MakeMyTrip in makeover mood

MakeMyTrip, India’s largest online travel company, is aggressively pursuing the click-and-mortar model to bolster revenues.

While online ticketing is the mainstay of the travel portal that made a sparkling debut on the Nasdaq earlier this month, it is increasingly tying up with hospitality companies, hotels and resorts to offer middle-class Indians a holiday experience on foreign shores.

Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean with 200 inhabited islets, is the latest destination on MakeMyTrip’s value holiday list.

“Maldives has been relatively inaccessible to Indians as it is perceived as an expensive holiday destination. With Maldives in our holiday destination basket, we plan to fly in about 6,000 Indians to these islands,” said MakeMyTrip co-founder and chief operating officer Keyur Joshi.

The online travel company has tied up with private carrier Kingfisher to operate charter flights from Mumbai to Gan in the Southern Maldives from October. The company plans to extend the charter service to Delhi soon after and is considering linking Calcutta with the island destination at a later date.

The packages that are being offered in association with the tourism ministry of Maldives will start from October and will be operational till February next year, which is typically a busy season for tourism in these coral islands.

Holiday packages, including the charter flight for a three-day stay, start at Rs 30,000 per person at a four-star property in Maldivies.

The price tag for packages at posh resorts like the Taj Exotica Resort & Spa that is just a 15-minute boat ride away from capital city Male can go up to Rs 68,000 per person for a three-night stay, including economy class airfare.

www.telegraphindia.com