Riya Travels

What Riya Travels does

Riya Travels, established in 1980 in Mumbai by GMJ Thampy, is a privately held Indian travel and tourism conglomerate that operates 10 business verticals spanning the full travel services value chain: visa processing (Riya Travels), B2B/B2C travel agency (Riya Travel & Tours), holiday packages (Riya Holidays), marine travel for seafarers (Riya Marine Travel), overseas education consulting (Riya Study Abroad), IATA-certified training (Riya Institute of Hospitality), corporate travel management (Riya Business Travel), immigration consulting (Riya Migration Consultants), rail services (RLTC), and dedicated visa services (Riya Visa Services). The company serves 75,000+ travel agents across India, the USA, Canada, the UAE, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and the Philippines, supported by 2,000+ employees across 60+ locations.

Riya's technology stack centers on a B2B platform portfolio that includes Riya Connect (a comprehensive agent portal with 15+ travel products), TrvlNxt (a global inventory portal for worldwide B2B partners), RBT Cliq (a corporate self-booking tool with travel policy configurability and 100% uptime), Queue Ticketing (PNR management), RVIS (visa information services), and ASK RIYA (an AI-powered chatbot for agent support). Inventory integrations span 1,000+ airlines (including LCC, FSC, and NDC content), 200,000+ hotels, 3,200+ bus operators, and rail inventory through IRCTC. The company is an authorized IRCTC e-ticketing agent and holds 20 RBI-authorized forex licenses.

Riya generates revenue primarily through transaction-based commissions on airline, hotel, and travel service bookings, supplemented by managed-services fees for corporate travel, transaction fees for visa processing, professional services for study abroad and migration consulting, and subscription-based course fees for IATA-certified training. The company reports turnover of nearly INR 16,000 crores (~$1.9B), claims approximately 20% market share of the Indian travel market, and has won "India's Leading Travel Agency" at the World Travel Awards for three consecutive years (2020-2022). Go-to-market spans B2B (channel partners, API integrations), B2C (riya.travel portal, 35+ Indian branches), and enterprise field sales for corporate accounts.

Name

Riya Travels

Legal name

Riya Travel & Tours India Private Limited

Website

https://riyagroup.travel

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Riya Travels is a privately held Indian travel conglomerate operating 10 verticals including visa processing, B2B/B2C travel agency, corporate travel, marine, study abroad, and migration services. It serves 75,000+ travel agents and individual consumers across 60+ locations in 7 countries, with reported turnover of ~INR 16,000 crores.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Travel and Tourism Services

NAICS

Travel Agencies (561510), Travel Agencies (56151), Tour Operators (56152), Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services (5615)

SIC

Transportation Services (4700)

akta.pro primary industry

Online/Hybrid Corporate Travel Agencies (Self-Booking + Support) (THAKACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Travel Policy, Approval & Compliance Software (THAKANAC), Corporate Travel CRM, Case/Ticketing & Service Workflow Tools (THAKANAL), Meetings & Group Travel Management (Corporate/MICE) (THALANAH)

Keywords

• Travel agency services
• Corporate travel management
• Visa processing services
• B2B travel booking platform
• Study abroad consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Mumbai

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices52 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Travel Agency Services: Commission-based revenue from airline bookings, hotel bookings, and other travel services facilitated through platform
2. Corporate Travel Management: Managed travel services for corporate clients with expense management and travel policy compliance
3. Visa Processing Services: Visa facilitation services for individuals, groups, travel agents, SMEs, and corporations
4. Study Abroad Services: University placement and student visa assistance services
5. Training Institute: IATA-certified travel and tourism training programs generating course fee revenue

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Riya Travels (Riya Group) is a Mumbai-based travel and tourism conglomerate that sells end-to-end travel services across nine business verticals: full-service travel agency bookings (flights, hotels, rail, cruises, buses), Gulf visa processing (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait), holiday packages, corporate travel management, study abroad consulting, immigration/migration services, marine travel for seafarers, rail ticketing (IRCTC), and IATA-certified travel training. It distributes these services through a B2B portal (Riya Connect, TrvlNxt) used by 75,000+ travel agents, a B2C portal (riya.travel) and 35+ branches for consumers, and RBT Cliq for enterprise corporate clients.

Product overview

Riya Travels operates as a comprehensive travel and tourism conglomerate with a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offerings span 10 business divisions: Riya Travels (Gulf visa and ticketing established 1980), Riya Travel & Tours (full-service B2B/B2C agency), Riya Holidays (package holidays), Riya Marine Travel (shipping industry travel), Riya Study Abroad (student placement), Riya Institute of Hospitality (IATA-certified education), Riya Business Travel (corporate management), Riya Migration Consultants (immigration), RLTC (rail tourism), and Riya Visa Services (standalone visa processing). These are supported by 6 technology platforms: Riya Connect (B2B agent portal), TrvlNxt (global inventory for worldwide partners), RBT Cliq (corporate self-booking), Queue Ticketing (PNR management), RVIS (visa information), and Creative Library (marketing assets). The portfolio also includes product features for Air, Hotel, Forex, and Travel Insurance booking.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Riya Connect: Comprehensive B2B platform for travel partners offering access to 15+ travel products and services, global partnerships, and seamless online bookings.
• TrvlNxt
• RBT Cliq
• Queue Ticketing
• RVIS (Riya Visa Information Services)
• Creative Library

Products and services

• Riya Travels (Gulf Visa Services) Specialized Gulf visa processing service for Saudi Arabia and Kuwait employment, family visit, and tourist visas, authorized across diplomatic missions for individuals, families, and groups migrating to or visiting the Middle East.
• Riya Travel & Tours Full-service B2B and B2C travel agency offering over 15 travel solutions including flight, hotel, holiday, visa, forex, and insurance products for travel partners and consumers in India and abroad.
• Riya Holidays Holiday package service offering hundreds of curated domestic and international packages, Holyland tours, customized group travel, MICE, and weddings for individual and group travelers.
• Riya Marine Travel Specialized marine travel management for shipping companies, ship manning companies, and seafarers offering flexible last-minute booking, affordable accommodation, and visa services through a global network.
• Riya Study Abroad Study abroad consultancy partnering with universities in New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Sweden, UK, and Switzerland to provide placement, test preparation (IELTS/TOEFL/German), scholarship guidance, and visa assistance for international students.
• Riya Institute of Hospitality IATA-certified travel and tourism training institute offering a 12-month Global Tourism Management program, 6-month IATA Foundation Diploma in Travel & Tourism with GDS Amadeus, and short-term Travel Consultant, Specialist, and GDS training programs.
• Riya Business Travel Corporate travel management division offering enterprise clients travel expense management, low fare search engine, policy compliance, data security (GDPR-compliant), and MIS reporting through the RBT Cliq self-booking platform.
• Riya Migration Consultants Immigration consultancy offering consultation, skilled worker visa, spouse/family immigration, and investor/business immigration services to Canada, UK, USA, New Zealand, Australia, and Europe in partnership with regulated authorities such as IRCC (Canada) and MARA (Australia).
• RLTC (Rail Travel) Railway business wing operating as an authorized IRCTC e-ticketing agent, offering rail ticketing solutions, rail tourism products, and IRCTC OTP and Dongle products for agents and travelers across India.
• Riya Visa Services Standalone visa processing vertical offering dedicated visa services for individuals, groups, travel agents, SMEs, corporate clients, and seafarers across multiple destination countries.
• Riya Connect (B2B Booking Platform) B2B booking portal for travel partners providing access to over 15 travel products and services, 1,000+ airline partnerships, 200,000+ hotels, and global inventory on a commission-based model for the travel trade community.
• TrvlNxt (Global B2B Travel Portal) Global travel inventory portal for B2B partners worldwide enabling instant booking of global fares, hotels, rail, and cruises with competitive and transparent pricing, advanced filters, and 24x7 support.
• RBT Cliq (Corporate Self-Booking Tool) Self-booking tool for corporate travel management enabling configurable travel policies, single-screen air and hotel rate comparison, expense management, GDPR-compliant data security, and MIS reporting for enterprise clients.
• RVIS (Riya Visa Information Services) Visa information platform providing updated country-wise visa information including checklists, document requirements, visa fees, embassy and VAC coordinates for travel partners and consumers to plan visa submissions.

Quantifiable outcome

• INR 16,000 crores turnover achieved as India's leading travel company
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• 1,000+ Airlines (LCC, FSC, NDC)coreTechnology or IntegrationPartnerships with over 1,000 airlines including Low-Cost Carriers (LCC), Full-Service Carriers (FSC), and NDC content providers for comprehensive flight booking capabilities
• 200,000+ HotelscoreTechnology or IntegrationGlobal hotel inventory partnerships providing access to over 2 lakh hotel properties worldwide for booking through Riya Connect and TrvlNxt platforms
• IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partnership with IRCC for immigration services to Canada, facilitating skilled worker immigration, spouse/family immigration, and investor immigration
• MARA (Migration Agents Registration Authority, Australia)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partnership with MARA for Australian immigration services, working with regulated immigration experts
• IATA (International Air Transport Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIATA certification partnership for training programs including IATA Foundation Diploma in Travel & Tourism with GDS Amadeus from Montreal, Canada
• GDS AmadeuscoreTechnology or IntegrationGlobal Distribution System partnership providing access to Amadeus for travel bookings and IATA-certified training programs
• International UniversitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with universities in New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Sweden, UK, Switzerland for student placement and study abroad services
• TATA AIG General InsurancecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTravel insurance partnership with TATA AIG recognized with Travel Connect Awards 2023 Rank 1 for outstanding performance in retail travel insurance business
• IRCTCcoreTechnology or IntegrationAuthorized IRCTC E-ticketing agent partnership for railway ticketing solutions including OTP and Dongle products for rail bookings
• 3,200+ Bus OperatorsTechnology or IntegrationPartnerships with over 3,200 private and government bus operators providing access to 350,000+ bus routes across India

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Cleartrip: India-based OTA (now majority-owned by Flipkart/Walmart) operating flights, hotels, and holidays — competes directly with Riya's B2C booking portal in the Indian consumer segment.
• Cox & Kings: Historic India heritage travel company offering outbound tours, visas, and corporate travel — comparable to Riya Holidays and Riya Travels on outbound leisure and visa services, though currently in financial restructuring.
• Thomas Cook (India): One of India's largest legacy travel conglomerates offering leisure, corporate, MICE, foreign exchange, and visa services — directly comparable to Riya's multi-vertical Indian travel business and overlapping Gulf-visa heritage.
• Yatra Online: Listed Indian OTA competing in flights, hotels, holidays, and corporate travel — directly comparable to Riya Travel & Tours and Riya Business Travel on consumer and corporate booking flows.
• Akbar Travels: India/Kerala-headquartered travel agency with a heritage focus on Gulf visas, airline ticketing, and B2B distribution to agents — the closest direct competitor to Riya's legacy Gulf-visa and Kerala branch book of business.
• SOTC Travel: India-headquartered travel company providing leisure holidays, corporate travel, and MICE — closely comparable to Riya Holidays and Riya Business Travel on both B2C and B2B fronts in India.
• MakeMyTrip: India's leading online travel agency for flights, hotels, and holidays — directly competes with Riya Connect and riya.travel in B2C and B2B flight/hotel distribution, and represents the dominant digital challenger to Riya's model.

Broad incumbents

• Flight Centre Travel Group: Global leisure and corporate travel retailer with India operations — comparable to Riya Holidays and Riya Business Travel on multi-country retail/storefront travel distribution.
• BCD Travel: Global corporate travel management company with strong India presence — comparable to Riya Business Travel on enterprise managed-travel, expense, and policy-compliance solutions, though much larger and global.
• CWT (Carlson Wagonlit): Global corporate travel management player with India operations — competes with Riya Business Travel on enterprise accounts and policy/SBT tooling, and provides a benchmark for global TMC scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/riyatravelindia
• Facebookfacebook.com/riyatravelind
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/riyatravelind

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries10 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 Riya Travels