| Destinations of the World is a global B2B wholesale travel company started in 1992, that does not sell to the end user. It links suppliers worldwide to wholesale and retail travel agents as well as tour operators and airlines worldwide. Its Indian subsidiary, DOTW India Pvt Ltd, was started in April 2005. It clocked revenues of Rs 36 crore in 2006 and Rajiv Duggal, DOTW India's Chief Executive Officer, expects this figure to reach Rs 78 crore in 2007. |
| What is your business model? |
| We are a wholesale company"" we wholesale ground infrastructure and hotels in 19 countries. My customer is the travel agent, not the end user. Every one of our offices handles in-bound as well as out-bound. We deliver and contract ourselves, and there is no third party involved. DOTW is a global B2B wholesale travel company that does not sell direct to the end customer. It links suppliers worldwide to wholesale and retail travel agents as well as tour operators and airlines worldwide. |
| A team of contractors is based at all DOTW offices to ensure the best rates and allocations with hotels, apartments and ground services within their respective territories are contracted and loaded into a central database. Each DOTW office has a team of sales managers which markets and distributes company products and services to travel agents, wholesalers and tour operators in their regions. We have an online reservation system which allows the travel trade to process bookings and obtain instant confirmations. Local support and servicing is provided by the operations team in each office which is staffed with people who speak the languages in the territories they represent. The products are also sold in the local currencies of each area. |
| Where do you have your offices and branches? |
| We have offices in all the destinations that Indians travel to""South East Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. We also have offices in Russia, Africa and Australia. We have placed our offices in the most touristic places. We believe this is a very territorial business, so every territory is contracted by local people, who speak the local language. Globally our entire contracting is territorial. Tariffs and invoices are also customised in local currencies to minimise foreign exchange risk and reduce bank transfer costs. Clients can also obtain rates in other supplier currencies if they wish. |
| What do you see as the main trends in India's tourism industry? |
| We understand travel trends very well. Indians travel most within Asia""to Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. Similarly, Europeans travel most within Europe, Arabs travel most within the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Americans within the United States. In India too, domestic tourism is the most robust, active and healthy segment of travel and tourism. We expect that it will continue to outpace outbound tourism. |
| Today Indians haven't seen much of their own country. The air fare to Goa, for example, may not be low, but the way air fares are coming down, one day they will become affordable. They will certainly be far cheaper than fares to Bangkok or Singapore. |
| India's outbound and inbound tourism are both growing rapidly. How have you benefitted from this? |
| We grew by 250 per cent in the first year, by 150 per cent in the second year, and by 60 per cent in the first quarter of 2007. By the fourth or fifth year I expect growth to settle down in the region of 40 "" 45 per cent. In India our revenues were Rs 36 crore in 2006, and we expect to do Rs 78 crore in 2007. Globally, our revenues were $365 million in 2006, and we expect to reach $1 billion in 2010. |
| "We have offices in all the destinations that Indians travel to"" South East Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States" Rajiv Duggal CEO, DOTW India Pvt Ltd |
Top Section
Explore Business Standard