eyefortravel - Travel Distribution India '06

‘Aggressively moving online especially for 'plain vanilla products’

Deep Kalra CEO Makemytrip

Deep Kalra, CEO of Makemytrip tells Reema Sisodia that the online business is already over 20 per cent of the total travel market and will touch the 50 per cent mark in less than three years

What according to you is the future of travel distribution in India? What are the key trends and predictions to watch out for?

The travel market is aggressively moving online - especially for 'plain vanilla products' like air tickets and hotel bookings and car transfers. Simple domestic packages (one hotel, weekend breaks etc) will also move online but complex itineraries (domestic and international) will be bought offline (over the phone and email) but researched online. Online business is already over 20 per cent of the total travel market and will touch the 50 per cent mark in less than three years.

How according to you would the market react to the various booking options in India?

The customers love the plethora of options. More choices the better. It is also the convenience (booking any time, from anywhere) coupled with so much free information, which is a dream.

What would be the LCC impact on the online booking business in India?

Very positive - great stimulus to the online market since the `price discovery' process was never more interesting with rock-bottom fares being advertised routinely, customers really feel the need to go to booking engines to get best deals.

What according to you will the future of m-commerce and the impact on the online business?

This will take some time to take-off but in the long run m-commerce will be a huge thing. Reasons are clear 110 million mobile users, is almost three times the number of net users and growing faster. I see it as part of the online business as yet another extension since GPRS is really being online on your handset. The dividing line between your PC and phone is totally blurred where would you put a Blackberry or PDA cum phone.

How does the Indian online travel market differ from others countries? What challenges does e-commerce in India present?

With regards to air travel the situation is similar to US; while with regards to hotels the situation is closer to Europe since majority of hotels are independent (not part of large chains). In India the adoption rate and growth is faster than most countries.