All-woman travel agency offers holiday plans sans men

Housewives and women professionals looking to get away from their domestic routine or mundane office schedules without depending on men can now bank on an all-women travel company to travel to leisure spots.
Bangalore-based 'Beautiful Journey Pvt Ltd', which claims to be the first all-women travel group in the country, is providing a platform for women to take a break without worrying.
The company, launched in August 2013, has been organising group tours solely for women.
If women techies of the IT city have been the major takers of the tour packages in the initial days, the company now claims that it is flooded with enquiries from women of all walks of life.

Whether it is a leisurely vacation to the shores of a picturesque backwater resort or for a high altitude hiking trip, the "Beautiful Journey" crew is ready with all necessary arrangements.
Company CEO Jyothi Nair, a licensed pilot from Kerala who quit her plush IT job to set up the travel company, said many an eyebrow was raised when she decided to start the firm.

"As the security of women has been an all-time serious issue in our country, many could not digest my idea. But, I was clear about what I want. My parents also stood with me," Jyothi told PTI.

Within months, the company has organised 24 journeys ranging from tiny vacation trips to mega foreign tours. Around 200 women have seen places out of the packages it offered, she said.
"Women in India are educationally qualified. Naturally, they desire to travel to their favourite destinations. Though they may plan short distance trips, majority of them avoid long travel plans due to security concerns," Jyothi said.
She said 'Beautiful Journey' is the result of her personal struggle to travel.
"After quitting my IT career in 2012, I wanted to do three things. Read, meditate and travel. The first two were very easy. But travel was very difficult to take off. Friends had their busy lives. My family is not much in to travel and like many other women, travelling alone is not much fun for me," she said.