KV Abdul Nazar, Akbar Travel CMD
A youth from lower middle class family from a small and non-descript town of Kerala state in India left for Mumbai in 1977 with big dreams on his way to Dubai — the land of petrogold.
In the 1960s, small vessels (dhows) carried passengers to Gulf points as there were not many flights. The youth was KV Abdul Nazar, the present CMD of Akbar Group. This visionary with guts and strong willpower is a role model in business following a fair measure of success and glory.
Akbar Travels of India was established in 1978 by Nazar’s father. He managed a travel agency in a 350 square feet office in Janjikar Street, Mumbai. Nazar’s father used to help the devout travel from various locations in India to Haj and charge only a nominal fee for the services.
By the end of 1978, Nazar joined his father and gave the Akbar brand a new fillip. Now the company had grown as a banyan tree with 60 IATA branches and 30 satellite offices employing over 3,000 travel professionals. Since the year 2000, Akbar Travels mammoth growth has led it to a pinnacle position in travel market. It has reached the No. 1 position with an annual turnover of more than Rs. 4,000 crores.
Not resting with achievements in India, Akbar Group has spread its wings and expanded to become a global player. In 2006, the first overseas operation was started in Sharjah, UAE. In no time the Sharjah branch succeeded to establish exclusive services to gain top customer satisfaction.
The expansion of Sharjah led to the opening of 14 major outlets in all of the UAE. The success story in the UAE led to the opening of branches in other GCC countries —Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia. And with a latest opening of New York and Kuwait branches, the Akbar brand is all set to enter the Bahrain and Kuala Lumpur market as well.
Akbar Travels now has around 20 other divisions like Akbar Travel Online, Car rentals, Insurance Services, Akbar Forex, Akbar Express Cargo, Benzy Transport services, Akbar Visa services, Akbar Hajj & Umrah, Benzy Infotech, Akbar Holidays, etc. each outstanding in their areas of operation. — SG
