Compass India Inc. was founded by me in August 2001 and started with a writing desk, a computer and a printer at home. I wanted to help individual and independent travelers see India in a unobtrusive and leisurely way for the right price. A little more than six years later it is a 3 million dollar company employing 25 young professionals and supporting households and the industry diligently. We still handle independent tours and I still design and help my consultants plan holidays for my valued guests. Travelers using our services still go back happy and 35 % of our business is repeat and referral which makes us work even harder.

As an young entrepreneur who has done business in India for more than six years now, I have been frustrated by the lack of interest India (the country, the successful Indians staying abroad, we as young Indians and the advertising firms promoting the country) takes in promoting itself as a destination for business or tourism. Even though I understand the historic background for India's independent stance in the world, sometimes it seems as if India has actually chosen to marginalize itself in areas like international business and tourism where a more thoughtful and inviting stance would serve it well. Nevertheless to most, India remains a mystery clouded by negative misconceptions. Of course, I've adored years of my traveling in India first as a student then as a hotelier and now as a tourism consultant.

If I were to describe what is wonderful and special about travel in India I would say: it`s safe, it has an intact culture, it`s exotic, it has gorgeous, luxurious and historic places to stay and visit, it has a huge and highly educated middle-class, you can speak English everywhere, it's very safe for women, it is the world's largest democracy, it's pluralistic and amazingly beautiful. I could go on and on. I'd even go with what witty Diana Vreeland, that outrageous genius and former editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine, stated, "Pink is the Navy Blue of India".

As a tourist destination, I think if India were really to be marketed properly, it would attract the kind of older and more educated travelers who are passionate about exploring different cultures and history of our world. They are also more affluent and understand service. These are the Americans and Europeans who generally travel to Mexico, Turkey, Morocco, Thailand, Peru and most of all to China. Many have been to all these countries, but NOT to India.

Being in the hotel and tourism industry for almost 15 years now I think I fairly understand this segment and have tried to put together some extraordinary personalizetd tours in India that reflect any number of interests a foreign traveler might have.

As a hotel professional who has worked on the initial days of "branding" Howard Johnson Hotels and Motels in India to the present tour consultant designing customized tours for the demanding and extremely service conscious world travelers, I consider myself a merchant who knows how to market to the modern day consumer.

I try to make a difference when you travel to India with COMPASS and work on all aspects of your travel all through right till the end. Initially I used to have problems with the "trust" factor being thousands of miles away in a country not too well known to the world as a "developing country" but as a "third world country".

Our well wishers and "travelers turned friends" helped us and we came out with our first foreign representation in the form of a liaison and PR office in New York, USA in the year 2002. Now, we have taken another step and tied up with Ms. Susan Hunter of Hunter Vacations in Arizona, USA as the Marketing and Operations Office taking care of some important issues like airline ticketing and travel insurance where we needed a lot of support. Ms. Hunter brings in more than two decades of experience in travel and is an IATA approved professional known for her ticketing & routing skills on major international airlines. She also handles travel insurance for all her guests.

We always wanted our travelers to get the best deal and that does not mean just the tour in India but also everything else that came with it. Most importantly I needed my guests in India to be not only safe at all times but feeling happy also.

Compass India Inc.