What Kesari Tours does

Kesari Tours Private Limited, founded in 1984 and headquartered at 314, L.J. Road, Mahim, Mumbai, is a privately held Indian travel company operating a multi-brand tour and travel services platform. The company sells all-inclusive group tour packages across 200+ domestic and international destinations, complemented by tailormade holidays, corporate MICE travel (Kesari MICE), and specialty tour brands targeting women (My Fair Lady), seniors (Second Innings, Marigold), students (Students Special, Prince Charming), honeymooners (Honeymoon Special), vegetarians (Veg Tours), and short-break travellers (Chota Break). Supporting revenue streams include RBI-authorized foreign exchange services, visa facilitation, travel insurance, and franchise fees from a pan-India branch network. Distribution combines a direct-to-consumer digital channel (kesari.in website and native iOS/Android apps), toll-free phone sales, a formal travel agent program, and a franchise network with a minimum 5-year agreement and proprietary RS On-line management system. Pricing is unit-based per booking on twin-sharing terms, with starting fares ranging from ~₹19,990 for domestic tours to ~₹4.6 lakh for premium Europe packages, plus EMI options through third-party bank financing partners. Founded and led by Shailesh Kesari Patil as Managing Director and Owner, the company claims 2 million+ happy guests, 200,000+ tours completed, and 300+ full-time multilingual tour leaders. Kesari operates as a private limited company with no disclosed external institutional investment, no parent entity, and no public listing plans. The company has been recognized with industry awards including SATTE Best Outbound Tour Operator 2025-26, India Travel Awards for Best International Group Tour Operator (West & South), FICCI Travel & Tourism Excellence Award, and Maharashtra's Most Popular Brand (2017, 2019).

Name

Kesari Tours

Legal name

Kesari Tours Private Limited

Website

https://kesari.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Kesari Tours is a privately held Mumbai-based Indian travel company, founded in 1984, operating group tours and specialty holiday packages across 200+ destinations for retail consumers and corporate clients via a pan-India franchise network and direct digital channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Travel and Tourism / Group Tour Operator

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Tour Operators (56152)

akta.pro primary industry

Multi-Country/Regional Circuit Tour Operators (THAKADAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Domestic/In-Country Multi-Day Tour Operators (THAKADAL), Private/Customized Multi-Day Tour Operators (THAKADAC), Pilgrimage & Faith-Based Multi-Day Tour Operators (THAKADAH), Cultural/Heritage Multi-Day Tour Operators (THAKADAF)

Keywords

• Group tour packages
• Outbound tour operator
• Domestic holiday packages
• Corporate MICE travel
• Tailormade holiday services

Headquarters

HQ city

Mumbai

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Group Tour Packages: Core revenue stream from all-inclusive pre-packaged group tours covering domestic India and international destinations. Revenue is earned as one-time payment per tour booking, with the tour tariff calculated based on destination, duration, accommodation tier, and inclusions. Minimum 20 guests required per group departure.
2. Tailormade / Customised Holidays: Personalized individual or family holiday packages curated to customer specifications, charged at a premium over standard group tour pricing. Revenue earned per booking.
3. Kesari MICE (Corporate Tours): Corporate group travel and meetings, incentives, conferences, and events management for business clients, generating revenue through bundled service fees on top of travel costs.
4. Visa Processing Services: Facilitation and submission of visa applications for international tours. Visa fees are passed through to consulates/embassies; Kesari charges service fees for documentation assistance.
5. Foreign Exchange (Forex) Services: Kesari is an RBI-authorized money changer providing foreign exchange to travelling customers. Revenue generated through foreign exchange margins and service charges on credit/debit card and direct deposit transactions.
6. Travel Insurance Facilitation: Travel insurance is facilitated for guests up to age 70 years as part of tour packages. Insurance charges are included in package pricing for eligible ages, with differential charges for guests exceeding 70 years.
7. Franchise Fees: Revenue from franchisee partners who pay an initial agreement fee and adhere to KTPL specifications for operating a Kesari retail outlet, selling group tours, tailormade holidays, corporate tours, forex, and travel insurance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Kesari Tours is an Indian tour operator that sells all-inclusive group tour packages covering 200+ domestic and international destinations, accompanied by full-time multilingual tour leaders. It also offers tailormade/customised holidays, corporate MICE travel, specialty persona-based tours (women, seniors, students, honeymoon), and ancillary travel services including foreign exchange, visa facilitation, travel insurance, and hotel bookings. The business is sold through a pan-India franchise and branch network, the kesari.in website, and native iOS/Android apps.

Product overview

Kesari Tours operates a multi-brand travel platform offering organized group tours and customized travel services. The core offerings include Group Tours (domestic India and international world tours) and Speciality Tours (niche segment tours). The portfolio spans sub-brands including My Fair Lady (women-only tours), Second Innings (senior tours), Students Special, Adventure Special, Veg Tours, Marigold, Prince Charming, and Chota Break (short trips). Supporting services include Tailormade Holidays (customized itineraries), Kesari MICE Corporate Tours (business travel management), Experiences (adventure activities), Kesari Select (customized tours), Kesari Forex (currency services), Kesari Hotels (accommodation booking), Visa processing, and Travel Insurance — all provided as bundled or standalone services. The company serves the Indian outbound and domestic travel market with a focus on group travel experiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kesari MICE: Corporate tours and meetings, incentives, conferences, and events management services
• Kesari Select
• Kesari Forex
• Kesari Hotels
• Chota Break
• My Fair Lady
• Second Innings
• Marigold
• Prince Charming
• Honeymoon Special

Products and services

• Group Tours Organized group travel packages with scheduled departures for domestic India tours (Kashmir, Himachal, Kerala, Leh Ladakh, Rajasthan, Andaman, North East, Sikkim/Darjeeling, etc.) and international world tours (Europe, Southeast Asia, Dubai, USA, Australia, Japan, Africa). Tours include flights, hotels, meals, sightseeing, transport, tour leader, visa facilitation, and travel insurance. Minimum 20 guests required per departure.
• Speciality Tours Curated tour packages targeting specific traveller interests and personas including women-only, senior citizen, student, honeymoon, adventure, vegetarian, and pilgrimage segments. Sold as standalone branded sub-tours under Kesari's specialty portfolio.
• My Fair Lady (Women-Only Tours) Women-only guided group tours under the My Fair Lady sub-brand, with itineraries and tour leaders selected to provide safe and comfortable travel experiences for female travellers.
• Second Innings (Senior Citizen Tours) Group tours designed specifically for senior citizen travellers under the Second Innings sub-brand, with comfortable pacing, suitable accommodations, and itineraries appropriate for older adults. Travel insurance is facilitated up to age 70.
• Marigold (Senior Travel Brand) Sub-brand offering senior travel packages, part of Kesari's portfolio of niche and persona-based travel products targeting older travellers.
• Prince Charming (Student Tours) Speciality tour sub-brand for student travellers, offering value-priced educational and adventure-oriented itineraries as part of Kesari's niche travel offerings.
• Students Special Group tour packages designed for student travellers under the Students Special sub-brand, with budget-friendly pricing and educational or adventure-focused itineraries.
• Adventure Special Adventure-themed group tour packages under the Adventure Special sub-brand, including trekking, wildlife, and other outdoor activities in natural landscapes.
• Veg Tours Vegetarian-only group tour packages under the Veg Tours sub-brand, ensuring vegetarian and Jain meal options throughout the journey for travellers with dietary preferences.
• Chota Break (Short Break Tours)

Quantifiable outcome

• 2 Million+ happy guests served since 1984
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Reserve Bank of India (Authorized Money Changer)coreOthersKesari Tours is an authorized money changer licensed by the Reserve Bank of India to provide foreign exchange services to its touring customers, allowing single-window forex procurement for travellers.
• Hotels and Accommodation ProviderscoreOthersKesari pre-books hotel accommodation globally as part of its all-inclusive tour packages. Hotels referenced include Ramada Encore by Wyndham Amritsar, Indraprastha Resort Dalhousie, Angels Inn Resort Dharamshala, Sterling Manali, and East Bourne Resorts Shimla.
• AirlinescoreOthersKesari arranges group air travel as part of tour packages, contracting bulk seat allocations from airlines for group departures. Airlines are solely responsible for overbooking, flight delays, and baggage handling under their own policies.
• Visa Processing Centers and EmbassiescoreOthersKesari facilitates visa application submission for international tours by forwarding documentation to respective embassies and consulates (VFS centers) on defined dates. Visa grant or rejection is at the sole discretion of the consulate.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• SOTC Travel: Formerly SOTC Travels, now part of Fairfax-backed business, offering group tours, customized holidays and corporate travel out of India. Competes head-to-head with Kesari on domestic and outbound itineraries.
• Thomas Cook (India): India's largest listed tour operator offering group tours, foreign exchange, and MICE services. Most directly comparable to Kesari on outbound group tour packages and forex bundling.
• Cox & Kings: Historic Indian outbound tour operator with group tour, customized holiday and education travel offerings. Closely mirrors Kesari's group-tour-led business model and brand-led heritage positioning.
• Veena World: Mumbai-based outbound group tour operator with similar product mix (group departures, custom holidays, specialty segments). Direct competitor to Kesari in Maharashtra and western India markets.

Others

• Balmer Lawrie (Travel & Vacations): Government-owned travel services division with corporate and leisure tour offerings. Indirect overlap with Kesari's MICE corporate segment and domestic package tours.

Broad incumbents

• Club Mahindra: Timeshare and family holiday brand operating vacation ownership resorts and packaged holidays across India and internationally. Overlaps with Kesari on family group travel and multi-destination itineraries.
• Yatra: Listed Indian OTA offering flights, hotels, holiday packages and corporate travel. Competes with Kesari's MICE arm and increasingly with its holiday package offerings.
• MakeMyTrip: India's largest OTA spanning flights, hotels, holidays and visa services. While primarily a self-booking platform, its holiday packages and MICE arm overlap with Kesari's outbound and corporate offerings.
• TUI India: Indian arm of global tourism major TUI Group, offering package holidays, charters and MICE services. Comparable to Kesari on outbound group departures and international tour packaging at scale.

Emerging players

• Cleartrip: Indian OTA owned by Flipkart (Walmart) with growing activities and holidays segment. Represents the OTA-led disintermediation trend that threatens traditional group-tour operators like Kesari.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Kesari_Tours
• Facebookfacebook.com/KesariTours

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kesari Tours