Manoj Tulsani Interview | Rayna Group (Tours & Travels) Startup Story
Meet Rayna Group’s Co-Founder & CEO: Manoj Tulsani
I am Manoj Tulsani. I grew up at Ajmer, in Rajasthan, India. As the co-founder of Rayna Group, I mainly run Rayna Tours and Travels which is one of the UAE’s leading Destination Management companies.
We make all elements of travel easier for all types of travellers, with exclusive sections for international visas, global hotel reservations, all-inclusive holiday packages, MICE, transfers, luxury cruises, desert safaris and more.
We also help travel agencies and travel operators to grow their business and revenue through our dedicated B2B portal RaynaB2B. In a concise nutshell, our focus is to help people discover the pleasure of life through travel experiences enriched with prized moments.
When and how did you think about ‘Rayna Tours’?
I moved to Dubai in 1999 upon finishing my graduation in commerce.
I initially worked with Safeer Group of Companies as a Marketing Executive and then with Time Machine Group of Companies as the Marketing Head.
I have always been interested in travel and meeting new people; this really prompted me to walk out of the trading industry and make a foray into the service industry by opening Rayna Tours and Travels in 2006.
From whom you got the inspiration to start ‘Rayna Tours’?
This may sound unbelievable but the reality is that we have come this far without a mentor or a role model. Our key to success has always been our ability to understand our strengths and skills while looking back on our mistakes and evaluating them (rationally) for further business growth and development.
Introduce Rayna Tours Co-Founder/Founders and Team.
We started off our venture literally from a scratch with just two of us, including Kamlesh Ramchandani, my friend and colleague at Safeer Group of Companies.
Mr. Yasser Noman is the chairman of Rayna Group, while I am its CEO.
What makes Rayna Tours special?
Rayna Tours is a one-stop Destination Management service provider where you will find all aspects of planning, organizing and implementing a successful travel program under one roof.
Starting from the visa services to helping you with the selection of the right accommodation choice to the arrangement of all local activities and tours, we take care of every minute detail of a holiday or travel.
How is it different from any other similar companies?
What makes us competitive and sought after in the industry is our business strategy which offers the best price guarantee to the major chunk of our services.
This is because we sell our products and services directly to our customers while dodging all conventional sales channels.
Overall, there are no expensive intermediaries that add to the cost of our services.
What challenges did you face while setting up “Rayna Tours”?
We saw Rayna Tours’ beginning as a small outlet in one of Dubai’s hotels, Flora Grand Hotel.
Starting a new venture in a new industry wasn’t a big deal, but staying ahead was! Fortunately, we happened to be amazing in it.
Our initial goal was to organize tours and activities for the hotel guests.
As the concept got clicked, we opened more similar outlets by 2008 and further carved out a space for ourselves in the industry as a full-suite Destination Management Company by 2009.
There has been no turning back since then. That said, we have had our share of challenges, failures and risks throughout the journey.
I wasn’t a natural-born businessman and we didn’t have a proper plan or reliable steady financial resources to run the business properly. It wasn’t easy for us to foresee the obstacles that came along the way.
We, however, never delved into the mistakes or wrong decisions we took, instead we have always managed to learn some vital lessons from every worst and most challenging situation.
We believe that failures and hurdles are inherently linked to change and creativity. So, if it is treated properly, they can leave an effective trail behind for your business development and success.
What’s Rayna Tour’s revenue and growth rate?
We took our business off the ground without any outside investors.
We kicked off with a bootstrapped amount of AED ½ million.
As we continue to grow and innovate, we now have an estimated net worth of 100 million USD.
What’s the current path, “Rayna Tours” funding status & future plans?
Besides our head office at Dubai’s ACICO Business Park Building, Deira, UAE, we have our presence in more than 10 countries across the world.
Our goal in the coming years is to take our business and brand to more and more new markets, making our travel services more accessible and global.
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