Sahara launches tourism company

Sahara India Pariwar has launched an integrated travel and tourism company, Sahara Global, with an initial direct investment of Rs 300 crore, financed by accruals from other group companies.

Sahara Global's chief executive officer Romi Datta said the company would have an outreach of 665 marketing offices across 165 cities.

It will offer travel services across seven business verticals: outbound, inbound and domestic leisure travel, conference and exhibitions, medical tourism and an extensive travel portal.

Sahara Global is targeting a turnover of Rs 200 crore this year, according to Datta. He expressed the hope of doubling the turnover to Rs 600 crore in three years.

Sahara Global's operations are expected to begin by the end of this month in a phased manner. The first set of operations will include domestic and international travel, followed by an e-portal in April and medical tourism in mid-May.

To market India as a travel destination overseas and also to cater to the NRI community, Sahara Global has opened offices in New Jersey, Los Angeles, San Francisco. Singapore and the UAE are next on its agenda.

The company will also be opening a 24 hour call centre in Lucknow for the Indo-US sector. Datta said: "Our biggest advantage will be our pan-India presence under one brand."

He added Sahara Global was going to revolutionise the e-travel platform in India by giving accessibility to travel agents even in grade B and C towns and cities.