AL ROSTAMANI Travel and Holidays, a leading travel provider in the UAE for more than 30 years, appointed Vik Naidu as general manager earlier this year. He speaks to TTN about new trends and developing a business model that will help achieve the goal of best servicing customers.
With Ramadan falling in the midst of summer, what kind of booking trends are you witnessing this year?
Travel trends do tend to shift during the holy month of Ramadan. Since Ramadan falls in August this year, at the height of summer, we do still expect many of our customers to travel during this period in order to escape the heat and also benefit from things like school vacation and a more relaxed work load for those who work. In addition, the arrival of Eid and the great amount of travel done during this period tends to off-set any slow-down incurred during the prior month.
How much is this expected to affect revenues this year?
The UAE is very cosmopolitan and as such our client base is of a diverse nature, thus we do not anticipate any real loss of revenue during this time.
What have been the popular destinations for Arab travellers this year? Are we still witnessing a ‘late booking trend’?
Europe at large continues to be a huge favourite amongst our customers especially the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. We are still witnessing some late bookings, however, compared to previous years, this has reduced tremendously. Customers are beginning to plan their holidays in advance.
How much were bookings affected, with the recent political unrest in the region?
Has this changed or are you still seeing concerns about travelling to destinations including Bahrain, Egypt or Jordan?
Collectively, the different countries of this region have what it takes to make it one of the most interesting destinations to tourists from across the world. We’re not only talking about history, heritage, countless sightseeing attractions, amazing beaches but also modern, fun, young and luxurious activities such as events, concerts and exhibitions. I am certain that once the political uncertainty is over, the Middle East region will continue to shine and will revert to having a positive impact on the travel industry. We are now seeing a surge in bookings to Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan, in fact it’s becoming a challenge to get seats to these sectors.
Can we expect to see any new products/initiatives put in place this year?
Al Rostamani Travel and Holidays has a strong leisure division acting as GSA for some of the world’s renowned holiday products including Disneyland in Paris and Hong Kong, Club Med, Thomas Cook NRI, Rail Europe, Swiss Travel System, Globus Cosmos and Sri Lankan Holidays. At the current phase we aim to develop, maintain and grow relationship and partnerships with our partners and other peers in our industry with the ultimate goal of best servicing our customers. We have also created unique packages for adventure travel which is very popular.
With more and more holidays being booked online, do you have plans to capture your share of this market?
We all know that the internet has changed the world and the way we do things. Hence travel agencies that want to stay in the business will have to evolve and factor in this very important development in the business model. Al Rostamani Travel launched its online booking portal earlier this year which has been favourably received. Late last year, we launched an online corporate travel manager for our corporate clients.
What are some of the biggest challenges facing the industry today?
The business world today is very dynamic and new developments unfold every day which we continuously adapt to. I would say one of the biggest challenges these days relates to the uncertainty of regional and global events both political and natural which has a strong impact on our industry.
Another important and influential factor is the evolution of the internet and how it’s growing to become an essential platform being used by travellers and business alike. With specialised platforms such as tripadvisor.com in addition to generic social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter; visual expression, endorsements and testimonials are now essential considerations that travellers use to make their decisions.
Having said that, flexibility and adaptability to these trends, in my opinion, are of key importance to the development and success of our business. Besides the surge of the internet, the industry is also faced with shrinking margins in an ever competitive market.