SOTC Travel taking omni-channel approach for expansion

New Delhi:  Travel services provider SOTC Travel Friday said it is focusing on an omni-channel approach for expansion and is taking a slew of initiatives to provide a consistent and seamless experience to its customers.

For this, the company is taking steps to strengthen both online and offline presence in the country. Currently its distribution centres operates in over 60 cities and towns across India, it said.

"As a part of our strategy to increase our online presence, the bulk of our investments are diverted towards streamlining our processes and investing in technology, in order to ensure omni-channel coherence," SOTC Travel MD Vishal Suri told PTI.

Currently the company sells about 15-18 per cent of its holidays solely through online sales, he added.

Highlighting that the customers also prefer to physically interact with the company for certain services, Suri said: "Be it visa, ticketing, or other information pertaining to documentation; customers are more comfortable visiting a brick and mortar store, which is conveniently and centrally located." For this reason, the company will continue to invest in an omni-channel strategy, he added.

"As a part of our investment cycle in this approach, we already have a physical presence in major cities across the country, and will continue to expand in tier 2 and tier 3 markets," Suri said.

Given company's omni-channel approach, it has paid considerable attention to ensuring that while alternating between the online and offline models, the customers enjoy a seamless transition, and that the company is well-aligned with its offerings, he added.

On being asked about the business segments of the company, Suri said: "We have a Holiday Business, under which, we offer both domestic and international holidays, distributed online as well as offline. Being a B2C retail or consumer business, it has both physical and digital channels." The company also has a significant presence in the Meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) business and has recently pioneered the concept of incentive travel in India, he added.

"We are also a travel management company, and we deliver business travel and corporate travel solutions to large companies, administering the travel policy for them," Suri said.

Recently the company has also ventured into Foreign Exchange business. At this point in time, it has started foreign exchange activities in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai, he added.

When asked if the company was also looking at expanding its existing portfolio, Suri said SOTC Travel is essentially a travel and holiday business, and that's who it wants to be.