At the WIT Conference last year in Singapore, we recognised 11 individuals whom we felt have had the most influence on the development of online travel in Asia Pacific. This is the fifth article in a series of interviews profiling the WIT Warriors.
As Phocuswright’s first analyst based in Asia, Ram Badrinathan was part of the early tribe that shaped and influenced the evolution of online travel, and was responsible for Phocuswright’s partnership with WIT from the very first event in 2005.
Each year, he brought his insights and knowledge to bear on our events and always provoked thought with his pronouncements, the most memorable of which was “Video is the new text” and he said this well before YouTube became a sensation. Today, he runs his own start-up, GlobalTHEN, and aspires to transform education.
Badrinathan: Deep Kaira proved that “nice guys can win in life and business”.
Q: Tell us your first memory of the Internet and what your thinking was at the time.
Yahoo, Netscape browser. Could look at pictures of what was happening in America – eternal fascination about going to universities abroad
Q: Do you recall your first email? Who was it to?
Yes clear memories. I used to work in advertising at JWT Kolkata. We used to get the Harvard Business Review and there was this excellent article on consumer marketing and I remember seeing the email of the Harvard professor and I wrote to him through our closed mail network (those days companies used to have closed mail networks) but this one went through and I got a reply. It was thrilling that I could a reply from someone at Harvard. It also created ripples in the office
Q: What was the first thing you bought online?
Don’t remember. Might have been a book on Rediff.com, a pioneer in Indian e-commerce who has diminished today
Q: What was the first thing you sold online?
Yet to have sold anything online! My camera lens on Olx.in is yet to sell
Q: How did you venture into online travel as an industry? What motivated you?
When I was in Ion Global in 2001 (E-business consulting arm of Chinadotcom), the head of research Brian Ardinger asked me to write a white paper on the intersection of travel and the internet in APAC. As I started writing it I got deeply interested in the space and excited. Once I finished writing, I didn’t know what to do with it and sent it to Philip Wolf, since during the research PhoCusWright kept coming up. Then Lorraine Sileo and Mike (now CEO of NBTA) contacted me for APAC project which resulted in the first APAC Online Travel Overview published in November 2002 and then I just grew with the growth of the space in APAC
Q: What were the earlier challenges you faced when you first entered the business and how did you overcome them?
- Research in APAC – Japan to India – is tough. What helped me was the drop in telephone tariffs, Skype, Internet, persistence
- Lack of hotel data – team of analysts who went through market by market. The tourism boards started doing useful research on hotel supply which helped
- Asians to pay for research: Still a challenge but fortunately the US and European companies were very keen on APAC which helped fuel their need to understand what is happening
Q: What was the first major milestone/success achieved? How did you celebrate
• Defining Research Studies: The first APAC Online Travel Overview was a milestone. I celebrated by devoting the next decade to online travel and becoming a permanent fixture with PhoCusWright. Research studies on India and China which had never been attempted before. Celebration was more companies using our reports to raise capital to fuel their markets
• 2006 Speech to APAC Online Travel Stakeholders at WIT – I remember the first presentation in 2006 which was special when Cambodia had also released an e-visa. It was very well received. We celebrated WIT style.
• As an entrepreneur with GlobalTHEN – Driver training product got its first paying customer and satisfied drivers. Just celebrated by persisting with my belief in what I was doing.
Q: What’s been the biggest change in the online travel world in the last decade?
Companies building truly Pan-Asian brands. Travel has a unique characteristic of demand being potentially globally but supply is local and market specific. Yet to see a break-out Pan Asia or Pan Global brand.
Also yet to see a breakthrough player globally other than Expedia, Priceline, Booking.com…Same top 3. Of course Uber has blitzed through.
Q: What do you forsee will be the biggest change to come in the next decade?
Love to see contextual, intelligent, semantic search come through. Been no real innovation in the buying experience on Priceline, Expedia etc in the past two decades.
Q: Do you think online travel is a force for good? How does it make travel better? How does it make the world better?
This question is moot – see the incredible adoption of TripAdvisor, OTAs, supplier website, YouTube content etc
Q: Businesses are built by teams. Every team has a rock star and a steward. Are you the rock star or steward? If you are the rock star, who’s your steward, the one behind the scenes making things happen. If you are the steward, to whom are you the steward?
Steward. The Rock Star is my partner Sourabh Sarkar. Since education is a domain I am learning, I surrender to learn, act like a sponge to execute the vision of my partner and evangelise where we want to be.
Q: If you could give an award, what award would it be and to whom would you give it?
I would give it to Deep Kalra. who showed that Nice Guys can win in life and business. Also I loved PhoCusWright. Philip built a beautiful, successful, respected small company.
Q: Who were your earliest influencers, the ones who inspired you?
Swapan Seth, CEO of Equus – when I was with Grey Advertising in 1994, he made me passionate about advertising
Steve Mckay, CEO and Founder of Entone – he was CEO at Ion Global, fabulous leader, sharp, motivator, super human being.
The PhoCusWright triumvirate of Philip, Lorraine and Bruce: One taught me travel strategy, the other research and the third taught sales.
Q: Who are your current influencers?
Sourabh Sarkar – my partner and Education Visionary. Founder of KarmYog Education Network
Ken Wilber – Philosopher, Sage, Scientist, Monk,
Q: One thing you feel you have influenced in the business
Been the defining third party Knowledge and Insight partner into the APAC Online Travel Business
Q: Who and what do you wish to influence in the next five years?
Answer here is simple: Transform Education in the Travel Tourism Hospitality Industry
