There is a tonne of fantastic travel agencies available to make your dreams of traveling the world come true. But a few names stand out from the crowd when it comes to tours and travel in India. One of the most popular tourist destinations worldwide is India. Millions of domestic and international visitors want to learn more about this country due to its diverse culture, tens of thousands of tourist attractions, good connectivity to every continent, and well-developed tourism infrastructure.9,00,000 international visitors arrive in India every year.
The economic impact of the tourism sector on India’s economy was estimated to be around US$ 72.8 billion in 2016 and to increase to US$ 149.2 billion by 2028. Between five and seven million Indians traveled domestically as tourists, albeit it is impossible to confirm this number due to the various factors at play.
Indian Travel Company History
The history of travel agencies in India is rather fascinating. British-owned Cox & Kings was the first significant travel “arranger” to establish operations on the Indian subcontinent. This business was established in 1758. More enterprises entered this lucrative industry as a result of the rapid colonization of the Indian subcontinent and the increased need for travel brought on by industrialization. Today, India is home to some of the largest travel companies in the world.
The Top 20 Travel Agencies In India For 2022 Are As Follows:
There are many reputable travel websites in India. Here is a list of online people. Some additionally have physical locations both domestically and abroad.
1. The Indian Railways Catering And Tourism Corporation
India’s top travel agency is the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The greatest travel website in India is IRCTC. It is a division of Indian Railways, the fourth-largest railroad system in the world. The eighth-ranked employer in the world is IRCTC.
Every day, the IRCTC issues roughly two million passenger tickets via its website and counters located in all railway stations.
Through the IRCTC website, you may also reserve hotel rooms, airline tickets, and sightseeing excursions.
IRCTC also offers its package tours to both domestic and international locations. For holidays aboard special trains, like the Maharajas Express and others, that let visitors experience the extravagance of bygone royals, are something exceptional that IRCTC offers.
The parent firm, Indian Railways, offers train services to Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In the upcoming years, rail connectivity is anticipated to extend to Bhutan, Thailand, and Myanmar.
Website: www.irctc.com
Headquarters: New Delhi.
Year Founded: 27 September 1999.
Founder: Ministry of Railways.
2. Make My Trip
MakeMyTrip is primarily an online travel and tourism portal and is considered one of India’s Internet-based travel industry pioneers. In fact, frequent travelers in India use MakeMyTrip more than any other travel service. According to the company’s website, which quotes a 2013 survey, it has a 47 percent market share in online travel.
The website continues, “MakeMyTrip is, whenever and wherever, with dedicated 247 customer assistance, offices in 20 cities across India, two overseas offices in New York and San Francisco, in addition to various franchise sites.
Using MakeMyTrip Coupons, you can also book a vacation package online for a very reasonable price, either within India or in any other location.MakeMyTrip offers special services including meet-and-greet assistance at the location, airport-hotel transfers, and sightseeing excursions.
In 2017, it merged with ibibo, a large travel agency with headquarters in Gurgaon, in the Indian state of Haryana.
Website: Makemytrip.com
Headquarters: Gurugram, Haryana, India.
Year Founded: 2000
Founder: Deep Kalra.
3. Ease My Trip
EaseMyTrip, which was founded in 2008, is the most recent addition to this list and has attained this position as a result of consistently providing outstanding services and providing transparency in airfare.
With 28 branch offices throughout India, Thailand, the Maldives, Singapore, and Dubai, the travel agency is one of the biggest flight booking websites in the nation. The company had a revenue of Rs. 2000 crores the previous year.
With 8 million users, EaseMyTrip provides customer service help 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They provide excellent discounts on hotels, bus tickets, and vacation packages, but are most renowned for their ability to book flights with no convenience charges.
The travel agency consistently has fantastic deals on trips and airfares. Additionally, they have a sizable B2B base of 65,000 travel agencies.
Website: easemytrip.com
Headquarters: India.
Year Founded: 2008
Founder: Nishant Pitti, Rikant Pitti.
4. Cleartrip
Another significant online travel agency from India is called Cleartrip. It has three locations here and one in the Middle East, all of which are completely operational.
It is the go-to agency for both business and leisure tourists visiting the states of the Arabian Gulf as a result of its Middle East operations.
One of the original players in the Indian online travel industry is Cleartrip.
On this website, you may find intriguing blogs and other content on different travel destinations and global tourism trends.
Website: Cleartrip.com
Headquarters: Dubai, Mumbai.
Founders: Stuart Crighton, Hrush Bhatt, Matthew Space.
Year Founded: 4 July 2006.
5. Yatra
Yatra is another reputable travel provider with a significant online presence.
Since its founding in 2006, the company boasts that more than four million domestic and international travelers have used its services.
Additionally, Yatra provides a smartphone app that enables users to quickly and conveniently book any travel-related service while on the go.
Domestic and international air ticketing, hotel reservations, homestays, vacation packages, bus and rail tickets, activities, and auxiliary services are all offered by Yatra.
Website: yatra.com
Headquarters: Gurugram.
Year Founded: 1 August 2006.
Founders: Dhruv Shringi, Sabina Chopra, Manish Amin.
6. Cox & Kings Limited
The world’s oldest operating travel agency, Cox & Kings, was founded in 1758. It was once largely a travel agent for British troops entering the Indian subcontinent.
Transporting Indian soldiers to various battlefields in Europe and Asia helped the firm play a significant role during World Wars I and II.
Cox & Kings is a pioneer in the travel industry and one of the few businesses of its day that is still successful today.
Cox & Kings is a Mumbai-based company with a network of offices spread across numerous major Indian cities.
Additionally, this travel agency has offices across a number of international nations, including Australia, Asia, Europe, Africa, and North America.
According to the company’s website, Cox & King Ltd has over 5,000 employees.
Website: coxandkings.com
Headquarters: Mumbai.
Year Founded: 1758
Founder: Richard Cox.
7. Thomas Cook (India) Limited
In 1881, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. was founded in India. The history of Thomas Cook is really intriguing.
It started as a social reform project with the goal of teaching people through travel and assisting people in overcoming alcoholism issues.
Thomas Cook started experimenting with different locations for excursion ideas and quickly gained fame.
The company immediately started offering excursions within Europe and later expanded them to other countries, including India.
One of the most well-known travel companies nowadays is Thomas Cook (India) Ltd, an integrated travel services supplier.
Website: thomascook.in
Headquarters: Mumbai.
Year Founded: 1881.
Founder: Thomas Cook.
8. Travel & Vacations by Balmer Lawrie
Balmer Lawrie Travel & Vacations, which is now a government-owned company in India, dates back to 1867.
It is a division of Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd, a business founded in Kolkata by two Scotsmen in 1867.
The first travel agency in India to receive certification from the International Air Transport Association is Balmer Lawrie Travel & Vacation (IATA).
The business has locations in 19 Indian cities. The primary clients of Balmer Lawrie Travel & Vacation are public sector organizations and departments of the federal and state governments (PSUs).
It is also the preferred travel provider for the private corporate sector because of its strong reputation and superior service.
Website: balmerlawire.com
Headquarters: New Delhi.
Year Founded: 1st February 1867.
Founders: George Stephen Balmer and Alexander Lawrie.
9. Red Bus
RedBus is an indigenous business from India that was founded with the novel concept of offering guaranteed reservations for bus seats.
The firm was established in Bangalore, India, in 2006, and is now owned by ibibo Group, one of the country’s largest travel companies.
According to its website, redBus is the largest community of bus travelers in the world with its mobile app having been downloaded by more than 7.5 million devoted users.
Along with Colombia and Peru, redBus operates in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore.
Website: redbus. in
Headquarters: Banglore.
Year Founded: 2006.
Founders: Phanindra Sama, Charan Padmaraju, Sudhakar Pasupunuri.
10. SOTC Travel, Ltd.
SOTC Travel Limited, a “step-down” subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Group, was founded in 1949. Thomas Cook (India) Limited now owns it (TCIL).
“SOTC India is one of the top travel and tourism businesses operating in the leisure, MICE, and business tour sectors.
“RedBus has consolidated over 2,300 bus companies that operate over 100,000 routes throughout several nations, revolutionizing the online bus ticket purchase business.
According to the SOTC website, it has been offering Indian tourists package tours for nearly seven decades.
“We are for holidays and we want Indians to prioritize their holidays,” it continues. “SOTC seeks to make holidays a priority for every Indian.”
Website: sotc.in
Headquarters: Mumbai.
Year Founded: 1949
Managing Director: Mr. Vishal Suri.
11. Jet Airways
The early 1990s saw the start of India’s private airline sector, which has only one surviving company: Jet Airways.
It currently holds the title of India’s premier full-service carrier, flying passengers all over the nation on board its impressive fleet of turboprop and jet aircraft.
Jet Airway also has scheduled flights to a huge number of international locations.
Jet Airways is primarily an airline, but in recent years, it has partnered with a number of international travel service providers to provide customers all over the world with holiday packages, sightseeing tours, hotel accommodations, rental cars, airport-hotel transfers, dining experiences, meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) packages, among many other travel-related services.
Website: jetairways.com
Headquarters: Mumbai.
Year Founded: 1 April 1992
Founder: Naresh Goyal.
12. Air Asia
A branch of the airline with its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur is called Air Asia India. One of the best Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs) in the world is Air Asia.
The airline runs air services connecting incoming and outgoing passengers to many locations in the Far East and Australia in addition to operating flights within India.
Additionally, through its website, Air Asia provides hotel rooms, vehicle rentals, sightseeing excursions, vacation packages, and other travel-related services.
Due to its strong presence there, Air Asia is rated as the best airline for both leisure and business visitors between India and the Far East.
Website: airasia.co.in/home
Headquarters: Sepang, Malaysia.
Year Founded: 20 December 1993
Founders: Tony Fernandes, DRB-HICOM.
13. India Healthcare Tourism
The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi created an innovative project called India Healthcare Tourism.
The Ministry of Ayush, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Service Exports Promotion Council—all Central government agencies—oversee India Healthcare Tourism.
IHCT, unlike a travel agency, doesn’t charge commissions; instead, its goal is to bring visitors to India’s world-class healthcare system.
Foreigners can reach practically every reputable hospital in India directly through the IHCT website for anything from stress reduction, body care, and beauty treatments to serious medical illnesses including cancer and cardiac ailments.
India Healthcare Tourism enables people with a variety of illnesses to receive medical care here.
Allopathic, Ayurvedic, Homeopathic, and Unani healthcare service providers in India offer these.
On the IHTC website, there are links where overseas patients can apply for visas to India to receive medical treatment.
It also includes a database of airlines and other crucial medical tourism service providers.
Website: indiahealthcare.org
Headquarters: Chennai.
Year Founded: 2014
Launched By: Prime Minister Modi.
14. Adventure Nation
Travel companies for adventurers can be found at Adventure Nation. Adventure Nation provides travelers with trekking, mountaineering, and comparable activities in place of standard leisure packages.
Yatra.com and Snow Leopard Adventures have partnered to form the business.
“We are a group of outdoor enthusiasts and business people who are totally committed to addressing the demands of tourists seeking adventure and the natural world.
According to the company website, Adventure Nation, which is based in Gurgaon, is a one-stop shop for anyone looking to find amazing adventures, learn from the Gurus, connect with other outdoor enthusiasts through Tribes, or take part in events.
Website: adventurenation.com
Headquarters: Haryana.
Year Founded: 2006
Founder: Dhruv Shringi
15. Rajasthan Tourism
Rajasthan Tourism, an independent agency of the Rajasthan state government, provides visitors from India and beyond with the chance to experience the magnificence of Maharajas and their way of life.
In partnership with Indian Railways, two unique trains, “Palace on Wheels” and “Heritage Palace on Wheels,” give travelers the chance to live like kings and queens.
Additionally, Rajasthan Tourism allows both domestic and international visitors to see the state via plane.
Additionally, you can reserve desert and wildlife safaris or take advantage of standard touring deals that include the state’s cities, forts, palaces, and religious sites.
Website: tourism.rajasthan.gov.in
Headquarters: Jaipur.
Year Founded: 1 April 1979.
Launched By: Government of India.
16. Goa Tourism
Goa, the smallest state in India, is the third-best travel destination in the world according to TripAdvisor Travel Choice’s “sun-and-sand” category.
Approximately 700,000 international visitors arrived in Goa in 2016 by scheduled and private planes, roads, and trains.
In Goa, more than a quarter million foreign visitors arrived between October 2016 and March 2017.
Between two and three million domestic visitors are thought to have visited Goa at this time.
An independent organization that works for the state government is Goa Tourism.
The majority of foreign visitors are handled by Goa Tourism, which provides hotels on its own and in other locations in the region.
The department offers both local and international tourists in the nation a range of travel-related services, including sightseeing trips.
Website: goa-tourism.com
Headquarters: Goa.
Year Founded: 1982.
Launched By: Government of Goa.
17. Kerala Tourism
Kerala Tourism, a well-known tourism agency in India, is a stand-alone division of the Kerala state government.
It now has a significant impact on drawing tourists to the entire country, not just Kerala.
For foreign visitors of all nationalities who want to visit Kerala and other regions of India, Kerala Tourism offers unrivaled facilities like arranging visas on arrival.
In order to offer top-notch vacation packages that include accommodations in boathouses on the state’s rivers and backwaters, Kerala Tourism has partnered with private operators.
It advertises medical travel to India by emphasizing the advantages of Ayurveda and the state’s cutting-edge medical facilities.
Through Kerala Tourism, you can reserve everything from visas to hotels to luxurious vacations.
Website: keralatourism.org
Headquarters: Thiruvananthapuram.
Year Founded: 1995.
Launched By: Government of Kerala.
18. Eastern India Travel Company
East India Travel Co., which was founded in 2000, is credited with launching mass travel to India’s up-and-coming northeastern states
The organization provides local and international travelers with packages and individual excursions to states like Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, and Sikkim.
For reasons of national security and to protect travelers, entry to several areas of these states is restricted to both Indians and foreigners.
To provide tourists access to hitherto undiscovered areas of the nation, East India Travel Co. has succeeded in convincing the Indian government to lift some of these limitations.
Additionally, East India Travel Co. runs excursions to a few West Bengal locations as well as the nearby country of Bhutan.
Based in Guwahati, Assam, it is the biggest and most well-known travel agency in North East India.
Website: eastindiatravel.in
Headquarters: Asam.
Year Founded: 2010.
Launched By: Sanjay Thakur.
19. International Travel House
A division of India’s largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) company, ITC Ltd., is International Travel House. The first publicly traded travel agency in India is ITH.
It has offices in 17 cities and provides the entire spectrum of travel services.
Corporate travel, airline ticketing, car rentals, destination management services, leisure travel, MICE, hotel travel counters, and foreign exchange are just a few of the services offered by ITH.
“ITH is a pioneer in India’s business travel market. One branch of ITH is solely responsible for the fleet management of about 1,000 vehicles.
Additionally, it is a member of GlobalStar Travel Management’s network alliance. This international travel management organization is run and controlled locally.
It boasts more than 85 market-leading businesses with over US$14 billion in sales across 74 countries, extending the ITH’s reach to almost all of the world’s top travel destinations.
According to the corporate website, the ITH network consists of 26 travel offices and 15 hotel travel counters.
Website: internationaltravelhouse.in
Headquarters: Mumbai.
Year Founded: 1981.
Chairman: Nakul Anand.
20. Flying Fox
The only zip-tour provider in India is called Flying Fox, and it complies with EN15567:2015.
According to the company website, a zip line trip is “a distinctive and thrilling aerial ride between hill forts and ridge tops, during which you fly down a series of ultra-strong steel wires, attached by a harness and pulley.”
According to the business, “We test to destroy samples of all the components we use to establish a minimum safety factor of three, meaning that everything is at least three times stronger than it needs to be.
We acquire all of our safety gear from Petzl in France. Daily inspections of our zip lines are performed by our instructors; senior management conducts quarterly inspections, and an international third party inspects our operations and instructor training annually.
Each client gets a verbal safety briefing, a thorough demonstration, as well as a practice and assessment session on a tiny zip. You are under the complete supervision of our qualified instructors while zipping.
Website: flyingfox.asia.com
Headquarters: Delhi.
Year Founded: 2007.
Founders: Jono Walter, Richard Mccallum.
Look into:
The top 15 nations that grant Indians visas on arrival 10 of India’s most romantic honeymoon destinations
Three types of e-visas are available:
* Travel Industry
*.Business
* Medical Care
Applications for Indian e-visas must be submitted anywhere between four days and four months before travel.
25 Indian airports and four seaports accept e-visas for entrance.
However, foreign nationals are welcome to leave India from any place with an international exit.
The government of India allows foreigners to apply for two e-visas every calendar year, each with a 60-day maximum stay. E-visas are not extendable.
Connectivity
Both domestic and international destinations are being served more often by state-owned Air India and nearly every other private airline in the nation.
This is furthered by a rise in the number of airports in the nation receiving international status.
Report by the India Brand Equity Foundation
Some intriguing details concerning the country’s travel and tourism industry’s future potential are provided in a report by the India Brand Equity Foundation of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
This paper discusses past expansion and anticipated future growth in the travel and hospitality industry.
Final Situation
Finally, with more players projected to enter the market in the upcoming years, India’s travel industry is predicted to boom.
India is the seventh most popular destination in the world, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
According to a press release from the WTTC, India’s travel and tourism industry supported 40.3 million jobs, or 9.3 percent of all occupations in the nation.
$22.8 billion USD was spent in India by visitors from abroad in 2016.
These numbers are anticipated to increase enormously as India strives to become the world’s most popular tourist destination.
Indian travel agencies will be crucial to the success of this project.
The Indian government is also considering public-private partnerships to help domestic and international travel agencies bring in more visitors.
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