My success mantra is being honest and giving the right information | Karan Vakharia, Director- Business Development, Pathfinders Holidays

Primary motivator to pursue your professional goals in the travel and tourism sector? I want to go to work every day doing something that I love to do myself and not just to collect a pay check. As I love to travel myself and have had so many great travel experiences in the past I believe I would make a good agent. I also think my previous work profile in customer service and sales have given me some excellent experience and skills that will help me in this industry very well . It is challenging and exciting. Besides, I enjoy handling people’s travel requirements and demands. Since I was a kid I have seen my parents work in this industry and make a name for themselves and the kind of work they did surely motivated me to join this industry and the company. An observation made about the industry, either a challenge or an opportunity? This industry is mix of both – challenges and opportunity. If you find the right way to overcome the challenges and create opportunities , this industry can give you lot of happiness. Travelers have plenty of options when it comes to researching and arranging their trips. They are sensible enough to shop around and find the best deal, and they certainly won’t be fooled into paying extra money when they know how many potential options there are. This has made an already competitive market even more competitive. On top of this, technology has been a major revolution for this industry, at the click of a button tickets can be issued today, hotels can be booked and holidays can be planned. This is the challenge that I am facing on a daily basis – however, at the end of it I feel the personal touch, comfort and confidence a travel agent can give, no application on a phone will ever be able to give and this is a big opportunity bundled with the challenge. Hence at the end of it we feel that customers who have moved to the online world have made their way back to their traditional travel agents and consultants. At the same time if you learn to strike while the iron is hot, then you sure can create the best opportunity in this industry. Vision for the business? While talking to my team in the office I always tell them – lets work smart, work focused, and work intelligently to make our clients travel experiences truly memorable and unforgettable, this is when we will reach the highest possible position in the industry, based on offering honest, correct and right information, backed with solid service and delivery. I want my company to be at a level where the company /brand name itself defines the business category I am in . Technology has a substantial game changer. What’s your take on it? Technology has surely been a massive game changer. The entire world is moving more closer to technology and the Travel and Tourism Industry is no exception. We have to accept, embrace and use Technology totally to our advantage, to use it for ease of doing business and to effectively, efficiently and at a reasonable cost service the clients. Gen Nxt thought? Work Harder and Party Hard. Accept challenges and use it as an opportunity to grow.]]>