Kuoni Travel Group, a Mumbai-based travel and tourism company and subsidiary of Switzerland-headquartered Kuoni Travel Holding, has signed an agreement with the Maharashtra government to promote select tourist destinations in the state as part of its plans to expand client base.
According to the agreement signed with the state government’s travel arm Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), Kuoni will market 10-15 tourist destinations. The tourist attractions include beaches, heritage sites like Ajanta and Ellora caves and luxury train Deccan Odyssey.
“The sites which we seek to develop will be from MTDC’s existing sites and have to be easily accessible from Mumbai — within three to four hours of motoring distance or within reach of charter helicopter services, which many private operators are now offering,” said Zubin Karkaria, CEO and managing director of Kuoni Travel Group, India.
MTDC will spruce up infrastructure at the selected sites with other players. However, Kuoni “will not get into the physical assets part.”
This is the first public-private partnership (PPP) agreement signed by Kuoni in India. Under the agreement, the company will promote Maharashtra in 30 countries where it has its network in lieu of the state promoting Switzerland as a tourist destination.