Travelex Sees India As Strategic Hub For Sustained Growth In South Asia

Charmaine Fernz - Mumbai

	We want to move into other states like Kerala and Andhra Pradesh but that would be with an alliance partner. In that regard, we are in talks with large operators
Gavin Azavedo

With a successful first year of operations, Travelex the largest foreign exchange specialist has established a reputation in the provision of commercial, retail and corporate foreign exchange services. Talking about the company's growth and its future plans, Gavin Azavedo, CEO, Travelex India mentioned that, "In the first year of operations, we witnessed a 1,000 crore profit, which is commendable achievement. We then launched our India Travel Pack wherein Travelex acts as a de facto tourism board in India providing impromptu information to its customers about the country and the BuyBack Guarantee. With all of this well in place and a good 150 employees at the moment, we are looking at more tie-ups and increased transactions in forex. Having successfully gone through the first year, the company plans to recover all its investment in two and a half years, which is by June 2006."

Adding further Azavedo explained that, "Being in the distribution of travellers cheques, we want to offer our customers more value. On the expansion front, we want to move into other states like Kerala and Andhra Pradesh but that would be with an alliance partner. In that regard, we are in talks with large operators in certain cities too. However, what we are looking for is managing our business in a more cost-effective way. We also plan to launch a new service called the Money Transfer Product, but are awaiting approvals from RBI for the same and would certainly look at launching this new service in the first quarter of 2005."

With the burgeoning travel industry and an even smarter traveller, travelling modes are undergoing a metamorphosis. Travellers' cheques are now considered the ideal way of travel over hard cash. With these factors looming large, Azavedo feels that the growth of Indian tourism is going to be huge. India is witnessing increased number tourists and more countries are looking at India with a lot of potential. Considering all these factors, there is going to be a growth of travel pre-paid cards, which is a smarter way to travel as it is controlled from a company's headquaters and is very different from a credit card.

On a financial note, Azavedo's target for the second year of 2005 is a US$ 3,000 profit that he plans to double in the following year of 2006 to US$ 6,000. This would definitely be with add-ons. "In everything service we offer we add value to for customers. We also plan to leverage the company's extensive global network and use the most effective medium of advertising ie word of mouth publicity. Adding 16-20 bureaus in the various airports of our country is another way adding customer satisfaction so that our customers get the best service prior to entering the country.