EaseMyTrip to open branches in UK, US

Online travel portal EaseMyTrip is in the expansion mode looking to double its revenue and market share on the back of addition in itineraries and entry into new markets such as the US, the UK and Australia, a top company official said.

The company, which competes with the likes of MakeMyTrip, Goibibo and Yatra, is expected to clock a turnover of around Rs 1,800 crore in 2017-18.

EaseMyTrip claims to have a B2B network of 42,000 travel agents, 1,800 franchise outlets, 3,000 corporates and 1,600 distributors, among others.

The company's CEO and co-founder Nishant Pitti said efforts are being made to turn about 10,000 agent shops into franchise outlets in two years time.

Franchise outlets are retail shops with travel agents under the banner of EaseMyTrip for the purpose of branding.

"We are looking to grow at a pace of 25-30 per cent so by next two years we expect the turnover to be almost double at Rs 3,500 crore," Pitti told PTI.

The firm has branches in Dubai, Bangkok, Maldives and Singapore.

"We will soon be expanding to London, Australia and the US by opening our own branches there," Pitti said.

The company, which started of with a capital infusion of Rs 20 lakh in 2008, has come a long way clocking a net profit of Rs 32 crore in 2017-18 so far.

In the airline space, Pitti said the company has about 5 per cent market share and is looking to double it in the next two years fuelled by addition in customer base and accommodation services.

The company has over three lakh hotels in its portfolio across the globe and about 6,000 in India.

EaseMyTrip deals in air tickets, hotels and holiday packages, bus tickets, corporate travels and car rentals with its B2B and B2C affiliated services.

It boasts of having a customer base of 3 million, primarily from India and is expecting rapid addition in numbers in the years to come.