Sandeep Khetarpal, founder of ZOTrav, a B2B travel marketplace, is working towards building a more connected and customisable experience for travel sellers by addressing the platform’s recent developments, emerging destination trends, technology hurdles faced by small agents, and plans to expand into new markets
Could you please explain the recent developments in your company?
We are excited to share some key developments as part of our ongoing journey to reshape the B2B travel landscape. ZOTrav is evolving into a comprehensive tours marketplace, focused on making global travel products more accessible to travel agents and tour operators. We have taken a number of initiatives recently to strengthen our presence in the market. We have enhanced our supplier network through expanding our partnerships with DMCs and wholesalers across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East to offer more curated, high-margin travel experiences. Our upgraded platform is being designed to support real-time inventory, quote-to-book functionality and customisation tools for FIT and group travel segments. Moreover, we are launching fixed departures and building a dedicated desk for MICE and events to support multiple destinations. These developments align with our vision of becoming a trusted B2B hub for international travel bookings, empowering partners with transparency, efficiency and innovation.
What makes ZOTrav different from other B2B platforms?
We believe that ZOTrav isn’t just another B2B portal; it is a curated tours marketplace built with a vision to simplify global travel selling for today’s travel professionals. Our key differentiators include a dynamic marketplace connecting agents with multiple destinations, transparent pricing and custom mark-up options, a blend of smart tech and human expertise for tailor-made solutions and real support for FITs, group departures and custom itineraries. ZOTrav is built by industry experts who understand the needs of today’s travel businesses, making it a smarter and a more connected way to sell travel.
Which are the destinations and experiences that you are seeing in high demand in the country?
At ZOTrav, we are observing notable shifts in demand across both destinations and travel experiences. We are noticing a momentum for shorthaul destinations. Countries like Georgia, Kazakhstan, Vietnam and the Philippines have recorded a 30 to 40 per cent rise in B2B queries and bookings, particularly for group departures and leisure FITs. On the other hand, demand for African safaris is on the rise. Destinations such as Kenya and South Africa are witnessing a 25 per cent increase in interest, driven by wildlife experiences and luxury group travel. There is also a growing preference for theme-based tours – culinary journeys, cultural trails and slow travel – especially among families, women travellers and repeat globetrotters.
A lot of small and medium travel agents in the country still find technology adoption as a challenge. Does ZOTrav help such travel agents in terms of tech adoption?
Absolutely, technology adoption remains one of the biggest hurdles for small and mid-sized travel agents in today’s fast-evolving travel ecosystem. Many agents struggle with complex booking systems not designed for their scale or lack of digital tools for quoting, customisation and CRM. There is also a challenge of limited visibility and reach to global suppliers. At ZOTrav, we recognise these issues and have built our platform with ease-of-use and accessibility at its core. We offer a Plug-and-Play platform which means that our intuitive interface requires no technical training, allowing agents to browse, customise and book global tours quickly. For agents not fully ready to go digital, we offer backend support, manual quotes, and guided onboarding to ease their transition. Our custom mark-up and quote tools allow travel agents to instantly apply their own margins. We actively conduct demo sessions, regional workshops and one-on-one onboarding to handhold partners through their tech journey.
Apart from India do you have plans to expand your presence in other parts of the world?
Yes, beyond India, we are actively working on expanding ZOTrav’s footprint into key international markets. Our immediate focus is on building strategic partnerships in the UAE, GCC countries and South-east Asia where there is a strong demand for curated B2B travel products and a growing network of outbound agents and operators. As we scale, our vision is to position ZOTrav as a globally connected, regionally rooted B2B tours platform, supporting travel agents, operators and group planners across multiple markets.
What kind of solutions do you offer to travel consultants dealing in the MICE market?
ZOTrav supports MICE consultants with custom group planning, access to a trusted global DMC network and end-to-end operational support from venues and logistics to local experiences. We offer fast quotes, flexible options and a blend of tech tools and expert assistance to help consultants deliver seamless and high-impact events.
What are your future plans?
We are working on integrations that will make the agent’s journey even more seamless; think real-time availability, live chat support with DMCs, instant quotation builders and AI-assisted itinerary suggestions. Another exciting area is multi-country itinerary planning, something that has always been complex for agents. We are building tools to simplify that process and give agents the edge to respond faster and smarter. And yes, a mobile version of the platform is coming soon to help agents work on the go.
