Mr. Peter Kerkar
Current Position : CEO
Mr Peter Kerkar is Promoter and Group CEO of Cox & Kings.
One of the oldest established travel companies in the world, the Cox & Kings story began in 1758. Peter Kerkar joined Cox & Kings’ London office in October 1986 at the age of 24 straight from Stanford University, US as its General Manager. Though his family had a stake in the company, his start was not smooth. The business was not doing well under the franchisee model with partners .Peter Kerkar has transformed Cox and Kings from a small UK tour operator into one of India’s largest travel companies providing high class International and Domestic travel through its Indian offices and global subsidiaries based in UK, Japan, UAE and Singapore. The company has grown by over 25 percent year on year beating industry estimates and is a leading player in South Asia.
He joined Board of Cox and Kings (India) Limited, in November 1993. Under Mr. Kerkar’s leadership, the company has forayed into online travel as the Indian traveller becomes more mature and tech savvy. Mr. Kerkars capability to turn adversity into an opportunity is visible through the successful launch of the company’s offline presence through franchisees as Travel Agency business models were disrupted by Online ticketing. From almost no frachisees in 2008, Cox & Kings successfully runs over 150 Franchisees. This provides a platform to the Enterpreneurial Instincts of the then existing Travel Agents looking for a way out.
The acquisition of Holiday Break is a feather in his cap. It is amongst the very few large Global acquisitions by an Indian Company which can be called a success. Mr. Kerkars Vision in this acquisition is expected to smoothen out the volatility of a pure Travel & Tourism business. The Educational piece is expected to provide the stability.
Qualification, Achievements & Awards
He is a graduate in arts (B.A.) with distinction in Anthropology from Stanford University, USA. It was under his tenure wherein Cox & Kings Travel Limited, expanded its product geographies from India to sell Latin America, Environmental Journeys, Special Interest Tours, Middle East, Africa, Egypt, China and the Far East.
Mr. Peter Kerkar, has awarded the 'World Travel Market Global Award' for his contribution to the travel industry at a glittering ceremony held in London in November 2008. The WTM Global Award is in recognition of Kerkar’s remarkable contribution to the region’s travel and tourism industry. In 2009, Cox & Kings was listed on Indian bourses for its market capitalization which was around Rs.1600 crore the largest travel company in India by revenue, among the top three in the world for special education tour programmes.
Personal & Interests
Mr.Peter Kerkar is married to Emma Tully daughter of Mark Tully the former BBC bureau chief in New Delhi has daughters Jessica and Nayantara. Kerkar has a strong connection to art and music. He is found of travelling and owns a home in Kerry, on the west coast of Ireland. He also enjoys painting and cycling and has a greater interest in cooking.
His innovative contributions to the Indian travel industry include being a founder member of the Word Travel and Tourism Council, India through to introducing the country’s first pan-Indian luxury train, soon to be launched in partnership with the Indian Railways.