Rayna Tours eyes stronger Q4 after double-digit monthly growth; measured India - UAE demand
Senthil Velan, Group CEO, Rayna Tours
In an exclusive conversation with T3, Senthil Velan, Group CEO, Rayna Tours, discusses the company’s month-on-month growth, the measured pace of India - UAE FIT travel, and its expansion plans.
The UAE remains the foundation of Rayna Tours’ business, but its growth strategy is increasingly extending beyond its home market. “We believe this is where we have grown, and we will continue to invest in this particular region,” shared Velan. The company has seen good growth month on month, he added, with expectations that the final quarter will perform even better.
For Velan, growth is not simply about the numbers recorded over a quarter. It is also about sustaining incremental gains across successive months. “We need to work together. Even a small growth is going to help.”
Explaining the approach, he expressed how moving from 40% growth in August to 45% in September represent further month-on-month progress. His focus, he said, is on setting targets against the preceding month rather than looking at year-on-year growth in isolation.
India remains important; FIT demand is measured
India continues to be a major source market for Rayna Tours, Velan shared, “We do close to 15% to 20% of our source from India. So, currently, it's not growing as I expected. FIT is not coming through as much as I expected. Partly probably because absence of flights, the cost of flights. So, the FIT customer is still reluctant from India.”
Rayna Tours has established a presence across India's major metropolitan and tier-two cities, supported by a sizeable sales network. Its roadshow programme covers nine cities, while its India sales team comprises 55 people. Velan shared the company does not differentiate between Tier I or Tier II markets in its approach to sales and distribution. Business continues to come from Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, where the company is seeing growth.
The broader picture is reportedly encouraging when other destinations are considered. Velan stated that the company is recording huge growth in Indian travel to Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore. Following the opening of its MICE operations for Thailand in April, Rayna Tours recorded 7,000 passengers between April and September. “I’m seeing huge growth from India to these destinations. India to UAE is still a bit measured. It’s not open now from an FIT,” Velan explained.
Saudi Arabia & US on expansion map
Rayna Tours is extending its physical footprint beyond the UAE. “We are setting up our office in US. I'm very excited about that. That's going to be a new base for Rayna. So, that will come probably in the next 12 months. We'll see Rayna US as a big product.”
Saudi Arabia is another priority, both as a source market and as a destination. Rayna Tours has established an office there and plans to invest in attractions, strengthening its involvement in the destination's tourism offering.
The company is also preparing further investments in attractions in Ras Al Khaimah and Abu Dhabi. Together, these developments form the key areas of physical expansion identified by Velan.
Owning the experience, not just selling it
Rayna Tours distinguishes itself through three key pillars: ownership of experiences, investment in technology and a strong sales and people network. Velan believes the first is particularly important in a market where many travel businesses operate primarily as aggregators.
A conventional aggregator brings together services sourced from different suppliers, including accommodation, transfers and attraction tickets, and packages them for sale. Rayna Tours, Velan said, takes a different approach by owning the different aspects of the services it offers.
The second pillar is technology. “As we speak, we have invested a lot of money in AI-based R&D and we are rolling out our AI services across our suite of products,” Velan shared.
The third pillar is its people and sales network. With more than 50 sales personnel in India alone, the company aims to maintain close relationships with customers and trade partners. Velan sees this network as an important differentiator.
