SOTC Travel Marks 75th Year With New Holiday Franchise, Kolkata
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SOTC Travel, one of India’s leading travel and tourism companies, inaugurated its new franchise in New Town, Kolkata. The outlet was inaugurated by Mr. Rakesh Bawa, Sr. Vice President & Head – National Sales – SOTC Travel. This new addition expands SOTC’s network strength to six stores in Kolkata (1 retail and 5 franchise), reiterating the Company’s strategic focus to expand its footprint in the city. The new outlet will also cater to nearby areas of Newtown Action Area 2 and Rajarhat.
With a rich heritage of 75 years of being an Indian-grown brand, SOTC firmly believes that today, ‘No one understands the Indian Traveller better than SOTC’. Kolkata is among the Company’s top 5 source markets, and the newly inaugurated outlet will cater to a range of customer segments including multigenerational families, Gen S/seniors, couples, millennials and Gen Z.
Kolkata Travel Trends
- Increased travel intent in 2024: 25% YoY
- Desire for longer stays: 20% higher compared to pre-pandemic
- Higher spends: 25-30% compared to pre-pandemic
- Top destinations
1. Domestic: Kashmir, Leh-Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Andamans, Kerala, Goa, Bhutan and Nepal in the subcontinentn
2. International: Europe’s Switzerland, France, Spain, Austria; Turkiye, Australia, New Zealand, UK, sUSA (for visa holding customers), Japan, South Korea, Abu Dhabi, Mauritius, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore
- Unique preferences: increased demand for personalized holidays and group tours, and high interest for experiential holidays, spiritual journeys, domestic cruises, eclectic stays, safaris and biking trips
Customers from Kolkata are inclined towards culture and spirituality, hence to cater to their unique preferences SOTC has introduced a range of Durga Puja special departures specially designed around the preferences of Bengali travellers including the comfort of local food on tour and SOTC’s Bangla speaking expert tour managers.
The Company is popularly known for its group escorted tours – international and domestic and customized holidays. To boost demand, SOTC Travel has announced an exciting inaugural offer – discounts of up to Rs. 50,000 on select holidays.
Mr. Daniel D’souza President & Country Head – Holidays, SOTC Travel said “Kolkata is a high potential market for us and features among our top 5 source markets for leisure travel at SOTC. We are witnessing a robust growth in demand of 25% YoY from this region, and the addition of our new store in New Town increases our network strength, and caters to customers from New Town Action Area 2 and Rajarhat. This new addition increases our network strength in the city to six stores, and offers easy accessibility thus allowing us to cater to a range of customers segments.
We extend a warm welcome to our customers, and we look forward to plan their next holiday with us.”
SOTC Travel’s new outlet offers end-to-end travel solutions with an array of services, including: International & Domestic Holidays (Group tours, Personalised Holidays, Cruises, etc.), Value Added Services like Travel Insurance; Visa Services, etc.
