MakeMyTrip Partners With Tourism Ministry to Boost Offbeat Travel
25.08.2023 - 12:52
/ skift.com
/ Amrita Ghosh
/ Rajesh Magow
Editor’s Note: our
MakeMyTrip has partnered with the Ministry of Tourism to develop the Traveler’s Map of India, a microsite that will showcase over 600 destinations beyond the country’s popular travel hotspots.
What it Offers: The microsite provides an interactive platform for travelers to discover destinations that lie within the country’s borders based on their preferences, the online travel company said in a statement.
How it Works:
To arrive at the curated shortlist, MakeMyTrip looked through India’s travel search history. With millions of visitors using the platform every month, the company selected destinations that are lesser known or are only familiar to people in certain pockets of the country.
The selections have been further categorized with tags like adventure, wildlife, heritage, mountains, and beaches.
“We have always championed the diversity of India’s tourism offerings, and wanted to push the envelope of discovery further. What better way to do this than to empower every Indian to be a spokesperson for the country’s cultural, historic, natural and geographical marvels,” said Rajesh Magow, co-founder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip.
Record Results: The company recently posted its highest-ever quarterly gross bookings at $1.98 billion, with all its travel segments having now grown past pre-pandemic levels.
Previous Partnerships: Earlier in June, Airbnb also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Tourism to showcase India’s heritage staysand promote cultural tourism.
We read JLL’s Hotel Momentum India report for the second quarter and this is what we found out about the Indian hotel industry.
Although the Indian hospitality industry registered a 15.4% year-on-year growth in revenue per available room in the second quarter of 2023, the quarter recorded a dip in occupancy levels.
In a call with Skift, Jaideep Dang, Managing Director, Hotels and Hospitality Group, JLL India attributed this declining occupancy levels to three factors:
Hotel Signings:
Other Observations: Hotel brands continue to be optimistic towards the Indian market not only in the mid-market space but also in the luxury space, with the signing of the first Radisson Collection and Waldorf Astoria hotels in Hyderabad and Jaipur respectively, the report noted.
“India’s G20 presidency, which has provided a fillip to the performance of the hospitality sector through the year, along with sustainable sources of demand such as business travel, social events, and leisure will continue to drive the sector in the months to come,” said Dang.
The DigiYatra facility — which allows biometric boarding using facial recognition technology to establish the flier’s identity — will be launched at six more