“Today is the day when payments are due to airlines and in some cases we make the payments directly in euros. Obviously I am not happy with an exchange rate of RON 4.18/euro; RON3 per one euro would have been perfect,” Pavel hurries to explain his interest in the exchange rate trend.
Despite this concern, Pavel says business has been good since the beginning of this year, pursuing 2010’s trend, thanks to the rather significant travel budgets allocated by corporate clients, as well as to Romanians’ renewed appetite for travel.
Pavel says he managed to boost the company’s profit more than three times last year in a time of economic crisis. “We did not invest in real estate, as others did, we invested in technology and in reporting systems in order to streamline the costs of the travel agency,” he says. Aurel Pavel says the profit increase is due to the company gaining more clients, which led to a 7%-8% rise in the number of sold airplane tickets.
The travel agency ended last year with a turnover of EUR11.5 million and RON823,000 (around EUR200,000) in profit, according to the owner. Trade Registry data show that the company ended 2009 with a turnover of RON42 million and a profit of RON230,000 with 50 employees.
J’Info Tours’ clients include 30-40 multinationals in the pharmaceutical, cement, electronic and tobacco sectors, for which airplane tickets are issued, hotel rooms are reserved, training courses and other events are organized, according to the owner.
Pavel has estimated a 15% turnover increase for this year, amid higher demand for travel services.