HOTELMARKETING.COM

Indian OTAs - are they getting it right?

November 25, 2008 | Online Travel

In the current online travel booking scenario, Online Travel Agents (OTAs) in India are not only innovating various revenue generating products but are making the online experience more reliable, writes Travel Biz Monitor.

The concept of online travel booking was established in the Western world by the beginning of 21st Century. In 2000, MakeMyTrip.com brought the online travel notion to India. The website makemytrip.com offered online booking of air tickets, hotels, car rentals, weekend packages and road trips within and from India. It was the first-of-its-kind search engine which (termed ‘Fare Pundit’ by its COO and co-founder, Keyur Joshi) guided the user through all kinds of simple and complex travel itineraries. This marked the beginning of ‘click revolution’ for booking travel in India, while others followed suit.

Initially, most of the visitors to these portals comprised general surfers who wanted to research on the best travel plans and booked the same with travel agents. But slowly and gradually, travel websites started gaining impetus with net savvy travellers discovering the ease with which one could book online. Over the years, the OTA industry has been upgrading its product offerings and service in terms of security of payment options and technology to win the faith of prospective clients.

Get the full story at Travel Biz Monitor

Visit our sponsors: