In a momentous move for the travel industry, Travelocity Global recently announced that it has acquired India’s leading online hotel distribution network, Travelguru. This move adds to the existing business of Travelocity in India – that includes the existing team, and relationships in India, as well as Travelocity India, global support and so on. It is also complimentary to Sabre Holdings’ highly successful Airline Solutions business in India and its global technology center, which is situated in Bangalore.
Travelocity Global has a roaring business worldwide that generates more than USD$10 billion in gross travel sales annually. It is one of the world’s largest online travel companies, with its subsidiaries like Travelocity, lastminute.com and ZUJI.
In India, Travelguru distributes a portfolio of more than 4,000 Indian hotels, most of which are independent properties. They have a strong customer loyalty base and this can come in extremely handy for Travelocity. Travelocity’s existing distribution of branded, chain and luxury properties in India are available to travelers domestically through Travelocity India. On the other hand, international travelers who are opting to come to India can make their booking on Travelocity’s global online site. This is the reason why Travelocity Global plans to keep both of its online travel business in India – Travelocity India and Travelguru.
As Mr. Roshan Mendis, the Regional Vice President of Travelocity Asia Pacific mentions, he wants Travelguru to continue to operate as a stand-alone business, while Travelocity will continue to focus on its full service Online Travel Agent (OTA). Both the businesses will benefit a lot from this significant move, and at the same time the travel industry as a whole will have a gain from it, getting the best deal on all travel products in India.
