Skyway International Travels - The Journey From A Modest Beginning To Tourism Titans

In the bustling world of travel and tourism, a bright-eyed 18-year-old dared to dream big. Armed with ambition and a penchant for the adage from "Little acorns grow mighty oaks," he embarked on a journey as a mid-level executive, envisioning a future where he wouldn't just work for a boss but became one. 

The seed of this idea took root in the early 90s, sparking animated discussions between him and two close friends. For four years, they nurtured this vision until it blossomed into a concrete plan; and so, on a memorable day i.e. March 10, 1994 a star was born in the travel industry, a company with sky-high aspirations but humble beginnings. 

With a single employee in a small office, they set forth, aiming for the skies. Fast forward to today, as the company celebrates its 30th anniversary, it stands as a testament to the growth, resilience, and the power of a dream realized. Just reach at Accomplish Your Travel Bucket List With Skyway to know more!

The initial foray was to concentrate on air ticketing. Setting sky as the limit, the name Skyway stuck reflecting on the core focus of the company. 

The passion within the promoters to excel was so prodigious that they set their sights with a family friend stationed in the UK in 1995, and Skyway saw its first migration as a private limited company within a year of operation. 

In the meanwhile, the brand name Skyway stuck with the founders, and it had gained a position in the market, thus, the promoters continued to associate themselves with the name. The nascent days weren’t a bed of roses.  

The owners of Skyway had to constantly innovate and remain relevant to business that was being carried out.   The air ticketing business was getting tech savvy and online ticketing became the order of the day. 

Margins on ticket commissions dwindled and the commercial compulsions of the business forced Skyway basket of travel related business to expand. Gradually INBOUND and OUTBOUND tours were added to their product line, apart from visa processing, passport facilitation, forex, and travel insurance.  Today they are known to render all travel related services under one roof.  

With a marketing out agency in the UK and another one added in France, the volume of international inbound traffic increased right from the year 2000 onwards. To make the marketing efforts more fruitful, Skyway got enrolled in travel books like “Lonely Planet”, and “Petit Fute”. 

This gave a great boost to their business. This was also the period when jacket tickets (air tickets) went into oblivion and the advent of computers in the travel trade made headway. 

With a vision to capitalize on the new found digital opportunity Skyway was quick to migrate, and the Management invested in employee upgradation to adjust to the computerized business environment. 

The growth path of Skyway was not bound by limitations and they were able to establish full fledged offices in cities apart from Mysore, Bangalore, Madikeri, Mangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Indore, spanning 7 cities with 55 employees and a fleet strength of 24 vehicles.  

In the near future, plans are on the anvil to add Delhi and Cochin to the list of offices.  In a bold move to propel their commercial venture forward, they've forged partnerships with over 11 enthusiastic associates, ready and eager to lend a hand, spanning across both India and overseas. These alliances stand as pillars of support, fuelling the engine of their business with diverse expertise and global reach.

Beyond its travel services, Skyway International Travels reveals a lesser-known, yet deeply admirable side: a strong commitment to society, unknown to many. They facilitated cataract operations for the poor and needy. 

Another initiative of theirs is towards the upliftment of the student community and is personified thus. “They wanted the student community to gain knowledge pertaining to this sector and with this in mind, Skyway actively participated in establishing a school for Tourism with Prof. Nagapathi and they generously donated a library for the students, as well”.

Skyway has been exponentially growing and they have been actively participating in trade fairs and road shows. Their objective was apart from business promotion to create awareness on the latest travel products that the agency has on offer.  Their transparency stands out borne by the testimony of many repeat and happy customers.

The road ahead for Skyway:

Being market leaders in South India, has not been the end. They continue to innovate and bring in more products at competitive pricing for the benefit of the end use consumer. They have set the sights to expand and create a unique place for themselves. 

As mentioned in the opening remarks from “little acorns grow mighty oaks”, they have truly grown into mighty oak and they continue to be a lead travel and tour operator. Having completed 30 years they are all set to achieve the next milestone in the coming decade.