SOTC Travel has completed 70 years in the travel space. Founded in 1949, SOTC’s first office was opened in Mumbai with five employees. A major breakthrough came in 1976, when SOTC handled its first tour group visiting the US during the bicentennial celebrations. 1981 saw another breakthrough when SOTC Package Tours began active advertising, with the first creative in the newspapers.
Today it has grown to a network of over 160 touch points in India and NRI markets. Over the years, the company has attained leadership position in various travel segments-Escorted Group Holidays, Customised Holidays, Domestic Holidays, Incentive Travel, Business Travel and Foreign Exchange.
Speaking on the momentous occasion, Vishal Suri, managing director, SOTC Travel said, “It is indeed a celebratory moment for us at SOTC. We believe in constantly evolving and adapting to the changing needs and expectations of our customers to create and deliver magical moments and seamless travel solutions. Moving forward, we will continue to focus on value creation for all our stakeholders – customers, employees and partners, by further enhancing our processes, investing in technology and innovation to deliver delightful customer experiences.”
The company aims to further strengthen its business with an array of innovations and launches across multiple travel categories. The plans include new product formats and extension of premium offerings.
Things you did not know about SOTC
• In Switzerland, the town of Engelberg was renamed SOTC Indian Village in 1999.
• SOTC is the only Indian tour operator to be awarded the prestigious Friends of Thailand Award in 2000.
• In 2003, a customer travelling with an SOTC Bhraman Mandal tour to Europe came back to India and wrote a book titled ‘Parikrama of Western Europe’. The book is an account of his journey – from the decision-making stage to homecoming – and talks of his experience as an SOTC customer.
• Pioneers in introducing the Holiday Now Pay Later facility
• Pioneered in designing and marketing of escorted tours to cosmopolitan travellers in India.
• Introduced the concept of Box Holidays.
• SOTC was the first travel group to create a tour around the Seven New Wonders of the World.
• Pioneers in creating the concept of a Holiday Bazaar.
• Cost Saver Tours were first introduced by SOTC.
• SOTC Travel is the pioneer in Indian travel space to enter the integrated spiritual + leisure segment with the introduction of Spiritual Tours named Darshans.
• Launched easy financing options for customers such as Holidays on EMI, Holiday Investment Plan, tie-ups with banks for cash back options.
• Pioneers in introducing regional tours ‘Darshanam’ for the South India Market.
• Pioneers to introduce SOTC The Enchanted Journey with YRF films that gave the travellers a real-life experience of the magnificent spectacle they had seen unfurl only on the screen.