Ashok Tours Plans To Boost Revenues Via Diversification

Ashok Tours and Travels (ATT), the travel division of the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), is going all out to shore up its revenues. It is diversifying into event management and conference segment, besides exploring all possible avenues to grow into one of the biggest travel agencies in the country.

The ITDC wing has submitted an application with the government to allow full-fledged foreign exchange transactions. At present, with a restricted money changing license, it can accept foreign exchange but cannot sell it.

ATT is also launching a new service -- Ashok Conferences Convention Events and Support Services (Access) -- from December 1, to tap the growing convention business in the country.

The ITDC wing is also planning to tie up with at least 50 countries to boost its business volumes. Under the proposal, ATT will promote these countries in India by offering specialised tours and the countries will promote India as a potential tourist destination. ATT will benefit because all the tourists coming in from these locations would utilise its travel services.

"ITDC is a tourism-promotion body and our role, therefore, is not only restricted to developing domestic tourism, but also outgoing tourism. This is an initiative in that direction," ATT general manager Kuldip Verma, said. He said the company will make representations to all embassies in the country, and will also showcase their products at the International Travel Exchange in Berlin, in February.

He said ATT would be adding six new offices to its present portfolio of 10 offices. The new offices would come up at Hyderabad, Goa, Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Ranchi and Guwahati.

Verma said a memorandum of understanding has been signed with the ministry of textiles-owned Central Cottage Industries Corporation (CCIC) to promote services and products of both on an all-India basis. Under the MoU, the CCIC will provide extension counter space to ITDC in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata, which will market ITDC's hotel rooms and tours to the customers. The counter will also deal in foreign exchange, Verma said.

The CCIC is expected to gain from this, as all the ATT tours will terminate in front of the cottage industries showrooms at these five destinations, thereby enabling customers to buy products from the respective emporiums. ATT will also showcase CCIC products at its Delhi office at the Ashok hotel.