Today, social media is undoubtedly fueling the millennials' travel craze. Seeing your friends vacationing at a hill station or sun-bathing on beaches makes everyone want to book their tickets. Even when most of us work hard to meet our ends, one way or another, we always want to discover new places and cultures. Internet has created revolutionary changes in the tourism industry, giving people the options to plan their trips, book their tickets and hotels and others with just a few clicks. However, travel agencies cannot be replaced. In this tech-enabled era, internet is the new travel agent. Websites of travel agents and travel suppliers offer

custom-made itineraries to meet the requirements of the travellers. While past few years have seen a hike in the number of `Do-it-Yourself' travellers, the ease of accessibility, freedom to customize travel itineraries and time and money savings are some of the key factors that make tourists opt for travel agents.

In this edition of siliconIndia magazine, we have featured a list of `10 Most Promising Travel Agencies - 2019', a carefully crafted list of travel planning agents offering unique customer experiences. On the cover page, we have highlighted, SILKROUTE Holidays, one of Pune's most successful travel agencies at present, renowned for its unique, tailor-made itineraries.

With technology enhancing customer experiences, Virtual tours have surfaced as the new trend within the travel and tourism industry. Technological innovations have improved virtual reality capabilities, making virtual tours an accessible option more than ever before. Reflecting more on this, we have also put together a list of `10 Most Promising Virtual Tour Service Providers ­ 2019' which showcases the names of companies that are setting a new benchmark with their distinctive offerings. I hope the featured list helps you in your future endeavors and we achieve our mission.

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