In Mumbai’s travel, service and hotel industry, Ashwini Kakkar is a name to reckon with. Many still remember him as the erstwhile MD of Thomas Cook India even after four years of being at the helm of affairs at Mercury Travels from Oberoi Group of Hotels.
Mercury Travels, a premier travel company in India, has been catering to the mid and high-end luxury segments for the past 60 years. Kakkar bought a 74.9% stake in Mercury Travels from the Oberoi Group of Hotels (a part of the East India Hotels). It was a rather challenging assignment for Kakkar to take on a venture that was accumulating losses for about 11 years. But, the veteran industry hand, who knows the pulse of the service and travel industry, has turned around the venture in about four years.
“This year we have clocked a profit of Rs 10 crore. We invested more than Rs 35 crore in training, technology and setting up of offices across the world, “says a confident Kakkar.
As we caught up with Kakkar at the New Oberoi Hotel in south Mumbai, he recounted his four-year-old journey with Mercury Travels. “Last four years have gone into consolidated the losses, investing in technology. We have expanded in more than 60 countries across the world. So, you will see in us in New York, London, Frankfurt and many other places. As a company we have also tried to leverage India’s software strengths to build strong technology platforms for web, call centre and m-commerce interfaces to ensure Customer Relations Management (CRM) and superior service delivery. Earlier, Mercury Travels was only focused on hotels, but now we are a full-line service industry company.”
Talking about the Mumbai terror attacks and how the company survived it, he explains, “The service industry was hit in south Mumbai after the terror attacks. We had to work on changing the perceptions of business travelers coming to Mumbai. Also, at that point we were in a revamp mode and what helped us was being associated with the Oberoi Group of Hotels. Our best trained workforce in the service industry and my team from Thomas Cook actually made it all happen.”
What sets Mercury Travels apart is that it caters only to the high-end clients and has the likes of Mukesh Ambani, Sachin Tendulkar and Sushmita Sen on the list. The firm also services small groups of people who want to do things their way.
Kakkar says, “We actually show them the places and take care of them. Our customer or client is a foreign traveler, and we do h/his itinerary depending on what s/he wants. Right from doing h/his passport, visa, planning travel, stay and in all this the minute details and wish list of the client plays a crucial part.”
Kakkar, who has also long been associated with the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), is also a global director of United Federation of Travel Agents’ Associations (UFTAA) for many years. He has been instrumental in promoting Mumbai as a tourist destination for many business travelers.
“I believe that Mumbai itself is a great destination for travelers within India and foreign tourists… We have the best of hotels including the Oberoi and the Taj. The best part is it is surrounded by ocean. Hundreds of multi-cuisine restaurants, road side dhabas to kulfis, thalis along night life that can be compared with the best in the world make Mumbai a rocking metropolis with options galore for seasoned and discerning traveling. Bollywood adds to the glamour quotient. “
“I think a lot can be done with the Film City and its pristine surroundings which can be promoted like the Hollywood studios. The Gateway of India festival does manage to attract tourists here, but I think we still need to package the city as a whole. Our great festivals like the Ganesha Utsav, and cultural and music festivals in Pune also attract tourists. The potential is immense. However, we need to spread the message of Athithi Devo Bhavo as well” he signs off.
