Travel Another India
Description
The India that most tourists see is the one with ancient architecture, busy bazaars and sunny beaches. There is another India, simpler, but the more beautiful for it, where the traveler actually meets the real charm of India, its people. The experience is of the huge diversity of cultures, cuisines, music and a thousand other small pleasures. When was the last time you went on a bullock cart ride? Travel Another India aspires to bring this unique experience to the urban traveler, including those with disabilities. While doing so, we ensure that our hosts, who provide this experience, have a sustainable, alternative income option. With our initiative, Journeys without Barriers, we are also identifying groups of people with disabilities to act as hosts.
What we deliver
For the Host who could be an individual, community or an eco-resort: – Sensitise on principles of Responsible Tourism – Help plan on creating the experience – Bring together resources required for execution, financial or technical – Facilitate in reaching out to guests through the mainstream travel trade or through direct marketing initiatives – Provide access to platforms for learning and improvement – Enriching the livelihoods through appropriate systems and training For the Guests – Provide an experience and not just a room – Advisory support on what to look forward to through open access to information on the host, locale and client feedback – Advisory support on Do and Do-not-do specific to a place or host – Logistical advice and support for travel and how to plan and achieve the desired experience – Provide an interactive travel planner and travelogue – Sensitise on Responsible Tourism while acknowledging their contribution to enriching lives For hosts and guests with disabilities – Journeys without Barriers was set up in 2011 to set up holiday packages for guests with disabilities. The hosts will be groups of persons with disabilities and their families.
Whom we deliver
Our customer base is from amongst the seekers and strivers – estimated to be between 50 and 62 million urban people. They are a group who will take vacations annually and are willing to try out new experiences. Our market is about 5% of this group.
Why is the project unique?
While there are others who offer tours off the beaten track, we are different in that we work alongside rural communities and ensure that they own, manage and control the venture. We also have an initiative called Journeys without Barriers where we set up holiday packages for guests with disabilities. The hosts are also individuals or groups of persons with disabilities and their families. We do not own any of the properties. We provide all support for three years and are then available on a need basis. We focus primarily on the Indian market for our guests. The other players in the market reach out primarily to the overseas market. That in itself will help attract domestic guests to our destinations. TAI visions itself as an aggregator of demands from hosts for appropriate support services, be it financial or technical and does not limit itself to being an aggregator of market demand alone.
Roadmap
We aim to have 12 new destinations initiated in 2012, 10 in 2013 and 10 in 2014. We need to sell 500 room nights, 2400 room nights and 6120 room nights in 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively. In the long term, we hope that those who are guests begin to understand what rural India is all about. Many of these urban guests will be or go on to becoming civil servants, politicians, doctors, lawyers, industrialists, policy makers, etc. We hope that this glimpse into another way of life will help them when they form policy or influence policy at the national and global levels to think beyond their immediate reality. We hope that change happens both ways in the host community, but also in the guests, their families and friends.
Contact
Ms Gouthami
Travel Another India
AB 50, Anna Nagar
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
600040
URL/Website – www.travelanotherindia.com
