‘We Plan To Achieve Our Growth Through Acquisitions’

Rajiv Duggal, senior VP, Kuoni SOTC (winner of the ‘Best Outbound Tour Operator’) talks to Neeti Chopra about the company’s plans for the coming year

What does the award mean to you?

This is an extremely prestigious award and it is a great honour for SOTC to receive this award. I think winning this award is a noble accomplishment. It deserves great celebration and recognition.

What according to you was the secret of your success?

Whether it is marketing a destination or marketing specific tourism product the ruling factor is being able to suit the client profile you are servicing. SOTC's thrust is on quality and we never compromise on that front. Research is conducted on products by our in-house team as we have a dedicated team for research and development. All this along with a clear focus on the job in hand, innovation in all aspects of the business and an orientation towards our people, are the main reasons for us to be in this position today.

How do you plan to retain this success?

Besides ensuring that we continue to do what we are doing and have been doing in terms of quality and people management, we will ensure a focus on innovation of new business, circuits and promoting new destinations.

What are your future plans?

We have plans to achieve our growth target through acquisitions and by widening our client base and breaking into new segments of the market. Plans for the future include product innovation and creating benchmarks for service levels in the tourism industry. Technology and tourism are inseparable. Therefore, technology will be a major thrust area in the future. While consolidating our position in the group and incentive markets, we shall be focusing strongly on the FIT markets both outbound and domestic.