MakeMyTrip: Biggest Online Travel Agency India
MakeMyTrip.com is India’s No 1 Online Travel Agency that holds a major market share, with one-out-of-every-twelve domestic flights in India booked through it. MakeMyTrip offers its customers a variety of travel services and products, with international and domestic airline tickets, Indian Railways tickets, domestic bus tickets, international and domestic hotel reservations, car rentals, international and domestic holiday packages, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions), visa services, B2B services, and more. Founded in April, 2000, MakeMyTrip today has offices in 20 cities across India and 2 international offices in New York and San Francisco, in addition to several franchise locations.
Founded in 2000 by Deep Kalra, MakeMyTrip had its beginnings in a small office in Okhla, New Delhi. Deep Kalra, formerly V.P. Business Development for GE Capital had the mandate to develop and partner new distribution channels for the company’s consumer financial products. The internet appeared as an interesting choice with untapped potential and his role at GE Capital provided him the opportunity to be closely involved with the then nascent internet industry in India. Shortly thereafter, Deep began considering his entrepreneurial options, interested in a couple of sectors of the Indian economy, including travel. When he found that the travel industry lent itself seamlessly to the Internet and had tremendous potential as a sector, MakeMyTrip.com was conceptualized.
Deciding that the Indian market was not yet ready for an India Online Travel Agency, MakeMyTrip instead concentrated on the US India travel sector. In a relatively short span, MakeMyTrip.com grew to emerge as a major travel website in the US to India sector, and today has an approximate 4% share of the NRI market, which is pegged at Rs. 4500 crore (USD 1 billion). With the revolution in the Indian travel industry caused by the emergence of the domestic Low Cost Carriers, MakeMyTrip launched its website for the Indian travel market in September 2005. In its first year of operation, it was India’s largest e-commerce company. According to MakeMyTrip’s Company Profile, “the company is on track to achieve sales of INR 2500 crores (approximately US$ 500 million) in the financial year ending March 2010, making it India’s largest travel company.”
Products
Calling itself a one-stop travel shop and the most comprehensive Online Travel Agency in India, MakeMyTrip.com offers the following products and services:
International and Domestic - Air Tickets, Holiday Packages and Hotels
Domestic - Bus and Rail Tickets
MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)
B2B and Affiliate Services
These products are offered via the Make My Trip website, as well as at the 20 company-owned travel shops in India, and now also through new franchise outlets opened in selected cities across India. All of MakeMyTrip.com products and services are said to be supported real-time by 24x7 call centers.