Q1. What inspired you to get into the Travel Industry? I am a B.Sc. Graduate with Majors in Chemistry & Drugs & Dyes. My main inte...
Q1. What inspired you to get into the Travel Industry?
I am a B.Sc. Graduate with Majors in Chemistry & Drugs & Dyes. My main interest was to become a Chef but because of some personal reasons, I wasn’t able to pursue a career in the same. Then I looked at other passion of mine which was travelling and exploring new cities. And that is how I started my journey of Travel Industry.
Q2. Kindly share some information about your travel business.
At Curated Holidays, We design a travel plan that differentiates itself by moving away from regular tourist itineraries to specially curated journeys which are stimulating and offer true to life experiences. We love to curate a destination with a rather unconventional approach, and work exclusively to provide experiential journeys to exclusive destinations in the world. We serve to those, who love to explore a destination as a whole with the best of the experiences, exclusive itineraries, away from the standard in the market.
Q3. What is your Unique Selling Point (USP)?
We thrive to offer offbeat experiences to all our clients depending on the destination they decide. It can be like, breakfast on top of mountain in New Zealand, stay in tree hotel in Sweden, dining under the stars in Oman, chasing the Northern Lights from your bed, breakfast with Giraffes, hiking a Glacier, sailing through the Seas or River Sailing and many more.
We understand that every client is different, which is why we do not offer “please all” regular/standard packaged holidays.
Q4. How long have you been in the travel business?
It’s been 13 years now that I am in the industry. It was in 2008 when I did my IATA Management Course and passed with Distinction and since then I had this idea of starting my own company and today here I am with my Own Company after working at different capacity (Tele-Sales / Operations / Hotel Contracting / Tour Manager / B2B Market / Corporate Travel Segment) and with couple of years of International exposure.
Q5. What were the challenges you faced while starting/doing your business?
Developing a business idea is usually the first challenge faced by every entrepreneur when starting a business from scratch. Finding the right business opportunity or creatively developing an idea is certainly not an easy task. I call “Envisioning the idea” the first true task of an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, you must possess the ability to see what others cannot see. While others see problems, you must see opportunities.
The only challenge that I faced while doing business was with the OTA’s (Online Travel Agents), be it a package or flights or hotel bookings.
Q6. Any advice you would like to give for the upcoming travel business owners?
Who does not like to travel and explore places. If you have the passion and the knowledge then my advice to all upcoming travel business owners is to please look forward to start the business, as now is the right time. Just be prepared for the boom and ready to handle the flow. Don’t just be a travel agent and instead be a guide to them.
a. Do you like to travel?
Yes very fond of travelling and exploring new cities
b. What is your favourite visited destination so far?
By far Seychelles is my favourite destination.
c. How often do you travel?
Once or Twice a year depending on the Leisure time I get.
d. A place that you would want to suggest everyone to visit.
In India visit Lakshadweep. Also Iceland to view Northern Lights
Q8. LinkedIn profile URL link
Personal: https://www.facebook.com/chirag.mer
NA
Q11. Instagram profile URL link
Q11. Instagram profile URL link
Personal: https://www.instagram.com/chiragmer/
NA
Q13. Company website & Company blog URL link
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Interviewed by : Khushboo Chotaliya - Influencer & Co-Founder of Sanskari Decor from Mumbai, India
Khushboo is also a student of Digital Influencers Academy.
Kindly follow Khushboo here: instagram.com/KhushbooBChotaliya
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