How Rayna Tours took off from a small outlet and made it this big?

Every business starts with a unique idea before it goes through a rough sail and finally carves for itself an unfathomable niche in its respective industry.

As Oprah Winfrey once stated, “I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint—and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.”

This is especially true when it comes to the success story of the UAE based destination management company, Rayna Tours and Travels, whose founders paved their way to the top with their stanch belief in their ideas plus determination and hard work to turn it into a reality.

The Main Person behind Rayna Tours and Travels

Born into an Indian family, at Ajmer, Rajasthan on 14th August 1978, Manoj Tulsani had a modest upbringing. He completed his graduation in commerce from the University of Mumbai before he made his way to Dubai in 1999.

He soon started his first job at Safeer Group of Companies and it was during this time he met his friend and future partner, Kamlesh Ramchandani.

Manoj later joined Time Machine Group of Companies where he became the head of the company’s marketing department. At this time, instead of focusing on his career, he took this massive risk to ditch his then reasonably high, full-time salary and start a new business in an entirely new domain.

Starting Small, with a Simple Idea

Manoj, along with Kamlesh Ramchandani, came up with the idea of Rayna Tours and Travels in 2006 when they realized that majority of the visitors to Dubai reserved their accommodations in advance but overlooked the significance of pre-booking their desired tours and activities.

In other words, their desire to craft feasible options / programs that would make the Dubai or UAE exploration seamlessly effortless for everyone traveling to the emirate or the country actually led to the start of Rayna Tours and Travels from a small boutique at Flora Grand Hotel in Dubai.

Wading through Challenges & Making the Most of the Opportunities

Al though the start was quite easy and smooth, what awaited them was several disheartening episodes.

Manoj says, “The industry competition was intense and we lacked almost all vital resources that would help us to combat this situation; we didn’t have a proper business plan or the industry knowledge (being complete new comers in the industry).

It wasn’t further never an easy task to convince and gain the trust of our potential audience. ”

As the challenges kept pouring in one after another, they understood how important it is to think long term and adapt to the endless challenges and competitions while learning some valuable lesson from every dire situation.

hey set to work and soon the results began to show up. But, little did they know they have actually been conceptualizing the future of travel that is more accessible, comprehensive and innovative too.

Within two years, they proved that their venture is a resounding success as they expanded their presence in 15 plus similar outlets across hotels and resorts in Dubai’s prime areas.

That’s not all; their business and offerings got this level of praise and recognition that it cemented its repute as one of the UAE’s topmost destination management companies by 2009, with its main office at Abu Hail’s Old Labour Building, in Deira, Dubai.

Putting the Best Resources Together

Right from its development stage to its full optimum stage, the company has ensured that it came up with the most creative approach and inventive ideas to survive the challenges and competitions at all levels of their business cycle.

Rayna Tours started off without any fanfare but built an incredible client base mainly due to this indispensable factor. In short, it has always lived up to its customers’ expectations even at the most difficult times of pandemic.

Rayna Tours and Travels is now one of the few travel companies that offer its services directly to the customers. In other words, they don’t have a pricey middleman in the execution of majority of their tours or packages, especially desert safaris, dhow cruises and luxury tours including yachting, limo ride etc.

It not only allows the company for enhanced customer engagement and build a strong brand loyalty, but also guarantees unmatched savings to the customers.

The company is also in the forefront when it comes to the use of the technology to its fullest. It has an exclusive entity, namely, Technoheaven Consultancy, for this purpose.

Through the development of the perfect suite of IT programs and travel business technology tools, it ensures the streamlined functioning and enhanced security of its operations at every level of their online business, in both B2C and B2B markets. It overall helps to boost the business productivity.

Rayna Tours Now

The company is one of the foremost names in the industry for high-end and top-quality destination management services.

It experiences a steady growth with a turnover of over $100 million per year. From visa services (both UAE and international visas) to all-inclusive holidays to global hotel booking and transfer solutions, Rayna Tours has dedicated sections that help visitors to put together every element of a holiday with super ease.

Rayna Tours, being completely built on customer satisfaction, is unsurprisingly the recipient of several esteemed industry accolades.

Traveler’s Choice Award (from TripAdvisor in 2020 and 2021), Arabian Travel Awards 2018 (for Best Destination Management Company and Best B2B Portal), and Best Travel Partner Award for Dubai Parks and Resorts (2017) are some of the most significant among them.

With its worldwide presence in over ten countries including India, Israel, Singapore, and Malaysia, Rayna Tours now operates under the diversified Rayna Group. Manoj Tulsani is the group’s current CEO.

What the future holds for Rayna Tours and Travels?

Started more than a decade ago, Rayna Tours has always been a future-ready company, thanks to its unmatched capability to innovate and evolve as per the demands of the industry as well as the customers.

As it has made a resolute presence in the UAE (with its present larger facility at ACICO Business Park Building, at Port Saeed Road, Deira), this established venture aims to take its products and service offerings to new realms by opening more branches across the world.