Crossing border: IRCTC ties up with General Sales Agents of Bangladesh

AK Manocha, IRCTC CMD 

BUOYED with the impressive success of internet ticketing and tourism verticals, IRCTC, the next generation e-ticketing system, has recently tied up with the GSAs (General Sales Agents) of Bangladesh.
The GSA scheme for registration of travel agents from outside India will facilitate booking of e-tickets of Indian Railways through IRCTC’s website www.irctc.co.in to the customers of the...
concerned countries, IRCTC said in a statement.
Apart from the internet ticket, the GSA agents will also have the facility to book the attractive tour packages of IRCTC.
This initiative envisages facilitating inbound foreign tourists and maintaining good relationships with foreign countries particularly the bordering and South Asian countries, it added.
The General Sales Agents scheme was initially launched by IRCTC way back in 2006 with the approval of Ministry of Railways. IRCTC has registered GSAs in the neighbouring countries to promote regional tourism of India.
Currently, IRCTC has 11 working GSAs in Nepal, London, Kuwait and UAE. Registration of 3 GSAs of Srilanka is also in pipeline.
“The GSA scheme will greatly enrich inbound tourists’ experiences visiting India and will help to get acquainted with the cultural heritage of India. This will also facilitate the strong bonding with the neighbouring countries” said Dr. Arun Kumar Manocha, CMD, IRCTC.
IRCTC clocked a turnover of Rs 1,506 crore in 2015-16 as compared to Rs 1,141 crore in 2014-15, registering a growth of 32 per cent. The PSU's net profit was pegged at Rs 189 crore during FY16 as against Rs 131 crore a year earlier. The internet ticketing contributed 43 per cent of IRCTC income by earning Rs 632.15 crore in FY16 as compared to Rs 308.12 crore in FY15 and emerged as the fastest growing e-commerce portal in India.