Entrepreneurial journey is nothing short of a warzone; just alone the fact that you’ve got a groundbreaking business concept won’t help to turn your startup into a success story. In other words, it needs a lot of grit, perseverance, and of course the iron will deal with the barricade of all sorts mired in the successful running of a business.
If you’re overwhelmed by all challenges and pressures of bringing your ideas to fruition, continue reading to get inspired by the success story of Rayna Tours were the brain behind it defied all initial odds and vicious struggles to eventually build a multimillion dirham business in the travel industry.
Yes, Rayna Tours’ founder –Manoj Tulsani, is the perfect personification of overseas business dreams. The foundation of all his extraordinary achievements to this point is his lifelong passion and of course, his vision that he staunchly believes in.
So, come let us take a look at how Rayna Tours and its inspiring team made it this far with no solid business connections or background.
FROM AN EMPLOYEES TO THE START-UP ENTREPRENEUR
Following the completion of his graduation, Manoj moved to Dubai in 1999. He started his career as a marketing executive with Safeer Group of Companies and later cemented his expertise and skills in the industry as he became the Head of Marketing team at Time Machine Group of Companies. He, however, decided to quit his successful career after seven years just to pursue his passion for travel and entrepreneurship. And this finally cut out the way for the birthing of Rayna Tours and Travels in 2006. Coming from the retail industry, all he initially had was that can-do attitude and inspiring ideas. The rest (as they often say is history) as over the time he effectively played off his major fortes and weaknesses to build the travel business.
FROM A SINGLE TINY WORKSPACE TO 15 OUTLETS IN TWO YEARS
At the time of its launch from a small outlet in Flora Grand Hotel, Dubai, the core mission of Rayna Tours was to arrange Dubai activities and tours for guests staying in the hotel. Although this innovative idea got all attention and praise it deserved back then, the business had to sail through many unexpected challenges. As the business took off with a bootstrapped capital of just AED ½ million, the lack of funds wasn’t the only hitch though.
As Manoj recalls, “Al though we saw an opportunity to take off our business, the road to its success wasn’t really easy to pave. The initial spark was soon replaced by endless uncertainties, being our start-up an absolute newcomer without any mentor, proper resources, expertise and incredible business background. It was never an effortless feat to grow the business as there were many tricky situations and insurmountable challenges to deal with in the beginning. But, we kept ourselves pushing while learning meticulously from all obstacles and failures.”
Luckily, right from the beginning, Manoj has been determined with an uncompromising vision and of course, wise enough to never let cynicism or criticism stifle his entrepreneurial spirit. Moreover, his eagerness to take lessons from every setback, together with his incredible business acumen, began to show results. They opened 10 to 15 similar outlets across Dubai’s four-star and five-star hotels in just two years.
SUCCESS EVOLVES WITH BUSINESS GROWTH
As they got the first step right and nailed the strategy, they took the leap by investing in their own desert camp, cruise lines and a vast fleet of vehicles such as buses, coaches and the luxurious ever limousines. And this marked a turning point for its success. Rayna Tours also has its own in-house technology wing, Technoheaven Consultancy, which efficiently handles the group’s entire gamut of apps, social media platforms, and web portals both on B2C and B2B sectors. All these have allowed them to grow as a direct-to-customer brand with a difference!
It has now been over a decade – Rayna Tours continues to be one of the UAE’s top destination management companies. It’s now one of the industry’s ultimate providers for all travel solutions, from international visa services and organizing all-inclusive packages to arranging local tours, activities, cruises and safaris. With offices in different parts of the world, the company has its head office in Dubai’s lavish office spaces within ACICO Business Park Building on Port Saeed Road which it recently shifted from Abu Hail’s Old Labour Building.
Not the ones to rest on their achievements or laurels, they have now diversified their business operations to construction, real estate and transport sectors. Raasha Real Estate and KNR Transport are among them.
FROM A SUCCESSFUL VENTURE TO AN AWARD-WINNING COMPANY
The company now conducts business in close to 10 countries, employs 600 plus people representing various nationalities, and caters to the diverse (almost all) travel needs of close to 10 million users per year. Rightly so, Rayna Tours has been recognized for its creative efforts and genuine customer care services from time to time.
The recent among them is one of the highest accolades from TripAdvisor in the form of the Travelers’ Choice Award. The company was also recognized by other industry-leading awards such as Arabian Travel Awards (in the category of Best Destination Management Company and Best B2B Portal.) They all have been based on unbiased customer reviews or public voting.
In 2017, it was bestowed with the Best Partner Award for Dubai Parks and Resorts. The company has also been regular when it comes to receiving Top Seller / Best Performer Awards from such coveted UAE attractions as Global Village, Dubai Dolphinarium, Ferrari World Theme Park, and Yas Water World name a few.
One of Rayna Tours’ greatest achievements came in the tough times of pandemic as it received the top TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards for two consecutive years in 2020 and 2021.
TAKE AWAY
Challenges, failures and tough times form inevitable parts of a business. And the success story of Rayna Tours is proof of how one could effectively channel these hardships and rigorous aspects and turn them into a glowing success. With an excellent workforce spread all over the world plus concrete experience through the harshest of hardships, it is one of the few companies which have managed to keep things afloat with zero layoffs even in this strained and turbulent time of the pandemic.
