Indian online travel agency MakeMyTrip announced that all of its travel segments have surpassed pre-pandemic levels, and the company achieved its highest-ever quarterly gross bookings of $1.98 billion. In addition to its financial success, MakeMyTrip also experienced growth in other areas.
One notable achievement was the company’s return to profitability. MakeMyTrip reported a profit of $18.6 million for the quarter, compared to a loss of $10 million during the same period last year. This success can be attributed to a 54% increase in average room nights for its domestic packages, generating revenue of $196.7 million, a 38% increase.
To adapt to the post-pandemic world and explore new areas of growth, MakeMyTrip focused on expanding its inventory of homestay properties. Rajesh Magow, co-founder and group CEO, emphasized the company’s efforts in building its inventory of homestays and improving home front-end capabilities and host applications.
MakeMyTrip also introduced an AI-powered voice chat service to enhance the booking experience for its users. This voice assistant offers personalized and relevant information to users, eliminating the need to scroll through multiple reviews.
The company noted a high demand for pilgrimage destinations, such as Puri, Varanasi, Rishikesh, and Vrindavan. This trend aligns with Oyo’s findings from last year, which also highlighted the popularity of pilgrimage destinations based on booking data.
MakeMyTrip catered to price-sensitive tourists by launching a new feature called “Incredible India Incredible Prices.” This feature provides users with the most economical airfare to multiple destinations within India over a six-month period, allowing them to filter options based on the month of travel and theme-based travel categories. Early results showed a 2.5 times increase in searches for leisure destinations using this feature.
In June, MakeMyTrip introduced a student offering for international flights, coinciding with the start of the academic session. The company partnered with airlines to offer extra baggage and competitive student fares, as well as exclusive discounts through partnerships with banks and discounted forex cards.
As part of its efforts to expand its holiday package options, MakeMyTrip partnered with Madrid-based tour agency Europamundo. This partnership added over 600 new itineraries to MakeMyTrip’s existing catalog of nearly 5,000 holiday packages available online in India.
MakeMyTrip’s quarterly results demonstrate its resilience in the face of supply side challenges brought on by the pandemic. The company’s focus on profitability, inventory expansion, AI technology, catering to specific customer segments, and strategic partnerships position it for further growth in the online travel market.