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Kuoni to hit domestic trail as billings taper

BS Corporate Bureau

Faced with the prospect of an 8 per cent decline in inbound travel billings in 2002, Kuoni India, the country's largest travel company, has firmed up plans to foray into the domestic travel market.

"We are expecting a decline in inbound travel this year, primarily due to the September 11 and December 13 attacks. Hence, to counter the vagaries of international inbound travel, we are going to foray into domestic travel," Ranjit Malkani, chairman and chief executive officer of Kuoni Travel (India) Pvt Ltd, said.

Kuoni plans to use the expertise of its outbound and inbound divisions for its latest venture, which will operate under the brandname SITA.

The company expects domestic travel to contribute about 15-20 per cent to the total billings of its inbound division by 2003.

Incidentally, inbound division billings amounted to Rs 1.60 billion during 2001.

Malkani said he expected the inbound division to turnaround only in 2003. The company plans to launch an all-India marketing and advertising strategy for the new venture.

"We are planning to introduce tailor-made packages for specific target audiences such as honeymoon couples, pilgrims, etc," Malkani said. Kuoni will begin test marketing the service later this month.

The company has also announced a strategic alliance with Business Travel International, which claims to be the world's most technologically advanced business travel management company, for its business travel division.

The business travel division, now rechristened BTI-SITA, expects to provide expert advice in the delivery of corporate travel solutions.

It also aims to provide tailored solutions to two major client segments: small and medium-sized enterprises and major national and multinational groups.

BTI, which has annual billings close to $20 billion, has a client roster comprising Dell, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Bridgestone.

Malkani also revealed plans to go public once the market situation improved. He said, Kuoni would offload 26 per cent to the public, but declined to specify a timeframe.

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