Today people prefer to travel on their own or at least want to have the freedom of choosing the itinerary by customising their travel plan according to their likes and dislikes. Also families have to ensure the needs of children, toddlers, spouses, parents etc. It gets pretty hectic and often we see families are at their wit’s end when they think about the term ‘holiday’. Ayan Tours comes as a ray of hope by providing a solution. They provide customized holiday packages, which includes Flights, hotels, airport transfers, sightseeing. What’s more? They also ensure that the visa is arranged for most of the countries. Currently they cater to 9 Indian states and destinations in 10 countries other than India.
This innovative travel start-up based out of Bangalore changes the way people look at ‘travel’ radically. The story behind Ayan Tours is quite appealing. Vasanth Shenoy , the founder of Ayan tours was always fond of travel and has been helping friends and acquaintances from India and abroad plan their travel as a hobby from 2003. While working with an ERP product that helped convert layman business requirements into technical specs for configured products like laptop, Servers etc., Vasanth started tinkering with the idea of applying the same to services and especially Travel Packages – Dynamic packaging/Bundling of Travel Services. This was back in 2008 and since then the idea never let this NIT and IIM alumnus rest, till it was brought to fruition.
Vasanth says:
The product proposed was a little ahead of its time because back then the tech penetration in travel industry has been low – both on customer side and supply side. Currently there are some rare websites who are into dynamic travel packages but it is widely believed that there is more room for improvement on how the whole planning service can be delivered.
Combined with the possibilities that AI bring in, DIY Travel planning is going to be a breeze even for people who don’t know too much about a destination.
About the venture
And so, Ayan Tours was born to change and cheer up people’s lives by delivering transformational travel experiences. Ayan which means ‘revolving movement’ (Like earth around sun) in Sanskrit was started in 2012 after the team set up their first office in Pune. They are now based out of Indiranagar in Bangalore.
In the initial stages it was very difficult to get the technology part right as the tech infrastructure for travel APIs and the freelancer ecosystem was not very reliable or evolved.
The hotel distribution has now grown leaps and bound. 6 years ago, the social media and mobile penetration had not evolved and hence digital marketing was in the infancy.
Having worked over 15 years with IT applications related to supply chain management, Vasanth, held positions like Product manager before turning to Full time entrepreneurship and his passion for planning tours. He has also worked in top companies like Bajaj Auto, Infosys, Oracle USA and startups in Unites states and India.
What started initially as Namah Tourism Ventures LLP in Pune in 2012 the solopreneur journey was quite daunting and hard. The firm was reestablished in by the end of 2016 by 2018 March the idea was re-born as Experinztrak Pvt. Ltd. Ayan Tours is a registered brand under it.
What can Ayan Tours solve?
Vasanth says:
Our product helps people to build a travel package either from the scratch or by customizing the numerous itineraries available online.
While travelling people ask numerous questions
- How do I get help planning my travel?
- I need help with booking a hotel and selecting an activity so that I don’t make a bad choice.
- How can I let others know about my plans and also get their suggestions while travelling in a group?
- How can I avoid taking up the entire burden of planning the whole travel?
Ayan Tours solves it all!
Today there are no products that handle all the above requirements successfully. Most offer
partial solutions.
Market for the product
Ayan tours have served customers from over 7 nationalities. They have also handled some transforming travel programs to international destinations for corporates including educational institutions. Through the years the years they have catered to customers on more than 300+ Trips.
They are focused on commission revenues from hotels, flights and other services that they book on behalf of their customers.
Team and Future
With a current team size of 6 and freelancers who work closely with them, Ayan Tours is all set to build a revolutionary platform for Travel Planning and aspires to deliver this as an app which is used internationally by travel enthusiasts. They are also curating a Heritage infrastructure app for exploring historic places differently and a Habit-based itinerary app for business travelers.
The present generation is definitely witnessing a movement where travel and tourism are being encouraged. It is heartening to know that unique ideas that also cater to the needs of the busy community are making their way into the market. With such a dynamic model in place along with their first mover advantage, Ayan Tours can establish themselves in a niche market.
