Route Makers
Route Makers is a privately held, New Delhi–based inbound tour operator founded in 2005, selling curated multi-country tour packages to India, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar directly to international leisure travelers through its website.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersNew Delhi, India
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Route Makers does
Route Makers is a privately held inbound tour operator founded in 2005 and headquartered in New Delhi, India. The company designs and sells curated tour packages covering India and the broader South and Southeast Asian region, including Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. Its catalog spans cultural and heritage circuits (Golden Triangle, Royal Rajasthan), regional deep-dives (Kerala, Gujarat, Odisha, Ladakh), wildlife safaris, pilgrimage routes, Himalaya treks, and short transitory stopovers, with itineraries ranging from roughly 6 to 21 days.
The business operates on a direct-to-consumer model, selling exclusively through its own website and email/query channel with no third-party resellers or travel agency distribution. Customers pay a 20% non-refundable deposit at booking with the balance due 30 days before arrival, and full payment for bookings within 30 days of travel; cancellation penalties scale from 10% to 100% depending on lead time. The firm holds Ministry of Tourism, Government of India approval and Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) membership, and supports multilingual customer servicing in English, French, and Spanish. The underlying technology stack is minimal — a content website, blog, and basic social media presence — with no proprietary platform, app, or AI-driven tooling disclosed.
Route Makers is a sole proprietorship led by founder Pankaj Sharma with approximately 6 employees, indicating a small lifestyle-services business rather than a venture-scale operator. There is no evidence of institutional funding, external investors, acquisitions, or material headcount growth in the available data. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed. The company's economic model is fundamentally high-touch and relationship-driven, reliant on ground-supplier networks across five countries and personalized itinerary design rather than scalable technology.
Route Makers firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Route Makers
- Legal name
- Route Makers
- Website
- https://routemakers.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Route Makers is a privately held, New Delhi–based inbound tour operator founded in 2005, selling curated multi-country tour packages to India, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar directly to international leisure travelers through its website.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Route Makers industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Inbound Tour Operator Services
- NAICS
- Tour Operators (561520)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cultural/Heritage Multi-Day Tour Operators (THAKADAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Multi-Country/Regional Circuit Tour Operators (THAKADAK)
Keywords
Where Route Makers is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New Delhi
- HQ country
- India
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Route Makers business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Tour Packages and Travel Services: Route Makers generates revenue through selling complete tour packages that include transportation, accommodation, sightseeing, and guide services. Payments are accepted via bank wire transfer with a 20% non-refundable deposit at booking, with the balance due 30 days before arrival. For bookings within 30 days of arrival, full payment is required.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
Route Makers product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Route Makers is a tour operator that sells curated inbound travel packages to India and neighboring South Asian countries (Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar). Packages include transportation, accommodation, guided sightseeing, and experiential activities such as cultural heritage tours, wildlife safaris, pilgrimage trips, beach holidays, and adventure itineraries, booked directly with travelers via its website and email/phone communication.
Product overview
Route Makers is a tour operator offering curated travel packages primarily focused on India and neighboring countries including Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The company provides a portfolio of tour packages organized by destination region and travel theme. The core product line consists of India Tour Packages covering diverse regions (North, South, Central, East, West, Himalaya, Wildlife, Islands) with itineraries ranging from short 4-6 day tours to comprehensive multi-week experiences. Regional tour products include Bhutan (Enigmatic Bhutan, Himalayan Kingdom), Myanmar (Mingalarbar Myanmar - 21 days), Nepal (Classical Nepal, Kathmandu Mustang Valley), and Sri Lanka (Ayubowan Srilanka, Experience Srilanka). Additional services include online query submission and personalized travel consultation with multilingual staff.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Tour to India Packages
Companies that use Route Makers
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Route Makers technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Route Makers partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Route Makers competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- SOTC Travel: SOTC Travel is a large Indian outbound and inbound tour operator offering packages across India, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka with similar destination coverage and multi-day escorted itineraries, but at significantly greater scale than Route Makers.
- Cox & Kings: Cox & Kings is a heritage Indian tour operator with deep inbound India and South Asia offerings, heritage and cultural circuits, and multilingual servicing, making it a directly comparable legacy competitor to Route Makers.
- Thomas Cook (India): Thomas Cook India operates inbound, outbound, and domestic tour packages across South Asia with both retail and corporate channels, directly competing for the same international tourist segment Route Makers serves.
- MakeMyTrip: MakeMyTrip is India's leading OTA aggregating flights, hotels, and tour packages; while not a direct boutique tour operator, it competes for the same inbound/outbound leisure travel wallet and influences Route Makers' distribution landscape.
Direct peers
- Kesari Tours: Kesari Tours is an established Indian DMC and tour operator running escorted group tours across India and South Asia with similar itineraries (Golden Triangle, Rajasthan, Kerala) and overlapping cultural-tour customer base.
- Le Passage to India: Le Passage to India is a French-Indian inbound tour operator specializing in cultural, heritage, and tailor-made tours across India and South Asia, with French-language service — directly comparable to Route Makers' cultural-heritage niche and multilingual positioning.
- Veena World: Veena World is a mid-sized Indian tour operator offering multi-country packages across India, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka with similar customer segments and escorted tour formats, but at larger scale.
- Indian Holiday Pvt. Ltd. Indian Holiday is an inbound tour operator selling curated India tour packages online across North, South, East, and West India with similar DTC website model and international tourist target segment.
- Mercury Travels: Mercury Travels is a Delhi-based inbound tour operator providing customized India and South Asia tour packages for foreign tourists, directly comparable in geography, customer segment, and product format.
Emerging players
- TUI India (TUI Musement / TUI India): TUI is a global tourism major with tours and experiences in India and South Asia, comparable to Route Makers at the product-category level (multi-day cultural and leisure tours), though operating at far greater scale and via different channels.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Route Makers social profiles
Digital presenceRoute Makers compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Route Makers financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Route Makers leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Route Makers funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Route Makers M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Route Makers
What does Route Makers do?
Route Makers is a tour operator that sells curated inbound travel packages to India and neighboring South Asian countries (Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar). Packages include transportation, accommodation, guided sightseeing, and experiential activities such as cultural heritage tours, wildlife safaris, pilgrimage trips, beach holidays, and adventure itineraries, booked directly with travelers via its website and email/phone communication.
Is Route Makers a public or private company?
Route Makers is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Route Makers founded?
Route Makers was founded in 2005. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Route Makers based?
Route Makers is headquartered in New Delhi, India, in the Asia region.
How does Route Makers make money?
One revenue line is on record: tour Packages and Travel Services.
Who are Route Makers's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are SOTC Travel, Cox & Kings, Thomas Cook (India) and MakeMyTrip. Direct peers are Kesari Tours, Le Passage to India, Veena World, Indian Holiday Pvt. Ltd. and Mercury Travels. TUI India (TUI Musement / TUI India) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Route Makers have an API?
No public API is recorded for Route Makers.
What industry is Route Makers in?
Route Makers's product category is Inbound Tour Operator Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAKADAF, Cultural/Heritage Multi-Day Tour Operators, with a secondary code of THAKADAK, Multi-Country/Regional Circuit Tour Operators. Its NAICS code is 561520 and its SIC code is 7900.