Raj Travels banks on 'Brand Bangalore'

Raj Travels, an outbound tour operator, plans to sell Bangalore to international tourist through its recent tie-up with US-based Gray Line Worldwide.

According to Raj Travels Chairman and Managing Director Lalit Sheth, the company will offer daily Bangalore city sightseeing services along with a separate 'Bangalore by night' trip followed by a round of pub-hopping.

Sightseeing services are priced at $12 for half-a-day covering major landmarks and a few IT destinations.

One-day trip covers in-depth major landmarks followed by shopping and traditional south Indian lunch for $25. Packages for outside Bangalore covers Mysore, Ooty/Coonor, Chikmagalur, Belur and Halebid. Price ranges from $700 to $1,000.

Raj Travels has plans to station 30 buses in Bangalore and operate daily tour packages to Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Andhra Pradesh. "We have ordered these buses and we will take delivery in a month," said Sheth.

Brad Weber, president and CEO, Gray Line Corporation said: "By signing up with Raj Travels, we have entered the Indian market. The travellers can now experience the wonders of India."

Apart from the tie-up, Gray Line will also launch 'Gray Line India Holidays' which are guaranteed fixed departure holiday packages. These tours will be marketed through the Gray Line Worldwide network and operated by Raj Travels within India, he added.

Initially, Grayline Tours will be conducted in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Agra, Chennai, Cochin, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Mysore, Mahabalipuram and Pune, before extending it to other cities in India.

Raj Travels is the franchisee for Gray Line Worldwide in India.It will offer one-day sightseeing packages in Delhi, Goa, Kochi, Chennai, Agra, Mumbai and Jaipur among other cities.