A look at EXO Travel’s Journey as we gear up to celebrate our silver jubilee. Customs cleared, baggage collected and the doors open to a new destination. 

The story of EXO Travel began with a love affair with Vietnam that grew with the vision and passion of its founders, Olivier Colomes, Eric Merlin, Denis Colonna and Thuy Khang Tran. The company became the first foreign-owned company to receive a tourism operating licence and quickly exceeded its founder’s expectations.

“1993 was Vietnam’s very early days as a travel destination. It had huge potential but very limited resources in terms of infrastructure. We truly started from scratch, with just a few computers and a fax machine. It felt like we were exploring a new continent. It was really exciting to share our passion for Vietnam and, luckily for us, the French movie that came out in 1992, Indochine, portrayed a glamourous and adventurous image that placed Vietnam on the map and played a significant role in promoting it in the French market and beyond.” says Chief Executive Officer, Olivier Colomes.

The founders could have stopped there but, with their knack for business and passion for Asia, the company expanded beyond what they had first imagined. With the drive to work without compromise and with a positive can-do attitude, EXO Travel’s year-on-year growth has accumulated to a significant milestone this year – the company’s quarter-century anniversary. From its humble beginnings, EXO Travel has grown to become a truly global enterprise with more than 850 full-time staff across 25 offices throughout Asia and the world.

“It is a daily challenge to operate across 10 destinations in Asia with complex niche markets like tailor-made Free and Independent Travellers (FITs), experiential travel, groups and incentives, adventure travel and luxury travel. We constantly strive to find the best people who share the same passion and values, to create great products and deliver unique experiences. We always aim to maintain the best standards, which translates to very high customer satisfaction. Our vision is to be the number one DMC in Asia for quality, not quantity.” says Olivier.

The tourism industry is likely to continue evolving and growing at an ever-faster rate. As a large organisation, EXO Travel has resources in place and the means to invest in people and technology to remain on top of the competition and better serve our agents.

To Read more about the EXO Story, go here