Kuoni Travel Group India has decided to bring changes in its top management in an attempt to revamp its business operations in the fast-growing travel and tourism sector in the next two months. Kuoni, which operates in India through its tour operator subsidiary, SOTC, and visa processing division, VFS, will create separate managements for its two companies as per a report in the Economic times.

Rajiv Duggal will join Kuoni India from rival TUI India, where he is currently the Chief Operating Office (COO). Zubin Karkaria, who has been the MD for the last six years, will become the Non-executive Chairman. Karkaria will now be the Managing Director (MD) of the Swiss multinational's visa services company, VFS Global, which handles Visa applications for US, UK, Canada and Australia.

Kuoni, Thomas Cook, Cox & Kings and other tour operators are rushing to expand their presence in the country, where a growing economy, increasing disposable income and a large number of domestic and international tourists are driving demand for travel services. Nearly six million foreign tourists arrived in India in 2010, a growth of 9.3% over the previous year.

Zurich-based Kuoni entered the Indian market in 1996 by acquiring SOTC, then a foremost outbound tour operator and since then it has grown to be country’s largest travel services firm with revenues of nearly Rs 2,400 crore.

The travel and tourism industry is expected to grow at an annual rate of 8% over the next 10 years. India is also poised to be ranked 3rd in terms of annual growth in travel & tourism demand between 2010 and 2019. According to World Travel and Tourism Council, the contribution of travel and tourism sector to India's GDP is expected to reach $187.3 billion by 2019 from the current $6.73 billion in March 2010.

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