With more than two decades’ experience across aviation, tourism representation and travel management, Rasika Mathur, founder and director of RAS Travels, shares her entrepreneurial journey, the challenges of building a travel business, advice for aspiring women entrepreneurs, and her growth roadmap for the coming years
What inspired you to start your own travel agency and what are your focus areas?
I have extensive industry experience spanning aviation, tourism representation and travel management companies, and I am deeply passionate about the tourism sector. With the objective of offering end-to-end travel solutions, I decided to start my own travel agency. My experience of travelling across the globe has given me valuable insights into the expectations and challenges faced by the average Indian traveller besides helping me to understand how the industry works.
Personalisation is central to our approach with every itinerary designed according to the client’s budget and interests. In today’s highly competitive market, succeeding as a new travel agency requires much more than selling airline tickets or hotel rooms. As a result, we have chosen to specialise in niche segments such as MICE and wedding groups.
We also place strong emphasis on building direct relationships with hotels, destination management companies and airlines which has enabled us to offer cost-efficient and well-curated travel solutions to our clients.
What were the biggest challenges you faced while setting up the business?
Starting a new venture is always exciting but it also comes with its share of challenges. While entrepreneurship may sound appealing, it is often easier said than done. Like most business owners, we faced several initial hurdles particularly in securing adequate funding to establish the business, and managing cash flow to ensure seamless operations.
Timely vendor payments and meeting monthly staff salary commitments were ongoing challenges, especially since most clients and corporate accounts operate on credit terms. Retaining skilled staff also proved to be a significant challenge in the early stages. Collectively, these factors can impact the growth, sustainability and long-term success of a new business.
What advice would you give to women who aspire to start their own venture in the travel and tourism sector?
My advice is to first identify their passion, skills and strengths. In the early days, tourism was largely categorised into inbound and outbound travel. Today, however, the industry has evolved into a vast ecosystem with multiple verticals including religious tourism, sports travel, health and wellness, culinary experiences and medical tourism, among others.
Rather than entering the market without a clear direction, it is important to conduct thorough market research, develop a strong business plan and carefully evaluate costing and financial requirements. Arranging sufficient backup funds is equally critical. Most importantly, aspiring entrepreneurs should focus on one segment to begin with, build expertise in that area and then gradually expand.
How are you differentiating your agency in an increasingly competitive travel market?
Our focus is firmly on quality rather than quantity. We are building a strong brand identity by specialising in specific segments and positioning our agency as an expert in that space. By concentrating on a specific market, we are able to deliver deeper expertise and more meaningful value to our clients.
We focus on market research and closely analyse competitors to understand their strengths and the value they offer customers. At the same time, we assess industry challenges, their impact on profitability and the strategies required to differentiate ourselves and stand out in a highly competitive environment.
What travel trends are you currently seeing among Indian travellers?
Travel preferences among Indian travellers are evolving rapidly with increasing emphasis on lifestyle-driven and personalised experiences. Many travellers are opting for solo trips while others prefer shorter getaways and mini-breaks instead of long holidays. Among young and middle-aged travellers, there is a growing interest in solo travel, adventure tourism, wellness retreats and exploring offbeat destinations. For new-age travellers, a comfortable stay alone is no longer sufficient. Factors like high-speed Wi-Fi have become an equally important consideration when choosing accommodation.
What are your goals for the agency over the next two to five years?
In the short term, our focus is on strengthening our digital and social media presence and building a robust supplier platform for both B2B and B2C partners. We also aim to expand our network of destination partners to offer more curated and differentiated travel packages. Over the long term, we also plan to diversify our portfolio by adding new travel segments.
