::..:: ARCHIVES ::..::

It was on one of her assignments as a travel writer that Sumitra Senapaty met a motley bunch of women strolling around a picturesque tourist spot in New Zealand. They behaved more like a bunch of girls – giggling, gossiping, chatting and shopping. They were being herded from time-to-time by an athletic 40-something lady, who was the owner of this women’s only travel club.

There was reason for all that happiness - in the next couple of days, the ladies would be living in a farm, walking on a glacier, hiking in Abel Tasman National Park, jet boating in Queenstown, and sampling some of the finest New Zealand wines on vineyard tours. A lot of fun packed neatly into an itinerary, without the bother of pesky kids, busy husbands and ever-demanding work.

The travel addict she was, Senapaty knew that feeling of high all too well. As she looked at the women disappearing down the road, chatty and carefree, she knew she had a business plan – one that would generously accommodate her passion for travel.

Back home, she recreated the concept, putting together the Women on Wanderlust (WOW) Club – to offer the X-chromosome carriers a chance to globetrot on their own. Her first experiment was an all-women’s trip to Kerala for her extended family. “We did Cochin, Munnar and the backwaters, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. But what struck me was that apart from tourism, we enjoyed spending ‘girl time’ together. No matter what age, women have an innate ability to bond with each other. We had oodles of fun,” she says. The trip made her believe that she could pull it off - WOW was formally launched in the summer of 2005 by arranging three group trips to Ladakh.

Explaining the DNA of her club’s success, Senapaty says: "Many women want to travel. But several restrictions or reservations associated with travelling alone make them hesitate. The reasons are many — a busy husband; or strict parents who won’t let their daughter roam the world alone. Then, there are women, who are widowed or separated, or whose friends or relatives are not able to accompany them. Whatever be the case, most women don’t like travelling alone. And that is where we came in.”

WOW offered the perfect solution for women, who wanted to break free of domestic monotony or stressful careers but were anxious about travelling alone. “Women feel more confident going to new places with other women, often strangers, than with an impersonal agency that does mass tourism. I believe that being a woman myself, I know exactly what they are looking for and I plan our holidays more like a close friend would.”

Her company organises all-women trips around the world. It does flights and train bookings, tour packages, insurance, visa, hotel bookings and exclusive tours to far flung countries like Egypt, Greece, South Africa, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bhutan and Turkey. For those looking for short holidays, there are weekend tours to Himachal, Rishikesh, wildlife adventures and even weekend wine-and-cheese dos.

The club has even tied up with bulk operators and airlines, as well as national tourist organisations of various countries. Though Senapaty won’t disclose how much her hobby-turned-business venture earns, you can easily work out the math here - WOW does about 30 trips a year, costing from Rs 10,000 for a weekend getaway to Rs 1.5 lakh for a 10-day international trip, and makes 7-10% margins on each trip.

The club puts up itineraries of upcoming travel on its website and interested women sign up. WOW has just four full-time employees who help co-ordinate and handle day-to-day admin work. Senapaty asserts that all her marketing is word-of-mouth and she has only just begun advertising in a popular national travel magazine.

She is, however, quick to clarify that WOW is not a travel agency. "WOW is an exclusive travel club for women. Our patrons, who travelled on our first trip to Ladakh in the summer of 2005, are still travelling with us today because they have a lot of fun when they get together. The group is a mix of women of all ages and stages — young, not-so-young, young-at-heart, single, divorced.”

No wonder it has managed to attract women from not only metros, but even small towns. Senapaty gets inquiries from places such as Surat, Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Indore, Lucknow, Mangalore and even Tiruchirapalli. NRIs and foreign tourists also figure in the travel groups of WOW.

Taking the social aspect a step further, Senapaty has introduced a membership plan for her patrons. "We have just introduced an annual subscription option which costs Rs 8,000, and members get an invitation to a wine evening, an annual lunch and an all-expenses paid weekend trip with other members,” she says. She has already tied up with a wine company and hosted a “wine and cheese” event for women in Bangalore.

Despite initial hiccups, WOW is a hit. With 4,600 fans on Facebook, and 60 tours conducted so far (not to mention the 900 women whose travel it has coordinated), the club has definitely touched a chord with urban women who are looking for fun.

It helps that Senapaty knows what her customers are looking for when they pack a travel bag. After all, she packs her own some 24 times a year.