New York 1933:
a bicycle tour arranged by John C. Dengler set the pace for
a small company called Students International Travel Association.
The company soon became popularly known by its acronym – SITA – and
launched itself into the orbit of world travel. After resounding
success in the U.S.A., SITA looked beyond the Atlantic to
Europe and Asia – India. In 1956 the first office was
setup at New Delhi by the present Chairman Emeritus, Mr.
Inder Sharma. Ever since, SITA has traversed a long way in
the domain of travel & tourism to be known worldwide
as a reliable and efficient agency with integrity and quality
service.
The Early Years
What began with
a staff of just three soon made remarkable progress. Foreseeing
a policy of Indianisation, in 1963, SITA was converted into
a private limited company under the guidelines of the Companies
Act 1956 and came to be known as SITA World Travel (India)
Pvt. Ltd. With the rapid growth of incoming tours business,
SITA soon spread its wings to foreign lands and starting
in 1972 with its first office in Paris, the extension continued
to Milan, Frankfurt, London, New York, Stockholm, Barcelona
and Lisbon. At the same time SITA extended its sphere of
activity to the neighboring countries in 1982 in Sri Lanka
and in 1984 in Nepal, where its offices make SITA the only
agency with presence in three SAARC countries. Further in
1993, it became a fully owned Indian public limited company
and came to be known as SITA World Travel (India) Ltd.
The
Success Story
Between 1970 and
1994, the company achieved a spectacular growth rate of 3062%.
The foreign exchange earnings showed another spectacular
increase of 6041%. This remarkable progress was the result
of adhering to well-defined business principles and goals
over the years as well as providing services backed by experience,
network and reputation. A team of nearly 900 trained travel
professionals offered round the clock service, throughout
a vast network of 28 branch offices located at important
touristic destinations in India, with utmost dedication and
commitment. Added to this was an overseas network of 8 marketing
offices and an excellent rapport with the Government, International & Domestic
Airlines and Hotels. In fact, being the biggest player in
this industry helped SITA to enjoy very special rates with
hotels all over India.
Sita Todays
In 2000 Kuoni Travel
Holding, a Multi National Travel Conglomerate based in Zurich,
Switzerland, acquired a 100 percent stake in SITA World Travel
(India) Ltd., and this merger resulted in the creation of
India’s largest travel company known as Kuoni Travel
India Ltd., with a turnover exceeding Rs. 500 crores. SITA
World Travel-Inbound Division is a part of Kuoni Travel India
Ltd. It is the Number One Destination Management Company
in India, SITA World Travel-Inbound Division has been handling
incoming tourists to India from all over the world through
a network of 26 offices in India, 8 marketing offices abroad,
associate offices in Nepal and Sri Lanka and three Strategic
Business Units namely: SITA Incoming Services, Kuoni Indian
Trails and E-Holidays. Besides regular incoming services,
SITA World Travel-Inbound Division also offers special services
in Incentives, Conferences and adventure Tourism.
Awards
and honours
For its remarkable
performance in travel & tourism, SITA has been honoured
with many awards including Govt. of India’s Tourism
award since 1975, Voted the “Best Travel Agency” at
Travel Awards-1998, Singapore and “Ethics is Good Business
Award” constituted by PHD Chambers of Commerce, India.
Very recently SITA won the National Tourism Award in the
First Category, constituted by the Department of Tourism,
Government of India, for earning the highest foreign exchange.
For the second consecutive year, SITA has also won the Kerala
State Award for Excellence in Tourism, 2000, constituted
by the State Government of Kerala, for handling the maximum
number of tourists in Kerala.
