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| Niemeijer and Verhoeven sign merger |
Khiri Travel has announced the launch of Khiri Travel Indonesia. Khiri Travel will partner with Sunda Trails and open with offices in Lombok and Flores with dedicated English and Dutch speaking teams in place.
Sunda Trails has 12 years of inbound tourism operations experience in Indonesia, focusing mostly on ecotourism and rural community exploration, all with an emphasis on responsible travel.
The founder of Sunda Trails, Anita Verhoeven, a Dutch national who has been living and working in Indonesia for 20 years and speaks fluent Bahasa Indonesia, will continue to play a key leadership role in Khiri Travel Indonesia, focusing mostly on product development.
Willem Niemeijer, CEO of Khiri Travel, said that the merger was made possible due to shared values held by both companies. "We both have a passion for sustainable tourism operations, innovative programs and immersive travel experiences for all budget levels," he said.
Sunda Trails was founded in 2002. Besides cultural and natural highlights in Java, Bali and Sumatra, the company offers hiking, bicycle tours, diving, marine expeditions and anthropological trips throughout the Indonesian archipelago.
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The new Khiri Indonesia team on location
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Initially, the islands east of Bali (Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba and Flores), also known as the Lesser Sunda Islands (Nusa Tenggara Timor or East Nusa Tenggara) will remain as the cornerstone of the new Khiri Indonesia tours, with all trips there being personally selected by Verhoeven.
"Indonesia is mind boggling," she said. "Even after all these years, I feel I've just scraped the surface. With Khiri onboard we can now share our existing tours and new discoveries with a wider audience."
Niemeijer said that the deep expertise of Sunda Trails, combined with the professional business systems that Khiri employs and exposure to a wider travel agent base will bring efficiencies of scale and fast client response times.
New internal systems will also open up enhanced training and career prospects for Sunda's existing 12 female staff within Khiri Indonesia.
The Khiri CEO's first introduction to Asia was Indonesia in 1982.
"Indonesia offers a treasure trove of great travel experiences," said Niemeijer. "The country's amazing diversity will be reflected in Khiri Indonesia tour offerings, including Java and Bali, the Orang Utan sanctuaries and Komodo Island, as well as dozens of off-the-beaten-track trips."
Prior to the Khiri Travel merger, Sunda Trails handled about 2000 passengers per year, both on individual packages and group bookings.
