Razif was exposed to the world of entrepreneurship from at an early age. His mother operated a small restaurant which grew steadily after acquiring several tenders and contracts to manage canteens at government hospitals and teaching colleges. Throughout his formative years, he observed how his parents occupied their time discussing and solving business problems. This introduced him to the challenges and benefits which come from doing business. Eventually, he also joined his parents at their restaurants and canteens as an extra hand to help with the dishes or looking after the counter. This experience had definitely contributed to honing Razif’ s strong work ethics and communication skills.
After completing his secondary education, Razif’ s parents suggested that their son succeed them by taking over the restaurant business. However, at the time, he was not keen with what he perceived as the cyclical pattern of the restaurant business. Like many young people, he dreamt of seeing the outside world and was drawn by the bright lights of Kuala Lumpur. In the capital city, he worked at a batik shop owned by his uncle before applying to become a flight attendant. Unfortunately, his application was rejected due to the height requirement set by the airline company.
By chance, Razif came across an advertisement in the newspaper on a job vacancy as a sales officer at a travel agency. It was then in 1983 that his journey in the tourism industry took flight. The position was the perfect training ground for him as it equipped him with the necessary experience, knowledge and skills to succeed in the industry. He diligently studied the products and industry while at the same time, developed invaluable network with industry stakeholders and customers.
In addition, he also had the opportunity to travel when airline companies promote new destinations. After a decade as an employee, Razif decided that the time was right for him to venture out on his own. The opportunity came in 1992 when the owner of Sri Sutra Travel was looking for a buyer for their company. Equipped with a modest capital thanks largely to contribution from his brother-in-law and some of his own savings, Razif acquired the company Sri Sutra Travel.
Starting with five employees and an annual turnover of RM300,000(~ US $ 75,0000), today Sri Sutra Travel employs 80 staff with a turnover of RM70 million(~ US $ 17.5 million). Razif recalls nostalgically the support he received from friends and family during those formative days.
THE TOURISM INDUSTRY According to Razif, the tourism industry could be divided into four main pillars namely, transportation, accommodation, industry support, as well as tourism operators and agents. Each of the pillars could be divided into two tiers of sub-pillars in order to create tourism products. To illustrate this, the transportation pillar could be divided into air, water, and land and subsequently the air sub-pillar could be further divided into products such as full-service, low-cost and charter. For each product, there are thousands of companies rendering the service.
“ Our business strategy is based on all four pillars. Know where your
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Dato’ Syed Razif Al-Yahya officiating the launch of Sutra. my in August 2015 with Datuk Seri Syed Ali Alhabshee( second from left) and Deputy Minister of Tourism and Culture, Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin( third from left). Sutra. my is Malaysia’ s first and one-stop online international travel booking portal.
ISSUE 2: 2016 | ASEAN COMMUNITY OF ENTREPRENEURS 59