How Goodwind Moto Tours is taking India's motorcycle tourism global

The hallmark of premium travel is now more about the experiences offered than just the destinations themselves. Riding this shift is Goodwind Moto Tours, a homegrown company founded by three former corporate executives who turned their shared passion for motorcycling into a premium experiential travel business. What began as a bootstrapped venture just before the pandemic has since evolved into an international motorcycle touring company operating across Asia, Europe and Africa, with a loyal community of repeat riders and ambitious global expansion plans.

In this conversation with The Economic Times Digital, Anil Nair, Co-founder of Goodwind Moto Tours, talks about how he teamed up with Amit Desai and John Francis to identify a gap in India's motorcycle touring ecosystem, building a premium brand in a niche market, scaling the business without compromising on experience, and why India needs to move beyond sightseeing to create world-class experiential tourism offerings. Edited excerpts.

The Economic Times (ET): All three of you left successful corporate careers to build Goodwind Moto Tours. What gap did you see in the motorcycle touring market that convinced you there was room for a premium player?

Anil Nair (AN): Before we became entrepreneurs and started Goodwind Moto Tours, we were all customers of other motorcycle touring companies. As customers, we completed many tours, solo, group, organized (in India and abroad). In that process we could see the difference between the standard of service and the product offering available in mature markets like Europe (where tours are designed mainly for American customers), and the service levels for tours that are available in India.

Looking at that gap, we felt there is an opportunity to bring a combination of professionalism and warmth to deliver a unique experience in the motor touring segment, at par with global standards.

Also, we have felt that as a motorcycle touring company; the highlight is when we actually bring the riders together and create a community feeling or a camaraderie/ brotherhood feeling, which is something that we have actively baked into our product from day one.

Thus, we felt this was an opportunity that we should tap into. And by delivering a high-quality service that is -more often than not- better than most motorcycle touring companies, the customer will be happy to pay a small premium over what is available in the market.

ET: Premium experiential travel is becoming increasingly crowded. How does Goodwind Moto Tours differentiate itself from other motorcycle tour operators, both in India and internationally?
AN: As I mentioned earlier, adventure tourism or adventure travel has few components. One is the adventure itself. The second is the personal experience that you derive from the adventure. And the third is the service aspect of it - How do we as hosts make them feel (while on tour)?

We focus a lot on the fact that, though the adventure or the thrill is one part of it. The service and the resulting overall experience aspect are equally important.

For a motorcyclist, the ride during the day (when he/she rides through exciting roads, phenomenal views, and then reaches a great destination by evening) is, to us, only 50% of the entire deal.

Once settled in for the day… The experience of socialising in the evening with others or the connection that he/she feels through sharing that collective experience or sharing her/his perspective with others, as well as gaining value from others' perspective; adds so much more of richness to the overall experience of the entire day (for everyday of the tour). That aspect is very important to us.

So, at Goodwind, this is an integral part of our service experience. A customer's experience of our product or our brand doesn't stop with the end of the day’s ride. It continues after the ride as well, all the way until the end of the day. The evenings are just as important for us at Goodwind.

ET: Can you share the scale of the business today? What are your annual revenues, how many riders do you serve each year, and what growth have you seen since inception?
AN: We are a private Ltd company, and we don't wish to get into our absolute business numbers, but I can give you a few indicators.

Though first, let me just talk about the start of our journey. We incorporated the company in 2019 and planned to target the 2020 summer touring season for a few exciting Indian tours (Ladakh etc) that were in the works. Unfortunately, the world went into a lockdown, and travel and tourism was the hardest hit industry.

So, we had to pivot from our original plans and start doing short rides with safety and health protocols in place. So, from that time, when we were doing smaller tours (2020), to our first international tour just after COVID in 2021, the situation was difficult. Keep in mind we also had to navigate all the international lockdown protocols in play. Thus, we were barely in single-digit lakh turnover territory. But today, I'm proud to say seven years later, we are close to closing at a million dollars of top line. We hope that we'll reach that milestone in this financial year. This milestone has multiple components to it; what started as just a domestic touring vertical, then evolved to also combine an international outbound tour vertical, and then a significant and fast-growing inbound market vertical has also started opening for us. Our product in this third (inbound vertical) attracts tourists and international riders from all over the world who are looking at touring in India, Bhutan, and even Southeast Asia through us.

And we see ourselves growing in all aspects. We're growing from having probably 20-25 riders in year one to now having served well over 500 riders. Plus, we have a strong core community of 300-plus customers who stay associated with us in our community groups, which is a very active and collective community. The best part about our business is that almost 30% to 35% of our revenue from every tour is repeat business, and we have had some customers who have done every tour that we have put out.

ET:How much capital have you invested in building the company so far? Has the business been entirely bootstrapped, and do you see a need for external capital as you expand globally?
AN: Goodwind was bootstrapped from day one. We didn't start with any external capital. All three founders moved their investments and life savings into the business to support it.

And till recently, we were totally self-funded, but we have taken in a few investors. Not that we went out in the market looking for the money. They were our customers, our well-wishers, almost like our mentors, who wanted to take part in the organization. Therefore, we also felt that their coming on board will add tremendous strength to our strategic thinking and business-building capabilities.

So it is not for any financial reason that we have taken in those investors. We are actually expanding the company and that capital has come in purely for the future growth and the global growth. But otherwise, we are a profit-making company now.

ET: Your customers include entrepreneurs, CXOs, doctors, and professionals. What does the economics of a premium motorcycle tour look like, and how do you ensure healthy margins while delivering a high-end experience?
AN: Potential customers often question our premium pricing in the larger market. This is because the market is filled with value offerings that use price as a customer attraction feature. We don't believe in that strategy.

We believe in the fact that the service or the product that we deliver will justify the price and the value. Thankfully, our customers, when they have experienced us, can really see where the premium is coming from and how the pricing works for them.

So, we meet all kinds of people. There are absolute bargain hunters, and there are experience seekers. Because we refuse to compromise on anything that could affect delivering a superior product, we are not a brand for bargain hunters. It's a very tight margin business. We have a significant part of outflow that happens because of big payments for motorcycle rentals, hotels, and the works.

Plus, we have a challenge because a significant part of our business is an outbound business, where we have to pay partners in other countries for their services and their offerings. There is severe inflation in Europe, and in the last seven years, we have seen prices skyrocket. The devaluation of the rupee against the dollar and euro has also significantly increased our sticker price with no significant addition or margin expansion.

ET: You now operate across Europe, Africa and Asia. What determines the next destination you add, and what are your expansion plans over the next three to five years?
AN: We currently operate across three continents, which are Asia, Europe, and Africa. We will definitely look at the other two continents, which are Australia and the Americas. Both are in the works, and we hope that we will plant our flag in these new continents in the next calendar year itself. One significant thing that we do in our business is that we constantly study travel destinations from a motorcycling perspective.

We already have 20 destinations that we would like to open tours for. We take a few at a time, do desk research, and put in a lot of homework. Eventually, we do what we call the product development work, which is the recce tours. We explore those markets or those destinations on our own and evaluate it from the perspective of the attractiveness that it can give to our customers, the experience possibilities, and of course, the financial aspect of whether it could be a tour that is financially viable.

Post that we put it out on the calendar for the coming year. So it is based on research. It is also based on constantly keeping ears to the ground and mapping the competition.

ET: Motorcycle touring isn't just about beautiful routes. It involves safety, logistics, regulations, and local partnerships. What have been the biggest operational challenges in scaling this business across multiple countries?
AN: There are multiple operational challenges when we scale this business across countries. The first and foremost of it is to ensure that the core product, which is about the daily motorcycle route and the entire riding experience, has to be mapped perfectly with the right amount of spots mapped for rest and refreshment, meals, and experiences. Keeping everyone safe is also a top priority. Despite that focus incidents can still happen. Having a great medical support system and plan is challenging in many remote locations.

The second operational challenge is to find the ideal partner who can logistically support us with backup vans and mechanical support, etc. Also, finding and partnering with a great bike rental company, especially on faraway continents, can be a challenge

And last but not the least, the biggest challenge for taking Indians anywhere in the world is the visa process and the challenge of timelines (which vary from country to country), the requirements, and the paperwork. We faced significant operational challenges in procuring visas on time; some tours were badly affected because a consulate delayed issuing the visa even after we applied months in advance.

ET: You argue that India now needs experiences worth travelling for, not just destinations. What policy or industry changes do you believe are essential to position India as a global leader in premium experiential tourism?
AN : We believe India has the potential to offer experiential tourism or adventure, but we need to look at it slightly differently. We need to truly understand that tourism is not just about seeing sights and returning. Today, the premium for unique experiences is much higher than the regular seeing of attractions and going back. Our thinking is to move away from just hosting people to visit attractions and instead to give them curated experiences. And there, the challenges of geography or topography or weather will not be a huge impediment. Sometimes it can add to the whole aspect that if you actually see the North Pole expeditions or things like the Northern Lights, it's in a very challenging environment, but that is what people go there for. And we can definitely look at how we can use the unique opportunities that we have in India for curated experiences.

But I think, right from the policymaker perspective and the tourism industry, I think we are too focused on only showcasing monuments and a sightseeing kind of world where either nature or monuments become the front and center of the entire thing. I think we need to look at building a different infrastructure around adventure experiences.

ET: Many international travellers perceive India as exciting but operationally challenging. How can curated experiences help reshape these perceptions and strengthen Brand India on the global tourism map?
AN: For most global travelers, there are many challenges as far as India is concerned because our infrastructure development has not been at world-class levels, except for certain cities. Especially around many historical sites, we struggle to provide basic facilities for visiting travelers. And there are also the added challenge of our enormous population and the challenges that population brings to our everyday life out there.

This can be overwhelming for anyone who's coming into the country, especially from the Western world. However, our opportunity also lies in these completely contrarian, contrasting experiences we can give them from their day-to-day life. If we put in an infrastructure that provides basic hygienic and comfortable amenities, and package and market them as a unique and challenging experience, there will be a different traveler who's willing to come in and look at our country.

ET: As experiential tourism gains momentum worldwide, what role do you see companies like Goodwind Moto Tours playing in driving inbound tourism and creating long-term economic value for local communities across India?
AN: We believe companies like Goodwind Moto Tours will play roles that are front and center in this transformation in our approach to tourism and creating long-term economic value. Startups or emerging companies like us and similar companies across the spectrum, if empowered, will absolutely channelize their entire energy to work with the authorities, the government, to build the ideal structure because we are driven by the demand or rather the need fulfillment criteria of the adventure travelers of the world.

We believe that if we are empowered and if the authorities are willing to listen to us, they will gain a great deal of understanding and hence create the policy and build an infrastructure basis the same. I am sorry to say, but it is sometimes extremely disheartening because the authorities look at adventure guys as something which is not very significant and do not see the opportunity. Many of the policies out there are discouraging for such things because India never looked at it seriously.

We face harassment by authorities while we are on a tour because they see us as a “nuisance “or a rich man's indulgence. While we understand the importance of keeping a socialistic framework on the ground, if we understand that this is aimed at a different audience and which can really help us in the long term, then I think the attitudes need to change.