FLUSHED with funds from Ctrip International’s US$180 million investment in it, MakeMyTrip (MMT) is surging ahead with the goal of being the dominant player in the mobile and accommodation space.
MMT’s COO, Mohit Gupta, in an interview on the sidelines of GTA’s ‘g meet’ in Bangkok yesterday, said Ctrip’s stake in the company is an enabler on two counts – capital and learnings – both of which will help MMT short-circuit its way to the top with mobile and accommodation in India just as it had with the web/OTA model.
“Clearly the last one year has been a big inflexion point for mobile and accommodation, with both mobile penetration and the budget hotel market growing really well. We believe this is the phase for us to invest in this space in a big way and consolidate our leadership in those areas,” said Gupta.
Additionally, there could potentially be ways of partnering with Ctrip for Indian and Chinese travellers “although these are early days”.
Asked what specific learnings it gets from Ctrip, he said: “Just imagine, Ctrip has close to a billion app downloads; we are in the 15 to 16 million range. Ctrip has also seen a lot of action and gone through market phases including intense competition from the likes of Qunar and eLong, marketplace trying to disrupt OTAs, the transition from web to mobile, etc. There are deep insights apart from the capital that has come in. Those learnings and a common way of looking at things are what makes this partnership great.”
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