We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sanjay Bhasin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sanjay, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

It all started a few years back when I was working at a hotel in Central Delhi. It was indeed an exciting atmosphere that helped me gain a deep fascination with the travel industry. I used to observe everything closely- what customer wanted, what they demanded, and how their experiences were shaped by the smallest details. And it turned out to be the base for my passion for traveling and hospitality.

I had plunged headlong into learning, grasped the details of customer service, and how to create memorable stays that left guests delighted. It wasn’t just about meeting expectations but surpassing them, learning their preferences, and creating an experience they would cherish. This was at a time when the use of the internet had just picked up in India. Seeing the potential, I dived in, taking loans to purchase a computer and teaching myself how to use it. I started collecting contact information and approaching the guests, relationship building, and business emerging from those relationships.

What others call a period of struggle was my learning phase-a period which pushed me out of my cocoon to discover my potential. It was during those days that I developed the right mindset to work and eventually put up my own business. The kind of service I learned in those days has stayed with me until today.
The sheer excitement that it gives me- being able to create transformative travel experiences-has not left me. The early days at the hotel taught me something: that the art of hospitality is not about logistics but about creating lifelong memories for travelers, which binds me even today.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m Sanjay Bhasin, the founder of Culture Holidays India Pvt. Ltd. The company came into existence 24 years ago. I have built my career over the years as an entrepreneur, coach, and author with the belief that the knowledge and experience I have accrued through my business journey will inspire travel agents toward achieving maximum business success. The transformation came to my life through the power of NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) and gratitude that really reshaped my mindset and motivated me to share my insights with the world.

Our company started from scratch but has grown into one of the major players in the travel industry, offering diverse packages to agents. These packages relate to diverse themes such as private tours, group tours, signature tours, luxury vacations, special occasion trips, awakening journeys, and wellness retreats. FAM trips are also designed to help agents build experience.

Currently, my company extends to over 30,000 travel agents in the USA and is further expanding into the UK and Australian markets. What makes them different is that agents can sell unique, fairly priced travel packages with the freedom to add their own markups for attractive commissions. Early on, I recognized that one of the largest pain points for travel agents was the provision of great service to their customers. To address this, we introduced the Culture Academy, where agents could further their skills and grow with us.

Culture Academy has free webinars and training programs that equip agents to be certified destination experts. They are exposed to crucial strategies: Millionaire Mindset, Effective Marketing Tactics, Sales Strategies, Social Media Mastery, Communication Skills, and so much more. By the end of the destination training, they receive certificates that add value to their professional profiles.

We also offer a suite of complimentary sales tools, from bespoke flyers to a website preloaded with over 350 tours that agents can sell, to the facility for agents to create their own itineraries. These are designed to help drive their sales. Easy to use, our online dashboard simplifies the booking process, and we offer a range of add-on options to enhance the tours we sell.

I am hugely proud of the efforts we make to empower travel agents, allowing them to grow with us. I’m passionate about letting people travel free from worries, and believe that our transformational travel experiences ensure people have the opportunity to live, learn, explore, and engage with the world in a meaningful way.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One thing I had to unlearn as a travel business owner was my dependence on just one way of marketing. Early in my journey, if one strategy worked, that was all I needed to help my business keep going. In reality, the travel industry, just like any other industry, is constantly evolving and quickly I realized that depending on one approach limits growth. Success involves the art of ‘exploration, experimentation, and adaptation’. One has to be outside the comfort zone, trying different sales strategies, whether it’s new markets, digital tools, or niche segments such as wellness or transformative travel.

This was a big paradigm shift for me; growth only takes place when one is uncomfortable, constantly checking what is working and what isn’t, and then changing. In business, an owner needs to be flexible and adaptable to change, yet always seeking new ways to meet the demands of his constantly changing client base.

The willingness to change and adopt new strategies is how any business will survive or indeed thrive. This allows being flexible around issues that we can push through and out in front of, keeping us ahead of the curve for long-term success.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The reason behind our success formula that has helped grow our client base is our commitment to not only curating exceptional tour packages but also making sure travel agents grow with us.

At Culture Holidays, it’s not about just offering tours to agents; rather, we provide them with the tools, training, and resources they need to grow in this competitive industry. Free sales tools: customized flyers, a fully loaded website with 350+ tours, and access to a user-friendly dashboard are what we provide to agents to assist them in expanding online and facilitating their operations.

We are also focused on training agents in developing the right sales skills in this aspect. Through training programs, we teach practical sales skills that will enable them to garner more clients and learn how to sell. This support is hands-on, so they can take total control of the business, including having the freedom to add their markup for maximum profits.
What sets us apart is our belief that helping travel agents grow means growing ourselves.

In addition to the environment of learning, growth and collaboration, we build not only a business but a community of empowered travel professionals who lead the industry with confidence.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cultureholidays.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cultureholidaysofficial/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cultureholidays
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cultureholidays/mycompany/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/cultureholiday2
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CultureHolidaysOfficial