I received an interesting email earlier this year from a travel agency based in India. Gluten Free Travel India, managed by Contre Glutino, is a travel agency that recently started catering to gluten-free travelers in India. Gluten Free Travel India helps travelers from around the world put together an amazing tour of India. They also provide many resources for gluten-free travelers on their website including gluten-free restaurants by states in India, a letter to the chef explaining the gluten-free diet, and translation cards in Hindi.
I recently interviewed Vikas Gupta of Gluten Free Travel India via email about gluten-free travel in India.

Gluten Free Travel India
Our operation model is quite straight forward. We cater gluten free needs of the customer right from the time customers arrives at the airport till the departure, so that person can enjoy vacation free from worry to find gluten free food.
What inspired you to start this company?
It was mainly because of availability of gluten free products in India. About six months ago we attended a program sponsored by Celiac Society of India. That programme was also attended by Chief Minister of Delhi. We attended that program just by chance (to cover interview of our Chief Minister) and that was the first time when we came to know about this allergy. But that was really an eye opener for us, because in Northern India we are primarily dependent on Wheat and wheat related products as compared to South India. We met few people there and then we realised that this is acute problem and awareness of this allergy is really missing, even amongst the doctors [in India].
How did it begin?
We initially started this by providing gluten free goods to people who are in need in Delhi area. We started providing goods at their home, so that we can meet those people personally to understand the challenges that they are facing in their day-to-day life. But this was just a beginning, we later started interacting with hospitals, schools and Embassy so that we can support wider population.
Is it common for people in India to have Celiac?
Three months ago, we realised this allergy is quite common amongst foreigners as compared to Indians. So we started interacting with hotels. At that time, we formally named ourselves as Contre Glutino (Anti-Gluten).
Can you tell me more about your travel agency?
We really don’t want to restrict our services to Indian citizens. We have now decided to extend our services to foreigners by providing them end-to-end services, thereby providing option to visit and explore my country.
We are in best place to provide this service, since we are supplying goods to hotels, airlines, restaurants etc. How we operate is unique as compared to any other travel agent in India, especially because we take care of diet requirements of the travellers. Along with our travel agency business, we supply gluten free goods to organisations such as hotels, restaurants, schools, hospitals, embassies, and airlines.
We have a big list of gluten free items to cater needs of different consumers. We provide bread mix, cake mix, pastas, salad dressing, etc to the commercial organisation and provide ready to eat products like cookies, breakfast cereals, and chocolates to individual consumers.
I was very impressed by the services that Vikas’s company can provide for a Gluten-Free Globetrotter and his understanding of gluten-free dietary needs. Gluten Free Travel India goes above and beyond being a travel agency striving to make your gluten-free travel in India as comfortable and safe as possible.
If you would like more information about gluten-free travel in India, please contact Vikas Gupta at vikas.contreglutino@ gmail.com or by phone at +91 9811821261. Please tell him you learned about his agency through Erin at Gluten-Free Globetrotter.
You can also visit their website at www.glutenfreetravelindia.com and find them on Facebook.