Five decades of Excellence
Subhash Goyal
It is indeed my privilege and honour to be able to pay this tribute and share the journey and experiences of a charismatic and untiring individual, a champion of the travel industry, and a spokesperson for its demands under whose tutelage I first set foot in the Industry some three decades ago. Subhash Goyal, President of Confederation of Tourism Professionals, Chairman of STIC Travel and Air Charter Group, is not only one of the founding pillars of the Indian travel trade but also one of the key visionaries who have dedicated their life’s work in shaping it to its present form.
As the man who always stood out in the crowd, come summer or winter, impeccably dressed in his suits, gold-rimmed spectacles, double-cuffed shirts, cufflinks, and a well-curated collection of neckties and pocket squares, Subhash Goyal has not changed to date. Neither changed are his levels of energy, his vivacity, his quest to question practices, network with people, seek justice, and find solutions.
A humble leader who until now makes it his mission to meet and greet maximum attendees at any event or gettogether irrespective of their lineage or position of authority. He was and is a man on a mission as seen from the thickness of his current passport and the many booklets from the past that have since been confined to the archives of his travel memoirs.
His repeated and unending travel sojourns to more than 140 countries around the globe tell us a story of the efforts of an individual who hand in hand with his wife Gursharan Goyal, carved out a legacy that deserves its rightful place in the “Halls of Fame”.
The seed of inception was planted way back in 1970 when he was invited for an overseas conference as a student leader, he was the Past President of Delhi University Student’s Union and the then President of the All India Central Board of University Students’ Union. Unwilling to take any financial assistance from the University authorities or his parents, he learned that if he could gather 15 students, he could go for free. This was the start of the STIC Travel Group.
In 1973, Dr. Karan Singh, the then Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister, inaugurated his office. The Company
started as Student Travel Information Centre and later went on to be renamed STIC Travels and now STIC GSA Services.
Initially started as a student and youth travel service provider, they entered the GSA and representation business in 1976 with their first contract with Air Ceylon, now known as SriLankan Airlines. Realising quickly the absence of any travel company in the market promoting Sri Lanka as a leisure destination they became the first company in India to launch tour packages to Sri Lanka and also Nepal. It was during the late seventies and early eighties that they expanded further with the launch of both Outbound and Inbound Tour Divisions.
With the economic liberalisation in the early nineties and the boom for outbound leisure travel, they felt the need to expand their product offering to the market and it was in the late nineties that they launched their Cruise Marketing Division and relaunched their student and youth travel business and started exploring other verticals.
STIC, today is one of the largest travel and tourism organisations operating as a wholesale travel agent, professional tour operator, Air charter operator, and GSA for some of the best airlines and brands like United Airlines, Air China, Ethiopian Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, Myanmar Airways International, Royal Brunei Airlines, Ukraine International Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Cambodia Airways, Royal Jordanian, Nordwind Airlines, Holland America Cruise Line, Windstar Cruises, A-Rosa – European River Cruises, Pacific High – Cruises, Alamo, National and Enterprise Rent-a-car.
Having seen and been a part of the evolution of the travel industry over the last 50 years, Subhash reminisces, “There has been a tremendous amount of change from 1973 till today. In the seventies, it was very difficult to even get a passport issued or even procure foreign exchange. Later policies saw the capping of maximum foreign exchange limits under FTS (Foreign Travel Scheme) to just USD 500. There were no computerised reservation systems, except the airline’s own reservation systems. The airfares were regulated by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the airfares had to be filed in DGCA and only after they were approved you could use them.”
All that has now completely changed and the fares have been deregulated. He further explains, “Today, we have various reservation systems, and you can also book directly through the airlines’ websites or API links that are connected with the airline reservation systems. So, life has become very easy and convenient for the travel agent and tour operator.” But now, the industry faces a new set of challenges. Subhash elaborates, “The dynamic, flexible pricing regime practiced both by airlines and hotels today is the biggest challenge. How does the travel agent today quote a particular airfare or a hotel rate? The other major challenge the industry faces is the TCS (Tax collected at source) which has to be added to all the packages being issued by Indian travel agents and tour operators. However, if the same package is bought on the internet or through an international travel agent, that tax is not applicable.”
When asked to share some critical business decisions he had to take for the betterment and growth of his organisation, Subhash explained, “The first critical decision we took was to change the name from Student Travel Information Centre to STIC Travels. Because as Student Travel, we were limited to serving just student customers and with the change of name, we were able to expand our clientele and also started getting airline representations. After a few years, we made the second important decision: to stop doing retail business and focus only on B2B business. This has helped us in winning the trust and confidence of the travel and tourism industry of the country.”
As a relentless crusader for industry needs and demands, Subhash Goyal was instrumental in building IATO as a strong and powerful association. He has actively been fighting for an Open Sky Policy for India for economic growth and has seen great strides being taken in the right direction thanks to his efforts. However, his single biggest achievement has been the introduction of the E-VISA system for India, for which he also had the honour of announcing it as industry association President along with the Home Minister of India at the Ashok Hotel, New Delhi. He has also played a crucial role in the formation of the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) and as the first Chairman of India Tourism Mart (ITM).
Building an organisation requires a talented pool of leaders and workers, and as the head of the organisation, Subhash zeroed down on the following traits in choosing the right talent for his leadership team.
1. The individual should take initiative and have the ability to lead.
2. They should be able to motivate and inspire their team.
3. They should be a team player and offer credit wherever due and take responsibility for failures, if any.
4. They should have thorough domain knowledge.
5. They should be able to motivate and train their team members.
An articulate public speaker and motivator, Subhash Goyal is actively involved in delivering lectures in schools and colleges to motivate the generation NEXT, in his quest to shape entrepreneurs and leaders. He is also actively involved in social work and loves to write. He is currently penning down his travel memoirs, a book loaded with his travel adventures, experiences, and anecdotes across 140 countries elaborating on happening and incidents over his many years of travel. Through this book, he will share trivia and incidents from his travel escapades, such as how, he was one of the first Indians to travel on an official passport and a oneway ticket to Israel, how he arrived in the UK on a one-way ticket without a visa but still managed to get entry, and how he missed his connecting flight in Paris and stayed there for a week without a visa or money.
STIC will be completing 50 years since its establishment next year. Looking back on the journey so far, Subhash Goyal looks pretty satisfied with his accomplishments. He states, “When I started the organisation, I wanted to build one of the most honest, professional, reliable and dependable organisation which would be right on the top. By God’s grace and with the help of my friends and well-wishers, we have grown to become the largest B2B travel/GSA representation company in India. I have already handed over the entire operations of our organisation to my daughter, Isha Goyal, an MBA from ISB-Hyderabad and a thorough professional. She is building her own team and my message to them is to expand all over the world, we may or may not be the biggest but we should be recognised as one of the most honest and professional organisations in India.”