Hot Seat

For the love of travel

A passionate traveller, his background in civil engineering did not deter Niranjan Gupta from foraying into his family's travel business. By Gayatri Vijaykumar

Originally from Andhra Pradesh, Niranjan Gupta is a complete Bangalorean at heart. Widely known in the travel and hospitality circles, Gupta's stature in the industry is apparent by the number of clients he meets. Equipped with a degree in Civil Engineering from the Vishveshwaraya College of Engineering and an MBA in Finance from Cleveland, USA, Gupta took over the mantel of his family business Travel Air in 1985. Ever an innovative entrepreneur, Gupta started his own travel agency Navras Travels in 1994 with an initial capital of Rs 7.5 lakh. With nine branches in Bangalore, Navras Travels claims a turnover of Rs.7.5 crore today.

Though still its managing director, Gupta has handed over the reins of the travel agency to his wife Sheela Gupta. He now dedicates most of his time to his latest venture, Via (the erstwhile Flightraja) an online travel solutions portal. Launched in August 2006, Via has 1,700 registered agents. "The distinction between Via and other travel portals is that we go beyond ticketing. Anybody who wants to be an entrepreneur can register as an agent and issue tickets to customers and earn commission." In order to register as an agent with Via, a deposit has to be made against which tickets are issued. The agents earn a commission on the tickets they sell. The customers, on the other hand, get to choose from a number of airlines offering different fares. Via, was conceptualised by Gupta and four of his partners from the IT sector.

Gupta, however, has not restricted himself to the travel sector. With a background in civil engineering he has also ventured into the construction business with Navras Constructions whose projects include the Leela Palace. Gupta has also diverted a part of his capital into the real estate business. "Two years ago I decided to slow down on the construction front and concentrate on real estate."

Competitive front

So who does Gupta consider as his main competitor in the travel industry? "The best part about the travel business is that it is growing faster than the travel agents so there is always a lot of business coming our way", he says.

However, according to him, the limited talent pool available in the industry is the main problem because of which he ends up letting go of prospective clients. Gupta feels that travel companies like Navras Travels have to enter into niche products. "We have to spend more time and effort developing places and travel products," he says. According to Gupta, customer's needs are changing fast. "Earlier people used to travel abroad mainly to shop, now they go abroad to relax and backpack. We as agents have to cater to those needs."

Despite his packed work schedule, Gupta finds time to catch up on one-day cricket. "At least till India reached the World Cup," he adds with a smile. Watching the 10 pm show at Forum is another pastime he indulges in. "I prefer watching comedies like Khosla ka Ghosla. I would rather watch a movie where I can unwind for three hours." As he says, there are too many challenges in life to start worrying over a serious movie.

As is obvious from his choice of profession, Gupta loves to travel. But, he says, he cannot rate any single place as his favourite. According to Gupta, it is really not the place that matters but the way one sees the place.

However, Gupta enjoys camping out wherever he goes. Reminiscing about his trip to New Zealand, he adds. "They have the best camping system there. You can hire a camper van, go around the place and hitch in to a well developed camping ground in any city in New Zealand." He likes to visit lesser-explored places and prefers the flexibility of a camper van. "We can get up at any time we want to and hit the road." Russia and South America remain some of the few places that he hasn't visited.

Gupta does not insist on his sons joining the travel industry. His elder son, Nikhil, is in the UK pursuing his graduation in economics. The younger one, Abhijeet, is studying in the twelfth in Adithi International School, Bangalore. He says, "Navaras Travels is an established name and so I don't think that it is necessary that someone from the family has to run it."