Riya Travel eyes global expansion and sustainable growth

"Inbound tourism hasn’t picked up yet, infrastructure needs to improve. Even a city like Mumbai, with the new airport, could see major growth in leisure tourism.” - Manoj Samuel, CEO & Director, Riya Travel.

As India travel and tourism sector get strike by multiple waves of disruption, Riya Travel is looking at a diversified strategy to maintain its stronghold in the Indian market. In an exclusive interaction with T3, Manoj Samuel, CEO & Director, Riya Travel, offered insights into the company’s structure, strategy, and market response. 

“We started as an airline consolidator. Today, we are much more than that, we have a corporate division, marine division, and we also handle a bit of leisure and retail. About 70% of our business is B2B, primarily consolidation, where we work directly with travel agents. We are connected with nearly 80,000 agents across India and a few abroad as well,” said Samuel. He further added, “We also have RBT (Riya Business Travel) our corporate vertical that serves over 150 premium and around 300 mid-level corporate clients across India.” 

Riya Travel’s product offerings span multiple categories: “We offer airline tickets, hotel bookings, visa processing, insurance, foreign exchange, utilities, cruises, holidays, activities & sightseeing, car rentals. We are also one of the largest B2B players for railway bookings in India, with about 10,000 agents connected.” 

On the digital-versus-offline revenue mix, Samuel noted, “Fifty percent of our business comes from offline and the other fifty from online. Regional differences in language and relationships still make offline important in many areas.” 

On current travel trends, he observed, “Indian travellers are heading to the Far East this season. But I believe the next season will be the real test. Current months are slow but should pick up in the next one to two months.” Regarding Kashmir, Samuel noted, “Looks like things are back to normalcy, trains fully booked. But we will have more clarity by August or September.”  

He believes Indian travellers are increasingly exploring lesser-known destinations. “Central Asia had gained popularity, but travel disruptions slowed it down. That should change by August as sentiment improves. India doesn't wait for anything.”  

When asked about Indian cities, Samuel pointed out that Kerala and Goa will remain popular. Regarding North-East India, however, infrastructure needs improvement. “I am not saying it’s non-existent, but I don’t see a major rush yet.” 

Reflecting on Riya’s growth trajectory, he said, “Post-pandemic, we have seen YoY growth of about 5-10%. We’ve also expanded overseas, in the GCC region and the East. We now have offices in Bangkok and soon launching in Philippines. This year, we are adding Qatar, Oman, and in Saudi Arabia. But India will always remain our largest market.” 

Looking ahead to 2025, Samuel stressed, “Our focus is on bottom-line performance, not just volume. Given the current market conditions, profitability matters more than numbers.” 

On trade engagement, he said, “We have ramped up our roadshows and joint promotions with vendors. This year, we will continue aggressively participating in trade and roadshows, focussing not just Tier 1, but Tier 2 and 3 markets. 

When asked about India’s potential as an outbound market, Samuel was optimistic: “It can explode. The number of travellers is still low compared to our population. There is tremendous room for growth. Inbound tourism hasn’t picked up yet, infrastructure needs to improve. Even a city like Mumbai, with the new airport, could see major growth in leisure tourism.”