The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) aims at increasing its earnings from tourism packages by over 150 per cent to Rs 80 crore by the end of this financial year.
“We plan to increase our earnings from Rs 29 crore at present to Rs 80 crore by this fiscal end,” said Rakesh Tandon, managing director, IRCTC.
The corporation launched travel packages in 2007 and its 2008-09 earnings from tourism packages has grown by over 200 per cent to Rs 29 crore from Rs 9 crore in 2007-08.
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IRCTC is also working on introducing travel packages to attract tourists coming for the Commonwealth Games.
IRCTC, which launched travel packages in January 2007, offers 104 travel packages through train and 158 packages without trains that means through other mode of transport, which is by road and air. The corporation’s maximum earnings come from pilgrimage packages. Top three earners among pilgrimage packages offered are Delhi-Vaishnodevi Chennai-Tirupathy and third being Shirdi.
IRCTC is a mini ratna category 1 company and was set up with the basic purpose of hiving off entire catering and tourism activity and to professionalise and upgrade these services with public-private participation. It is also taking up rail-based tourism in coordination with state agencies, tour operators, travel agents and the hospitality industry.
The corporation takes care of catering on trains and at railway stations, manufacture of Rail Neer, its packaged drinking water, internet ticketing, 139 rail enquiry call centre, tourism packages and Bharat Darshan Trains.
IRCTC has also been assigned to set up 100 budget hotels at railway stations all over the country and is launching a pan-Indian luxury train by January next year.