Excerpts from Rites of Passage

India Today International March 29, 2004 Issue

However, in the last two years, the relationship between airlines and consolidators has grown. Today, instead of just making inventory available at the last minute, the airlines have allocated special quotas that can be sold far in advance as published fares.

Hariworld Travel Inc, the 35-year-old New York-based travel agency looking at travel to India, is one such example. Among the top 10 consolidators in the country, they have seen a big spurt in business in recent years. "This is a new and exciting era that we are in and for some it means embracing a whole new way of doing business. While it is different it is nevertheless the way the industry seems to be heading,"says Prem Cohly of Hariworld.

The agency started off in 1968 by providing travel agents and consumers throughout Canada and the US with the most affordable fares. It has offices in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, and San Francisco, and has an annual ticket sales of over $100 million. "Because of the volume we generate year after year, we can negotiate the most competitive prices with the widest variety of carriers, serving the most destinations, " explains Cohly.

Cognizant of the fact that travel to India has risen in the last one year, Cohly points out that they have been able to leverage the fact that they have a branch office in Delhi. With an eye on the business traveler the agency, using its offices in Delhi ( opened four years ago ), also offers to do hotel and car reservations in Delhi. "We are looking to open branches in the South too. We also have a tremendous network of agents working for us in India. While wholesale activity continues to be the dominant source of sales, our retail division has worked hard in developing the corporate market - growing consistently each year," he adds.

As Cohly explains, the secret of the company's success has been the unflinching emphasis on servicing the customers. "Our reservations staff is comparatively senior with average seniority of about six years," he says. In addition, each new employee, regardless of experience spends a minimum of three weeks in training and introduction. This process covers the application of Hariworld products and procedures, sales training, ticketing and accounting. " When the employee is considered ready to go on the phones they must be fully conversant not only with their own responsibilities but also the functions of the other departments and the individuals with whom they are required to interface, " says Cohly.