned Indian corporate houses and SMEs across industry verticals and services spectrum.
The MICE segment in India is opting for cruise holidays. Today, the MICE market is becoming increasingly sophisticated with discerning palates and evolving preferences and interests.
Tell us more about the monsoon packages?
SOTC recently introduced monsoon packages which offer customers with a great set of activities that they can enjoy. We have designed special itineraries for monsoon retreats offering great value for money for our price-sensitive consumers and these packages are extremely popular with customers with Air Inclusive Holidays starting at Rs. 38,000 for international travel and Rs. 31,900 for domestic travel.
Your views on new travel trends?
There is an encouraging growth in demand in recent years with the idea of cruise vacation slowly catching up as cruising features a number of options all in one product, from multiple destinations, accommodation, meals, amenities and activities, thus giving the traveller more value for money.
With a number of fun activities and entertainment options, it is not surprising that the popularity of cruise holidays in India is constantly increasing. Today cruise liners are wooing young travellers with a number of activities such as casinos, top notch food outlets, indoor golf, better entertainment and more relaxed approach to cruising
The scale at which domestic travel is poised to grow is tremendous. Places like Ladakh, Bhutan and the North East are gaining popularity. Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Wayanad, Shimla, Goa, Jaisalmer, Coorg, Srinagar, Darjeeling, Manali and Ooty are predicted to become top domestic hotspots.
There is a trend that long holidays are getting shorter, and repeat travel of lesser duration is gaining popularity. Shorter vacations (clubbed with a long weekend) are in demand compared to longer holidays.
Recognising the importance of language markets, SOTC also pioneered tours in Marathi and Gujarati under the SOTC brand extensions: SOTC Brahman Mandal and SOTC Gurjar Vishwadarshan.
SOTC also came up with special regional tours for its South and North markets after thorough market and customer research. Our well-experienced regional tour managers ensure delivery of the essential elements of expertise and customer care. Keeping in mind the preferences of our travellers, some of the USPs include a stationed chef in specific destinations and a kitchen caravan in Europe to cater to the specific culinary tastes of our customers.
We launched ‘Darshans’ in August last year, which addresses the needs of travellers in want of exclusive offerings in temples across India. Initially, we launched 40 products and will keep adding on as we forge new partnerships. According to statistics, the biggest segment in India is Religious Tourism.
