Rising like a Phoenix True calling of an Entrepreneur
The life of an entrepreneur is tough, and one is often hit by many a roadblock. Like it or not, building an empire from scratch requires all of your heart, soul, blood, and sweat. Despite those hardships, every year thousands of people embark on an entrepreneurial journey, determined to bring their vision to fruition and fill a need they believe in. TTJ recently spoke to one such young and dynamic rising star of the industry who has stood his ground and created his brand with his sheer grit.
Vineet Srivastava, Managing Director, Yorker Holidays Services, recollects, “It all seems so recent when having completed my MBA in Tourism from Kanpur University in 2008, I plunged neck deep into the whirlpool of travel, starting my first job at a salary of mere Rs 1500 per month. I got my foothold in the industry and I soon found my calling in the cruising segment of the industry.”
After a couple of job hops and a few years in the industry, the entrepreneur within could not be held bottled up and in 2011, Vineet launched his entrepreneurial venture, Cruisewala.com. However, all was not hunky dory, and he had to shut down this venture just one year after having started it. Not one to be pinned down by failure, the cricketer and fast bowler in him pushed him to establish Yorker Holiday Services in 2012. Calamity struck once again in 2013 and he had to shut down this partnership venture.
Not one to give up, and taking inspiration from the way a Yorker is bowled and placed in the game of cricket, Vineet relaunched Yorker Holidays Services in 2013. Since then, there has been no looking back. He knew his capabilities; he knew his limitations, and he read the need of the market. He knew it was impossible to compete with the big boys and deep pockets and reach. So he created his own playing field.
He focused on the B2B space, and targeted smaller agents in tier 2 and tier 3 cities of India, provided product knowledge, and positioned his product with a promise of qualitative and prompt service. He assured minimal turnaround time from query to quotation, and faster turnarounds translated to more conversions for his partners, resulting in them flocking around him and thus growing his portfolio of products and services.
For a business that had started with a pure focus on cruises, destinations such as Malaysia and Singapore were soon added, followed by Indonesia. They received recognition from Malaysia Tourism as top performers in 2017 and 2019. In 2019, they were appointed PSA for Star Cruises and now, in 2022, they are the PSA of Resorts World Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Cordelia Cruises.
Vineet shares, “Full product knowledge and correct product details are the biggest challenges faced by sellers of travel and Yorker prides in providing the same to its business partners.”
The Maldives was a god-sent destination for the Indian traveller and Yorker was one of the first movers and did great business from India to the Maldives. The island nation will continue to be a focus for Yorker as they now have a registered office in Maldives and numbers are constantly on the increase. They are currently doing about 500 pax a month to the Maldives.
During the pandemic, Yorker also looked within and focused on domestic travel destinations like Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Kashmir, and Leh-Ladakh and was fairly successful on this initiative. This has laid the groundwork for further development of their domestic portfolio and a vertical in its own right within the Yorker ecosystem.
Vineet sincerely hopes that the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us and we all are looking toward progressive growth in the coming years. He has great plans for his expansion in South East Asia, the Middle East, and European markets and is in the process of ramping up his team too.
Technology is integral to the success of any business and plans are already underway at Yorker to automate processes, ensure partner loyalty, reduce time to market and increase efficiency.
Currently headquartered out of New Delhi, Vineet is supported by his wife Enna Srivastava, Director, Sanjeev Gosain, Associate Director, and a team of over 50 dedicated and committed travel professionals, a team that is growing on a daily basis.