How much money is being invested in online travel portals? Travel House in investing Rs. 1 crore on its portal, operational in 2007. Indo Asia Tours is investing Rs. 10 crores on indiaholidaymall.com, expecting the business to be Rs.50 crore in three years and break even in 18 months. Stic Travels is spending Rs. 30 lakh on its travel portal. Details at Business Standard, here. There must be more that we haven’t heard of yet.
Also, Stuart Crighton, Director Business Development says that in 2007, Cleartrip will expand its offerings to cover international travel. They’re also launching a travel solution for mobile phones. Cleartrip will be offering travel products for Eastern India soon. Cleartrip is also in talks with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to offer railway ticketing. More at Economic Times.
If the online travel booking space wasn’t hot enough, things certainly seem as if they’re going to get even more competitive. What does the consumer get from competing sites? Better combo deals because of tie-ups on the supply side. What are most of the consumers really looking for? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think they’re just looking for cheaper tickets, right now. And that’s not unexpected since most advertisements have so far focused on offering cheaper fares.