One of India’s leading destination management companies, Creative Travel, has always been committed to offering international standards of destination management in the Indian subcontinent – creatively. It is this USP that has led the company to achieve numerous milestones including winning more than 49 international awards in a span of over 38 years By Rituparna Chatterjee
Times have changed, and so have the means of travel and discovery all over the world. For the travel industry, that is precisely where the real challenge lies – to be able to match the splendour of the past with the comforts of the new century. Creative Travel, one of India’s leading destination management companies, has been successful in achieving this goal by building relationships of trust, based on an understanding of the needs of the agents and clients alike, and the ability to support it by delivering on promises. Brought into existence in 1977 by late Ram Kohli, former chairman and managing director, Creative Travel has been successful in showcasing this part of the world globally for over 38 years. The company has now grown to cover all of Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Tibet apart from India.
What started out as a small dream, has now become one of the most prominent independently owned destination management companies in South Asia. Being proud to be a part of this family legacy, Rajeev Kohli, joint managing director, Creative Travel shares the story behind the company’s inception. “My father was working in the US for a leading Indian travel company and had the desire to return to India to raise his children with Indian values. In 1977, he went onto start Creative Travel. At that time India was a regressive economy with inconsistent rules and policies and there was also a declining interest in India as a travel product. Despite all these odds, my father started the company and today it is one of the largest family owned companies in its space,” states Kohli. The fundamentals of the company has always been to showcase the most engaging, authentic and experiential experiences in India. “This is what we started with and what we will continue doing,” he asserts.
Extending wings
Over the years, Creative Travel has witnessed a growth in staff, an increase in the number of markets it covers and the type of services it offers. “We don’t look at challenges, we look at opportunities. We have been getting several opportunities and we try to avail as many as we can,” avers Kohli. One of these opportunities was creating a specific team 10-11 years back to handle congresses and conventions, which has been doing exceptionally well. The company also went onto enter the incentive space, in which today, it is one of the market leaders. Recently, the company ventured into the outbound travel space as well. “We have been consistent in the ways we have dealt with things. We have managed our whole process effectively and have done only what we have desired for. Our action has always been directed towards being a market leader,” asserts Kohli.
The company is also one of the most awarded inbound operators in the country having won more than 49 international awards in a span of over 38 years. Some of them include – 2015, 2014 World Travel Awards for Ïndia’s Leading Luxury Travel Agency; 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012 World Travel Awards for Asia’s Leading Destination Management Company; 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011 World Travel Awards for India’s Leading Destination Management Company; 2013 Today’s Traveller Award for Best Luxury Inbound Tour Operator; 14 National Tourism Awards presented by the Government of India; Five Time SITE Crystal Award Winner; PATA Gold Award Winner; among others.
The company is also growth focused. “We have a strong focus on developing manpower, health and happiness of our employees, and the luxury and experiential end of the travelling market. These are the core focus areas where all our actions will be directed towards in 2016. I find a lot of companies getting into businesses because others are getting into it. People have been asking us why we aren’t getting into the wedding or charter business. But that isn’t our strategy. We will get into what we can do well and where we can become a market leader,” strongly advocates Kohli. With a growth of around eight-12 per cent year-on-year, Creative Travel hopes to reach a revenue target of Rs 350 crore by 2020 in this specific domain.
2015 SITE Global Conference
Another significant milestone for the company has been Kohli joining the host committee of the 2015 SITE (Society for Incentive Travel Excellence) Global Conference to be held in New Delhi from October 23-26, 2015. Founded in 1973, SITE comprises 2000 members in 90 countries. Its 29 chapters span the globe and provide local connectivity for members. This year India has won the bid to host the 2015 conference. “We are getting top 250 global decision makers in the incentive industry. We as a chapter had bid for this conference for this is our opportunity to change perception, influence decision making and get people to look at India and that is why the ministry of tourism has come aboard as a full partner and we also have Taj, Oberoi, Leela, ITC coming in,” he mentions, adding, “The benefits of this are immense to India. Firstly, globally everyone in this segment are talking about India; secondly, this will bring a world-class institution into the country; thirdly, it will allow Indian players to network with global influencers, among others.”